Ours is a City Where You Can Enjoy a Good Life
Are You an Alumnus?
Welcome back to Oneonta, the “City of the Hills”! We value community and inclusivity, and we’re so happy to extend this invitation to join us.
We are specifically reaching out to our alumni from SUNY Oneonta, Hartwick College, and Oneonta High School, and extending a warm welcome to their families and children. For the young dragons, hawks, and jackets, Oneonta is the perfect place to grow up and thrive. Our city is located in a region of the country that is least affected by climate change, and we are committed to the transition to green energies, the enhancement of walk-ability, and the growth of a diverse and inclusive community. We are creating more affordable housing and social engagement opportunities for families who move here. Our historic downtown is becoming increasingly vibrant, and our economic opportunities are growing for those seeking new employment and for those who aspire to entrepreneurship.
As you know, Oneonta is a city that values quality of life, and we have plenty of recreational activities to offer, including hiking and biking trails, sports activities, and leisure activities in our parks. Our festivals, including the Balloon Fest, the City of the Hills Festival, and the Hometown Fourth of July, are the highlights of life in our city. We invite families to join us and become a part of our community. Our schools are top-notch, and we offer a wide range of extracurricular activities for children to get involved in. With our commitment to inclusivity, your children will grow up in a welcoming and accepting community. Once again, we welcome you and your family back to the charming little city of Oneonta.
We’d be excited to have you join us as new members of our growing community!
Not an Alumnus? Become an Oneontan!
We live in a world that is fraught with change. Much of it is concerning.
Rising sea levels and other extremes of climate change, escalating home prices and less than safe neighborhoods, economic uncertainty, struggling schools, and community polarization. How does that get better? How does that change? “Don’t wait for the cavalry,” a wise person once said. “We are the cavalry.”
Because Oneonta is such a small city, we are nimble. It takes just a few people to make a big difference, and a growing number of us are joining arms everyday to change the trajectory of our city. It’s exhilarating to see. We believe that extending our hands to you and your family, asking you to join us as neighbors, is our path to regaining the vitality of days gone by. We can offer a safer climate, good schools, economic opportunity, an expanding housing market, entertainment, and a very welcoming community. And we would be delighted if you would consider how a new life in Oneonta could be exactly the change that you and your family might need.
Visit our website, ExploreOneonta.com, or email us: mayor@oneonta.ny.us
We’re looking forward to hearing from you, and we can’t wait to welcome you to our growing family of Oneontans!
Play, Relax, Celebrate & Explore
For those alumni reading this… Do you remember all the great hiking and biking trails we had in Oneonta? Well, we have even more now! Be sure to check out New Island’s challenging bike trails, and a newly paved trail that embraces the wonderfully wild banks of the millrace in Neahwa Park. The Susquehanna Greenway continues to grow, weaving its path through the untouched and unspoiled beauty of Oneonta.
Become a Member of a True Neighborhood
Oneonta is an idyllic notion of community. We’ve always been caring and supportive neighbors, but welcoming you back has elevated our game. The desire to have YOU join our community to make you feel at home and included, and to ensure that you’ll find easy to put down roots has spurred dozens of Oneontans to form committees, and task forces to make certain you’re properly greeted. Among these groups is a wild enthusiastic collection of folks who have formed a “welcome home” task force. They’ve assembled a fantastic collection of incentives and resources to make it faster and easier to take advantage of all that our community has to offer and they’re busy planning entertaining opportunities to introduce you to your neighbors. All of the citizens of Oneonta working together is a joy to see, and they ask only one. Thanks for their efforts that you consider joining us. You’ll be glad you did!
