Construction continues at Ralph Wilson Park on the West Side of Buffalo.
As work continues on Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park, the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. just got a little more much-needed cash from the Great Lakes Commission for the $110 million construction project.
The quasi-city agency received a fifth grant from the multistate organization, to the tune of $1.63 million. That is on top of the previous grants over the past four years that totaled $12.7 million.
That will help to fund the ongoing work at the park, which includes shoreline and habitat restoration, a host of new park amenities for visitors, and a new pedestrian bridge linking the park to the West Side neighborhood on the other side of the Niagara Thruway.
BUDC is managing the park project on behalf of the city, which owns the park. The agency will forward the money to the city to pay the contractors, led by construction manager Gilbane Building Co.
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BUDC continues to advance work at the Northland Beltline Corridor, where it owns the sprawling new light-industrial business campus that is anchored by the Northland Workforce Training Center and Buffalo Manufacturing Works. The agency and its consultants from Wendel are working with the State Historic Preservation Office on redevelopment plans for 631 Northland, as well as 741 and 777 Northland, which suffered damage in the December 2022 blizzard.
BUDC is also seeking to have the East Side neighborhood designated as a state Brownfield Opportunity Area, which would make it eligible for additional environmental opportunities and economic benefits such as tax breaks and state funds. The agency last week agreed to hire a consultant team led by Colliers Engineering & Design for just under $100,000 to submit the nomination, obtain the designation and administer the project.
And at Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park in South Buffalo, BUDC's exclusivity agreement with Robert A. Savarino's RAS Development at 193 Ship Canal Parkway - for a build-to-suit business complex aimed at food-supply tenants - will be expiring this month. BUDC officials said Savarino wants to extend the contract.
In the meantime, the agency is hiring CBRE Upstate New York under a three-year contract to market the remaining four parcels at the business park - 80, 134, 158 and 200 Ship Canal - for purchase and redevelopment. BUDC board member Darby Fishkin is an executive at CBRE but disclosed her conflict of interest and recused herself. BUDC also considered bids from Pyramid Brokerage Co. and WindsorTurner, but felt CBR's "national reach rises to the top."
Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy - from real estate to health care to startups. Read more at BuffaloNext.com.
Last hurrah
The Buffalo Planning Board last week approved several pending projects just before going on hiatus for the month of August.
The city panel gave the green light to Endeavor Health's proposal to construct a two-story, 16,000-square-foot mental health counseling facility at 1420 Broadway, using 10 properties that it will combine.
The $7.5 million project at the northwest corner of Broadway and Goodyear Avenue will replace its aging and outmoded space at 1131 Broadway, where it leases 12,000 square feet. It will offer group therapy, counseling, substance abuse programs and other treatment, with community space.
The building will feature a mix of brown brick, glass and "espresso"-colored fiber-cement panels, and has 50 parking spaces. The nonprofit organization previously received a special-use permit from the Common Council and several area variances last week from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Planning Board directed the nonprofit to consult the city forester about the need to either install street trees on the site or donate them elsewhere in the city.
It also approved Hanes Supply's plan to double the size of its facility at 55 James E. Casey Drive, by constructing a 56,575-square-foot addition to its 55,000-square-foot office, warehouse and manufacturing facility, on 5.4 acres.
The $5 million, one-story addition, composed of gray and blue pre-cast panels, would be located in back of the property, and would include 20 new parking spaces, a sewing room and two more loading docks.
The 94-year-old manufacturer of wire rope and manufacturing slings, which started on Seneca Street but relocated to Casey in 1991, makes rigging and heavy-lifting devices.
Health Sciences Charter School won approval to demolish a vacant commercial complex of two buildings at 1291 Main St., on the opposite side of its main campus at 1140 Ellicott St. in downtown Buffalo.
The school had hoped to use it for educational purposes, and eventually to convert and enlarge it into a new gymnasium and wellness center, but it is in bad condition and can't be occupied. And the cost of complying with state education code was too much.
The 28,506-square-foot complex - formerly occupied by Cash Cunningham's Cash Auctions - consists of a two-story white masonry building in front and a red-brick industrial building with skylights in back. It included a car showroom at one time.
"The condition of the building is also extremely derelict and deficient," said the school's Robert Baxter. "We've done emergency repairs to the roof to keep the roof from caving in."
The school will take it down and use the vacant land to create a community garden that will be screened from Main Street, in partnership with Home Beneath Our Feet. In the meantime, officials are raising money to build a new gym and community wellness center, along with classrooms and health care training space.
THE LATEST
The new owners of a prominent Hamburg office building have big plans for it.
Moog Inc. is making hay with a big helicopter program.
A closed Niagara Falls factory could turn into an artificial intelligence data center.
National Fuel Gas executives expect natural gas prices to rise.
The McCarley Gardens redevelopment project could be facing a long delay after a state judge criticized its environmental review.
Officials are looking at sites at the University at Buffalo for its Empire AI hub.
A Niagara Falls company is getting low-cost hydropower for an $80 million project.
Evans Bank says its push into legal cannabis lending is starting to pay off.
Earlier this summer, the state announced plans to push ahead with a long-awaited renovation of the Hotel Niagara. Now the developers involved in the project are suing each other.
A medical startup plans to move into the Northland Corridor building that Garwood Medical is vacating.
Garwood Medical will vacate its Northland building as it pursues more funding for clinical trials.
The nonprofit Council on Foreign Relations is engaged in a national "listening tour" to learn about Americans' perceptions of trade.
A Buffalo manufacturer plans to double the size of its local facility.
Five Star Bank is doing a review after being hit by a costly fraud case.
Another property near the new Buffalo Bills stadium is going up for sale.
Alden State Bank's newest branch is loaded with history.
An Amherst money management firm has been acquired.
There's a push in the City of Buffalo for a new law to aid in the crackdown on illegal cannabis shops.
New Era Cap Co. added a new partnership with the NFL.
A downtown Dunkirk redevelopment project is looking for tax breaks.
A Dunkirk ice cream company is expanding on its expansion plans.
The Buffalo Niagara unemployment rate dipped back below 4%.
A Rochester restaurant operator at the center of the Five Star Bank fraud case is suing another bank.
Oishei Children's Hospital is getting $2.9 million in public money to expand suicide prevention efforts.
A 65-year-old food delivery and third-party trucking business in Tonawanda has closed and wants to sell refrigerated storage terminal.
ICYMI
Five reads from Buffalo Next:
1. Take a closer look inside Cummins Inc.'s push to build greener engines.
2. Big changes are coming to the deal between Tesla and New York State.
3. A financial coaching collaboration between KeyBank and HOPE Inside has helped 392 clients in Buffalo, increase credit scores, expand savings and reduce debt since its founding last year.
4. A year into the legal cannabis market, a lot has changed - and plenty more changes are coming.
5. Some 10,000 people and their families participate in clinical trials at the University at Buffalo's Jacobs School of Medicine. And there is plenty of room for more.
The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region's economic revitalization. Email tips to [email protected] or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.
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