The Planning Board will review plans on Monday for the Western New York Workforce Development Center, a new hub that will focus primarily on training for careers in the advanced manufacturing and energy sectors. The center will occupy a portion of an industrial building at 683 Northland Avenue that has sat vacant for 25 years.
The project consists of the stabilization, renovation, select demolition, remediation and redevelopment of 683 Northland to house the Workforce Training Center, as well as for providing industrial building space and shovel‐ready land for business attraction and expansion. The project is being funded by Empire State Development and the New York Power Authority as a major component of the Governor’s “Buffalo Billion” economic development initiative.
From the Project Application:
The larger Project Area includes properties at 537 East Delevan; 577, 631, 644, 664, 683, 690, 741, 767 and 777 Northland Avenue, and 126‐128 Dutton Avenue. BUDC has acquired all of the parcels within the Project area, through Nordel I, LLC and Nordel II, LLC. The property at 683 Northland and parking areas located at 664, 688 and 690 Northland are owned by 683 Northland LLC. BUDC proposes to redevelop the Site and parking areas as Phase I of the Project. 683 Northland LLC is a limited liability company whose sole member is BUDC.
Phase I involves the development of the Workforce Training Center at the Site and the rehabilitation of associated surface parking lots at the Parking Area. The Workforce Training Center will house administrative, classroom and shop facilities designed to train and turn out highly‐skilled members of the local workforce to meet the requirements of the twenty‐first century electric utility and advance manufacturing industries. In addition to the Workforce Training Center, it is anticipated that following stabilization and remediation, the remainder of the buildings within the Site will be primarily used for a mix of commercial and industrial uses, consistent with both existing and proposed zoning for this area of the City.
The purpose of the Project is to return these vacant, underutilized properties to productive use, assist with revitalizing the surrounding neighborhood and provide employment opportunities for nearby residents by creating a new manufacturing and employment hub on Buffalo’s East Side. The immediate Project Site borders a residential zone along Longview and Schauf Avenues and Chelsea Place. It is anticipated that the BUDC’s stabilization, remediation and redevelopment of the industrial properties will strengthen these areas, spur additional development and investment, and invigorate an established, mixed‐use neighborhood.
Watts Architecture & Engineering is designing the project.