Four hundred acres of land on the Outer Harbor will be transferred from the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) to the State, bringing expanded recreational opportunities and fostering redevelopment on Buffalo’s waterfront closer to reality. Under the proposal, the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) will acquire the land from NFTA to plan for future development and use, and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) will operate half of the property, encompassing the Small Boat Harbor and Gallagher Beach, as a new state park. A public process will also be launched to determine the future of an additional 130 acres of open land on the Outer Harbor and find ways on how the open space should be used to revive the waterfront.
“Buffalo is a beautiful lakefront city and the community deserves a world-class waterfront,” Governor Cuomo said. “Under this plan, we will take the first step of transforming Buffalo’s waterfront to invite new investment and businesses, and build a high-quality state park and the City’s first-ever public swimming beach to serve local residents and attract visitors alike.”
Under the plan, OPRHP will work to create a swimming beach at Gallagher Beach, which will be the first public swimming beach in the City of Buffalo. New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) recently completed improvements at Gallagher Beach, including a new pavilion, boardwalk, picnic tables and chess game tables, to turn it into a multi-functional gathering place.
In addition, a comprehensive public planning process will explore how to reuse the 130-acre lakefront parcel on the Outer Harbor by providing the public with the opportunity to convey their ideas and opinions regarding waterfront development. A consultant with expertise in community engagement and open space/mixed use planning will be employed to lead this effort. In addition, a nine member advisory committee consisting of five members appointed by the ECHDC and four members appointed by the Mayor will be established to offer recommendations on future development plans for the waterfront.
“This is the best possible outcome we could have imagined,” NFTA Chairman Howard Zemsky said. “Parks will ensure continual public access to the boat harbor and Gallagher beach, and those were the NFTA’s highest priorities. ECHDC specializes in waterfront planning/ development and NFTA specializes in transportation, this makes perfect sense. It couldn’t have happened without the Governor’s leadership and commitment to take public transit out of harm’s way from future environmental remediation costs. He broke through the logjam of what has stymied outer harbor progress for decades.”
This multi-party agreement will allow ECHDC and OPRHP to take over responsibility of the land from the NFTA and oversee its operation, maintenance and future development. Two port terminals included in the area, but not in the title, are expected to be sold or leased, breathing new life into two long abandoned waterfront structures and facilitating private sector investment and job growth. All parties agree that NFTA will operate the boat harbor during the 2014 boating season as part of the transition.
Major points of the agreement also include:
• ECHDC will take title of the Outer Harbor parcel remaining after NFTA sells Terminals A and B. ECHDC will take title to the port terminals if for any reason the expected sale of the port terminals does not occur.
• OPRHP will operate Gallagher Beach and the Small Boat Harbor as a new state park.
• State Parks will take control of the Small Boat Harbor by May 2015. Until then, NFTA staff will operate under supervision of OPRHP.
• OPRHP will operate Gallagher Beach, including exploring possibilities for creating a public swimming beach.
• ECHDC will pay $1 for the property.
• An advisory group will be established to review future development on the entire property.
• New York State will be responsible for all capital improvement costs and operations and maintenance of the property.
The NFTA has owned the 400 acres of waterfront property along Lake Erie known as Outer Harbor since the 1950s.
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