Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that $709.2 million in economic and community development funding has been awarded through Round IV of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative statewide.
A centerpiece of the Governor’s strategy to jumpstart the economy and create jobs, the Regional Councils were established in 2011 to transform the State’s approach to economic development from a top-down model to one that is community-based and performance-driven. The initiative empowers community, business, and academic leaders, as well as members of the public in each region of the state, to develop strategic plans specifically tailored to their region’s unique strengths and resources in order to create jobs, improve quality of life and grow the economy.
Funding for Western New York totals $58.6 million supporting 69 projects. The largest Buffalo projects awarded economic development funding in Round IV include:
• $1.8 million to the Buffalo Sewer Authority Buffalo Green Site Restoration Demonstration Project. This project will implement a green infrastructure program on vacant lots in the city. Bioretention practices will be installed and inspected to confirm their compliance with post construction protocols developed through an EPA Technical Assistance Grant in 2014. The outcome of this project will identify barriers and opportunities associated with the full extension of bioretention treatments to the City’s typical annual 500+ site demolition program.
• $930,000 for TriMain Development’s Green Infrastructure Retrofit. The project will enhance a mixed use, commercial and art center, and business incubator. Green infrastructure practices include a green roof, a stormwater harvest and reuse sytem, and porous pavement. These practices will be used to reduce runoff and mitigate combined sewer overflows that contaminate the receiving waters of the Niagara River.
• $900,000 to People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) for the Buffalo Sustainability Community Initiative. The Community Sustainability Initiative project will strengthen the organization’s community-driven, nationally recognized sustainability district on Buffalo’s West Side; undertake renewable energy projects on three sites; and partner to generate 250 solar photovoltaic installations in low-to-moderate income communities across Western New York.
• $650,000 to the Erie Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus’ Pedestrian Bridge Construction Project. The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus will construct two above-ground pedestrian bridges connecting the new University at Buffalo (UB) School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; the new Coventus Medical Office Building; and UB Research Institute on Addictions.
• $500,000 to Erie County for the Bethlehem Steel Acquisition and Redevelopment. Erie County will purchase approximately 180 acres of brownfield property on the former Bethlehem Steel site and prepare the industrial zoned land to become shovel ready property. The site will include new public roads, sidewalks, street lighting, and sewer lines that will be available to new companies locating on such property.
• $329,643 to Blessed Trinity Catholic Church. The project will restore a quality tourism product, Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Church, through major repairs to its front entrance, roof and windows. The building is renowned as one of the finest examples of Lombard Romanesque architecture in the US. Restoration will complement other construction projects in the Fillmore-Leroy neighborhood. Restoration will employ local craftsmen and contribute to the burgeoning heritage tourism movement in the Buffalo-Niagara region.
• $250,000 to Gerard Place Housing Development Company’s New Employment Training Space. The Gerard Place Education and Community Center has offered transitional housing, education and linkage to employment skills training since 2000 for homeless mothers and their children. The Center will establish extensive training space in the former St. Gerard Parish Hall and School adjacent to its residential facility in Buffalo complete with new classrooms, a simulation room, and other capital improvements and renovations needed for the new training facility.
• $250,000 for Visit Buffalo Niagara Canadian Marketing Initiative. Visit Buffalo Niagara will use funds to implement the third phase of the Canadian Marketing Initiative, which is intended to build awareness of the shopping market in the Western NY region though increased advertising and market presence in key Southern Ontario markets.
• $193,590 towards the Trinity Church Antique Window Protection and Visibility Project. Trinity Church is internationally renowned for its collection of architecturally-significant stained glass windows, including the largest collection in the world of LaFarge and Tiffany windows in one place. This project aims to remove the existing, decades old, exterior coverings, replacing them with vented, aluminum framed, lexan storm windows. The clear lexan windows will increase exterior visibility.
• $150,000 to Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper’s Scajaquada Creek Paddlesport Launch. Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper will complete Phase 2 of the Paddlesport Micropark.
• $100,000 to Buffalo Arts and Technology Center, Inc.’s Pre-Training Literacy Program. Buffalo Arts and Technology Center will train 140 long-term unemployed workers in pre-training literacy.
• $99,600 to Catholic Charities of Buffalo Hospitality and Tourism Training. Catholic Charities of Buffalo will train 48 long-term unemployed workers in hospitality and tourism-specific customer service, communication/housekeeping/maintenance, food and beverage/SERVSAFE, pre-job placement and workplace readiness, on-the-job training, and debrief.
• $75,000 for Erie County’s Seneca Bluffs Natural Habitat Park. The grant will fund the purchase of a half acre of vacant frontage at 1270 Seneca Street. The parcel adjoins 11 acres of Seneca Bluffs Natural Habitat Park owned by the County. The acquisition will allow Erie County to improve the curb appeal of its habitat park, clean up a neighborhood eyesore and expand its existing three-car parking lot.
• $49,500 for the Burchfield Penney Art Center Front Yard Project High Luminosity Projectors. Burchfield Penney launched a groundbreaking public art project, Front Yard Project (FYP) – the world’s first environmentally-responsive, interactive, 3-channel, outdoor audio/video, multimedia installation – in October 2013. The museum will replace the current three projectors with higher-luminosity projectors, providing a more engaging and enjoyable experience for audiences while presenting artists’ video works in the manner in which they were intended to be seen and experienced.