State to Fund Purchase, Planning for Buffalo Redevelopment Project

BUFFALO, NY—State officials announced on Thursday that nearly $7 million in state financing has been earmarked for the purchase and master planning of 50 acres of vacant or underutilized land on the city's east side that will be converted into a manufacturing/energy-related business park.

The $6.7-million in funding for the venture that is part of the “Buffalo Billion” initiative was approved on Thursday by the Empire State Development Corp. The 50-acre business park is the first phase of the next major redevelopment project in Buffalo. Once the site planning for the project is complete, including SEQRA, the Empire State Development Board will approve additional funding for future development, according to an announcement released by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Empire State Development, the state's economic development agency, will grant Buffalo Urban Development Corp., the City of Buffalo's not-for-profit land reclamation and development agency, the funds to purchase the land and redevelop the properties.

“Reclaiming this land will revitalize a distressed neighborhood and make this vacant property home to an advanced manufacturing hub that will attract jobs and investment,” Gov. Cuomo says. “Western New York is on the move and this Buffalo Billion investment will only add to this momentum.”

State officials note that over the last decade the city has focused much of its industrial land reclamation efforts in South Buffalo. Now, with the city facing a shortage of shovel-ready, light industrial land for the projected growth in manufacturing, it is shifting its focus on the repurposing of the former industrial land on the eastside, such as the Northland Avenue Belt Line Corridor.

Howard Zemsky, Western New York Regional Economic Development Council Co-Chair and Larkin Development Group Managing Partner, says, “Funding through the Buffalo Billion will help us continue to focus on revitalizing the City of Buffalo to increase density in the city's core, create new employment clusters and attract private investment. With this investment, the East Side of Buffalo will be poised and ready to capitalize on the projected growth of our manufacturing and energy sectors.”

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown says, "I worked closely with the Buffalo Urban Development Corporation to push for this investment on Buffalo's East Side because I am confident it will have a profound and positive impact on driving investment, innovation and job creation—just like we are seeing happen at the High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend.”

The mayor notes that more than $4.5 billion in new economic development activity is underway in Buffalo.