Map Of Tours

 

PART 1 – WALKING TOUR

Naval and Servicemen's Park (Museum)

• Includes the U.S.S. Little Rock, U.S.S. Croaker & U.S.S. The Sullivans
• The Sullivans is on the National Register of Historic Places
• New Naval Basin and relocation of naval vessels was part of first phase of Erie Canal Harbor project
• Open April-November
• They offer tours, exhibits, programs & the use of facilities for private functions
• Hero's Walk area also part of first phase of Erie Canal Harbor; commemorates Buffalo's contributions to our armed services and armed conflicts; completed in 2003.
• A new Museum building will be built as part of the second phase of the Erie Canal Harbor Project

Erie Canal Harbor Project Development Site:

• A $49 million infrastructure project
• Redeveloping approximately 12.5 acres of waterfront into a contemporary tourism destination
• Includes the construction of a series of landside improvements to facilitate and enhance public access to the water, connect existing pedestrian and bicycle path systems and to provide opportunities for private development.
• Also includes reconstruction of the historic Commercial Slip, commemorating the significance of the Erie Canal and the economic birthplace of Buffalo
• Also includes construction of a new Naval Museum building and recreation of the Central Wharf
• Phase I was completed in 2003 and included the Naval Basin & promenade
• Phase II construction will begin in July 2005 – starting with the demolition of the Hamburg Drain and the reconstruction of the Commercial Slip
• The expected completion date is October 2007

Bass Pro Development (Aud)

• It will be Bass Pro's third largest retail store
• The project will invest $57 million in downtown
• One of the company's first in an urban setting
• The company develops its stores with an eye toward integration with the unique local community environment they are to be a part of and includes local history, conservation, and place-based themes in its stores' design
• Expected to attract 3-5 million patrons a year
• Will draw from a 300 mile radius: upstate NY, western PA, northern Ohio, and southern Ontario
• The desired completion date is October 2007

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Donovan Building / Inner Harbor Parking facility

• Will be vacated by January 2006; OGS securing space for tenants now.
• The building will undergo asbestos abatement in early 2006 and be demolished by October 2006
• The site will be used for the creation of an Inner Harbor Parking Facility that will provide 1,000 parking spaces to serve Bass Pro and all of the Inner Harbor developments.
• Construction will start in October 2006 and be completed October 2007
• Public hearing on July 14th 5::00 to 7:00 at ECC City Campus

Wilkinson Plaza

• Cost $200,000 funded entirely by NFTA
• By creating public access to the terminal, the NFTA is laying the foundation for economic development of the 80,000 sq. ft. space on the second floor

Bricks for Buffalo

• The Women's walkway (outer perimeter of plaza) was constructed in 2001, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Pan American Exposition.
• The Women's Walkway includes granite stones honoring 100 women of the past who have contributed in a profound way to Western New York.
• The Plaza Walkway (next to the Buffalo River) was constructed in 2002
• Purchased items are engraved periodically each year

DL&W Promenade (along the Buffalo River)

• Part of a $1.7 million project which included the promenade, the bike path which extends to Gallagher Beach and the installation of a stop light.
• In addition $2 million has recently been put into repairing the concrete overhangs and installing new railings in order to ensure security for pedestrians.

Edward M. Cotter

• Arrived in Buffalo in 1900, with it's original name the "Grattan"
• Oil fire on the Buffalo River nearly completely destroyed the boat
• Renamed and rebuilt in 1954
• Designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Parks Service in 1996
• Currently in full use to fight fires, break up ice in the Buffalo River, ice and open water rescue, and assisting the police

Cobblestone District Development

• Developers Sam Savarino and Chris Jacobs are planning on redeveloping several building along Mississippi Street to create a mixed use district with residential, office and restaurants.
• Ben Obletz, First Amherst developed new loft housing at Lofts at Elk Terminal
• Building on historic fabric
• Link with downtown via streetscape, trolley, signage

Map Of Tours

PART 2 – BUS TOUR – BUFFALO RIVER SECTION

Cobblestone District –Buffalo River Access Project

• Involves temporary docks being put into the Buffalo River adjacent to the Michigan St. Bridge
• Will provide water access to the Cobblestone District
• Part of a citizen effort led by the Valley Community Association, Rick Smith of Rigidized Metals, Mike Sendor of Nussbaumer & Clarke, and the Partnership's Waterfront Action Group.
• Future potential to re-create "Water Street" –wooden wharf along river's edge for public shoreline access

Buffalo River Remediation Project

· The Friends of the Buffalo and Niagara Rivers is serving as the local sponsor for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study to investigate options to remediate the Buffalo River in order to improve water quality and secure or remove contaminated sediments.

