Terry Pegula's HARBORcenter Development, LLC's $123 million hockey-themed proposal for the Webster Block promises to be a game changer for the foot of Main Street. The ambitious plan calls for two new ice rinks, (one with seating capacity for at least 1,800 people, and the other with seating capacity for at least 200 people) a hotel, parking ramp, and retail and restaurant space.
"We are proud to be named the preferred developer of the Webster Block," said Terry Pegula, owner of the Buffalo Sabres. "This project will further enhance the current development at Canalside and in the process, create a destination attraction to draw hundreds of thousands of people to Buffalo's waterfront on a yearly basis. Canalside has seen a rebirth the past few years and we expect our project to act as a catalyst for future development on the waterfront."
"I want to thank HARBORcenter Development, LLC and the Buffalo Sabres for putting before us a remarkable proposal that will re-make this prime piece of city-owned land, and bring tremendous economic impact to the community," said Mayor Brown.
The HARBORcenter Development project is expected to provide approximately 1,500 construction jobs. Once complete, the facilities are expected to create 350 full-time jobs, and generate $4.1 million in state and local taxes, $48 million over the next ten years.
When all the factors were added up, including the size of the overall $123 million investment and the purchase price for the land, the HARBORcenter Development proposal gained favor. In addition to building the new facilities, the Buffalo Sabres agreed to the following terms:
Pay $2 million for the Webster Block
- Seek city residents for post-construction jobs
- Agreed to use local workforce for construction and meet 25% minority and 5% female hiring goals
- Agreed to 25% minority business and 5% women business enterprise participation goals
- Pay Living Wage for employees of ice rink and parking ramp
- Attain the highest reasonable environmental standards for building
- Expand parking in the building to make attendance at Canalside events more convenient for the public
- Construct a facility that attracts new hockey-themed events/tournaments, and creates new opportunities for other special events
- Committed to public, community and youth hockey use
There are some other details emerging. What has been called a 'skybridge' connecting the complex to First Niagara Center appears to be misleading. The complex will be built over Perry Street creating a tunnel (see Central Library, One HSBC Center) according to a video shown during the project presentation (screen caps below, full video here).
The exterior design has not been finalized. The Sabres have agreed to solicit additional community input through a charette process.
Delaware North is expected to be involved in a planned sports bar and restaurant. The Tim Horton's at the corner of Main and Perry would be unique to the chain by celebrating Sabres' history. New Era is considering opening a store in the complex. The Delaware Avenue flagship store would remain open.
HARBORcenter Development also committed to the start of construction in March 2013, with the projected completion of the parking ramp, retail and ice rinks by the beginning of the 2014 Buffalo Sabres Hockey Season. The hotel is projected to be completed by spring of 2015. The Buffalo Common Council is expected to consider selling the parcel to the developer on September 4.
Very cool. Looks to be a great project. Great job by both sides involved to agree to the bullet-ed points. I think its great that we can have a standard be to pay above minimum wage for employees so they can in fact survive off one job. I think this should be implemented in other big businesses, big fast food chains,etc. Awesome!
No one's going to to "survive" making ten dollars an hour.
Exactly, which is why it's a stupid requirement... parking attendants or hotel cleaners are unskilled, entry level positions, not careers. Why should they be forced to pay way more than what it takes to fill these positions?
These are jobs for kids or second jobs for someone, if people want a living wage, go to school for something useful or learn a trade.
hmm.. well some people don't have the money to go to school. They need to work to survive. Many people work multiple minimum wage jobs just to live. So making these requirements will lessen the burden on some of those people.
First off, your suggestion that someone not being able to go to college is somehow relegated to minimum wage is downright ignorant. I know multiple people who never stepped foot on a college campus that have done very well for themselves.
People who work at minimum wage jobs for full time as adults are there for many reasons. Most of which are their own doing. To suggest that these jobs should pay more simply because these folks have no other alternative job prospects is insulting.
Here is a novel idea..if the paycheck that comes with 40 hours at $7.25 is not enough for you...WORK MORE THAN 40 HOURS! Most professionals work more than 40 hours a week and so should these people.
If working more is not an option...IMPROVE YOURSELF.
The idea that people actually think others can take short cuts in life and then demand life be made easier is the reason everything is so f'ed up these days.
long gone- good riddance
its called the cycle of poverty..
Paying a 'living wage' to have someone serve coffee or check parking stubs is not going to break the cycle of poverty.
Think about that for a second. Think about who the person who is 25 years old and the best job they qualify for is a parking attendant. Think about who that person really is and what they need to do in order to qualify for a better life. Paying an extra $2.50/hr to that person is not going to change their life.
You want to break the cycle...you need to do it before they in the real world with obligations.
Take for example an internship program run by the Sabres. Take 50 kids a year and find them when they are sophomores in High School. Have them work a paid internship for $7.25 an hour for 15 hours a week, 50 weeks out of the year for 2 years.
Put these kids around successful folks who can provide advice and leadership. Teach the kids how to appropriately in the work environment. Focus them on the importance of proper grammar, etiquette and hygiene. Every year add a new group of kids.