Enjoy a Historic Vibrant Downtown
The heart of any city is, it’s downtown. That’s especially true of oneonta unlike many upstate communities that were irreparably harmed by urban renewal our quaint little city was too able to preserve the majority of its main street architecture. (Thank goodness.) Our downtown has retained its charm, and it’s embraced its storied history as a destination for thousands of shoppers, diners, and entertainment seekers who filled its streets in the last century. We are determined to repeat that history, new unique and eclectic shops and restaurants continue to open some owned or staffed by alumni who determined that the potential of our downtown and its adjacent streets can be as vibrant as ever. We are enhancing the experience of our city with initiatives that include free Wi-Fi on Main Street, a downtown speaker system to subtly enhance the ambience and round the clock entertainment on Muller Plaza and wait till you see what we have planned for Market Street (We think you’ll find it VERY entertaining)
Join a Sustainably-Focused Community
The expectations of a modern municipality include its provisions of convenient and reliable access ti power and connectivity. That connection includes digital access via high-speed internet service as well physical transit by road, rail (freight), and air. Oneonta is building a connected community, and a safe, healthy, and smart city through green technologies. Our tools are keyboards and shovels. We are a “Tree City” and we are a model of the “Complete Streets” strategies that enable safe use and support mobility for all people of all ages. EV charging stations, a model transit system, increasing numbers of bike lanes, pedestrian, friendly streets are at the heart of our plans for a ever greener future. With some significant assistance from NYSERDA, the City is completing a scoping study for geo-thermal loop that encompasses most of our downtown, the rail yards, and SUNY Oneonta. Our water quality is the proud result of state-of-the-art facilities and a dedicated team of people who really care about our environment. We have been gifted with nature at its most inviting, and you can be sure that Oneonta will continue to cherish and protect that legacy.
Find a Home That’s Just Right For You
Oneonta is the most charming ideal of a city you’ll find. Its historic downtown, and upper floors of small and large apartments are neatly surrounded by multi-story housing , which then yields to vintage homes, mid-century houses, and our wonderful parks. All our neighborhoods are an enjoyable stroll from the bustle of Main Street. (What an idyllic place to live.) We beginning a transition a transition from a student-rental economy into another model that promises a rapid expansion of home rental and purchasing opportunities. There are homes for sale, and rentals will be expanding with the addition of the Dietz Street Lofts and the Ford On Main, which between them will add over 80 apartment units to our downtown. We are courting developers for our Market Street Entertainment District. In addition, over 5-dozen members of our community are working in committees to further expand our housing opportunities. If you’re considering a move to Oneonta, take heart… our real estate and rental market is opening up.
And there’s a home for you here!
Experience a Re-energized Economy
Ours is an upstate New York small city, and over the past several decades it’s been subject to all that has been plagued other municipalities.
Among those, the short-sighted decision making of urban renewal, the rise of malls and box stores and their devastating impact on downtowns, the exodus of our younger generations, and a dead-stop in the advance of new industries and job opportunities. But in the City of Oneonta that is changing on many levels and fronts. And it’s changing quickly. Healthcare and education have been the main drivers of our economy for awhile, but we are becoming a tech center, a target for green manufacturing, and our hospitality sector is having a seismic moment. Long-time quiet observers, SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College are now spearheading a transformative new alliance of problem solvers who are the leadership of businesses and institutions across the region. They are action oriented and moving a needle that’s been stuck for decades. It’s an ideal time for you to being your entrepreneurial spirit, your energy, and your skill sets to Oneonta.
Make an Impact!
Have you ever felt as if your voice doesn’t matter? That you’re a small fish in a big pond? That your opinion ins’t heard and your assistance isn’t needed?In Oneonta we have the aspirations of a large city.But at just over thirteen thousand, ours is the population of a small town.So, we need and welcome the big ideas and involvement of EVERYONE in the community, and all who would join us as neighbors.We have a fund for those who harbor creative strategies to improve our shared quality of life… The Oneonta Community Initiative.(See All4Oneonta.com for info)The city will fund large and small efforts, up to a thousand dollars.Why? Because every new idea that makes our lives richer and more enjoyable adds another reason to be grateful to live here and make Oneonta an even better place.To have an impact.You can have an impact.Be and do whatever you aspire to, and you’ll help shape a future that we can all celebrate.