SHOVEL READY SITE DEVELOPMENT

by queenseyes

After reading an article recently in Business First, I was intrigued by the possibility of site remediation for land that has been off the city’s radar for years. The term ‘shovel ready’ makes a lot of Buffalo Rising readers shudder. In a city like Buffalo it is understandable since we have so many beautiful vacant buildings. The good news is that nine properties have recently been identified by the City of Buffalo and Buffalo Urban Development Corporation (BUDC) as potential candidates for future re-use. The City and BUDC have submitted applications to the Niagara Region Brownfields Coalition (NRBC) for funding to assist with environmental investigations of these sites. The NRBC is a coalition made up of the City of Buffalo, City of Niagara Falls, Erie County and Niagara County, and the funding would come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

I spoke with Dave Stebbins (BUDC/ECIDA) earlier today who sounded excited about the prospects of these developments. “Each property is different in many ways," Stebbins told me. "Some sites are owned by The City, some by the BERC, and others are in private hands. We have identified some high-profile parcels of land that we would like to see shovel ready in the near future. Many prospective businesses and property owners won’t look at a property if there are built-in demo costs or unknown environmental impact costs. This is a unique opportunity to obtain funding to investigate multiple sites in order to get these properties ready for future re-use.”

The below-noted properties are some of the areas most notorious parcels of land when it comes to problem properties. They are either highly visible, or located near other successful developments, etc. For example, the problem properties on Porter Avenue – the former Peace Bridge Exhibition Center - have been languishing for years in full view of world travelers visiting the region. Even though the land is not designated as ‘brownfield’, the NRBC is not being particular when it comes to the label. Many of the problems found on plots of land like the ones on Porter Avenue require the same sort of attention that an actual brownfield would demand.

We will know soon enough whether The City will be successful in its efforts. There are high hopes that the joint effort will make a powerful push in the right direction. “This is also the first time that we have seen different factions come together with a common goal. Mayor Brown has made the re-use of these properties a high priority,” said Stebbins. “Most of the sites are publicly owned, and we are concerned about them… we must move forward and conduct due diligence now, so when the time is right the sites are ready to move.”

SHOVEL READY SITE DEVELOPMENT Niagara Region Brownfield Coalition Environmental Site Assessment Candidates

Hydroponics site (1176 South Park Ave., etc.) – Phase 2

170-172 Germania Street – Phase 1

Shenango; 1750 Fuhrmann Blvd. (BLCP) – Phase 2

Black Rock Yard (CSX) – Phase 1

59 Memorial Drive – Phase 2

Porter Avenue 1 (602 Fourth Street) – Phase 2

Porter Avenue 2 (640 Fourth Street) – Phase 1

260 Chandler Street – Phase 2

Jefferson-Genesee block (northeast corner to Carlton) – Phase 1