It's going to do NOTHING for the person who is 25 and qualifies to flip burgers but NOTHING from the outside is ever going to change that. It will allow a group of kids the opportunity to break out and not find themselves flipping burgers in 10 years.
But ideas like this do not go over well with voters because they are not for voters.
Totally agree with your suggestion. But I've seen people who are in their mid 20s or older working at a fast food restaurant and a superstore like Target, Walmart, etc. They are working over 40 hours and still struggling. If we paid them $10 an hour instead of even $8, the first 40 hours of their week they would make $4,000 a year more. That would give them more money to spend and put back into the economy and not hurt these huge companies like McDonalds, burger king, walmart, target etc.
People are not the way they are solely because of themselves, the environment they were raised in is the largest factor. I think while we cannot change those people, we should allow them to make a livable wage and spend money not just on basic necessities to survive. People spending money makes the economy strong, the more money spent the stronger the economy (as long as its real money, not all credit).
What you fail to grasp is the money is not yours to give. You also fail to grasp that many places like Burger King are franchises, so it's not the corporation paying the wage it's the business owner..who is mostly local.
What people like you need to do is stop trying to make every job something that can support a person or a family. The economy needs places like Target and Burger King to pay low wages because it allows them to have lower prices. Guess who is in need of the lowest prices?
The person who is working at Target should only work there for a couple of year. They can built a resume from that. Customer Service - Warehouse - Dealing with money. All desirable skills for jobs that pay more.
But let's be honest for a second.
Two of the main reasons why some people can only take jobs at places like Burger King or similar is because of drug tests and criminal records. NOBODY can do anything for that.
And before you get all high and mighty, pro athletes who make millions can't give up the herb or stay out of trouble...so it's not just a poverty thing. It's a stupidity thing.
wow. well I realize that they are local franchises, but those people are making a ton of money still. We live at the whim of the rich. They can decide to raise prices whenever to keep their profit margins high. Greed is the worst thing for our society, but greed runs our society.
I agree with your third paragraph, but it doesn't always work out like that.
And the rest of your comment is stereotypical garbage. People are not inherit-ably bad. They commit crimes to make money or do drugs to feel good. They were brought up in a terrible situation with no real way out. For you to make comments that they are stupid because of the environment they group up in is just plain wrong. You do realize some of the inner city Buffalo high schools only have a 30% graduation rate. So for those kids who didn't graduate for various reasons, mainly the environment they were raised in, they have to be relegated to minimum wage jobs on which they have no hope to do anything else but those jobs and work 40+ hours a week just to survive. And then we wonder why people deal drugs, and go on welfare...
If you think a franchise owner is making a ton of money...go start a franchise by forking over hundreds of thousands of dollars and make it work. The reality is those businesses come with long hours and a ton of risk. But hey..we should just take that away because you want more from them without risk and long hours. Pathetic!
To suggest that it's somehow ok to commit crimes to make money or do drugs to feel good shows you're a fool.
You know what makes me feel good? A hard days work. It did when I worked at Tim Hortons in High School. It does now as a business owner.
People like you are the problem. People like you are the reason I feel no guilt for the poor. People like you feed racism and extend negative stereotypes because you try and paint a picture that those who do not have are helpless from making good decisions or doing anything on their own. You're the problem.
haha yes I am the problem. You don't know who I am. funny how you change your tone to a personal attack, shows your intellect.
And I understand your first point and it is a good one. So I think I agree with you about fast food chains somewhat. But walmart could certainly afford to pay $10 an hour. And yes if you are small business owner you shouldn't have to pay more because you can't afford to, you don't need to support your employees if you, yourself cannot support yourself.
Also I didn't suggest that drugs were by any means okay or good, but they are a part of the problem, and for some an attempt to get out of the ghetto. If you think everyone who sells drugs is bad you are just flat out wrong.
Poor people work hard too. They are not as highly educated, they didn't inherit money from the parents, they struggle everyday to support their kids and make ends meet, and that is very difficult at $8 an hour even for 60 hours a week. Just because the media paints a picture that the poor are lazy and are where they are because they are stupid is wrong, and an ignorant idea to have.
Maybe your just misinterpreting what my main point was. Hard work is good and people need to work hard, but it doesn't always get rewarded.
The sad part about the parking ramp having to pay a 'living wage' is the cost of parking just went up 30% for everyone.
Here's to hoping that most of the booth operators are replaced by machines.
Oh, I HAVE A MASTERS IN URBAN PLANNING and there are no entry level positions so I CLEAN. Your comment is ignorant of people's circumstances.
well people do. As my reply below many people work multiple minimum wage jobs just to live, because they don't have the money to go to school. So to make it a livable wage job will lessen their burden a little bit.
Why pay higher wages if there's someone else who would be happy to take the job at whatever wage is offered? There are plenty of people who pay no rent and live near transit or can drive to their work without some sort of big struggle. Jobs exist at whatever wage and if no one wants them they will more likely be eliminated than turned into salaried $100,000 positions. But of course the long lines of people who show up to apply will belie your argument.