Ohio Street Pedestrian-Bicycle Trail Project

• Phase II of Outer Harbor Greenway Trail Project
• Off-road bicycle and pedestrian trail to connect DL&W gazebo and plaza with Boat Harbor and Outer Harbor trail
• In Final design
• Cost: $1.2 million
• Project manager: City of Buffalo Public Works
• Construction start: April 2006
• Completion: November 2006

Ohio Street Boat Launch Site

• Facility to launch kayaks and canoes into the Buffalo River
• Built by New York State Department of the Environmental Conservation
• Maintained by the County of Erie
• One of a series of passive and natural park areas on the Buffalo River – also Smith Street Park, Old Bailey Woods, Seneca Bluffs, Houghton Park

Bison Rod and Gun Club

• Private club Sportsmen's Club on the Buffalo River
• Established in 1934
• Moved to this location in 1990's from Seaway Pier (Outer Harbor) area
• Docks on the river for club members

· Reconstruction of Ohio Street from Michigan Avenue to Fuhrmann Blvd. is part of the planned Southtowns Connector Project. Estimated cost - $7 million.

 

Map Of Tours

PART 3 – BUS TOUR – OUTER HARBOR

Gallagher Beach/ Boat Harbor/ State Park

• Currently operated by the NFTA
• Soon to be turned over to the New York State Park system as the 1st State Park in the City of Buffalo
• Attractions include a new boardwalk that extends the length of the harbor through Gallagher beach, a small boat/ personal watercraft launch, beach access, bike-ways, & a playground. The first phase was completed in the Fall of 2001; the 2ndf phase was substantially completed last summer
• Construction of Gallagher Beach and other park improvements were initiated by then-Assemblyman Brian Higgins with a grant from New York State.
• The total cost of the recent Boat Harbor improvements was $2.5 million
• The New York State Park system plans to make an investment of $1.2 million in improvements which, include a playground and spray pool
• Expected to start construction on the State Park improvements this Fall, 2005 and to be completed by next Summer 2006.

Bethlehem Steel Redevelopment

• A Total of 1,100 acres of Lakefront Property
• Erie County and the owner of the property – ISG –recently announced a partnership to jointly redevelop the former Bethlehem Steel property with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.
• ISG will complete demolition of the remaining coke ovens.
• ISG has committed $5 million in seed funds and County has allocated $2 million in State Multi-Modal funds.
• Redevelopment will include a new business park along Route 5, a wind farm and recreation areas along the lake, and Inter-modal development around the Bethlehem Ship Canal

Gateway Metro Port

• It is The Port of Buffalo
• Relocated from NFTA's Outer Harbor in 1982 – which presented the opportunity to redevelop the Outer Harbor
• Come in by ship out by rail or truck
• Warehouse, industrial & dock space
• Ranks 28th among all U.S. seaports and seventh of the Great Lakes ports
• Over the past decade it there's been steady improvement and expansion of Port facilities.
• In the future, it is expected to strongly emphasize more energy efficient transportation

Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park

• $10 million project for roads and infrastructure
• One of the largest brownfield remediation projects in WNY
• Completed in 2004 - all necessary roads and utilities for future development on 70 acres – 9 parcels
• Certain Teed, a company specializing in making decks, railings, and fencing is the first tenant
  • 150 jobs
  • $10 million private investment
• Phase II will create an additional 20-60 acres of shovel-ready land
• Expected date of completion for the next phase is 2007

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Union Ship Canal Park

• Will retain 200ft of greens-space between the canal and the Business Park
• Will contain pathways, trails and park benches and other passive recreational amenities, including development of new aquatic habitats
• Project is co-managed by the City of Buffalo and the County of Erie.
• This project is currently in its design stages.
• Malcolm Pirnie and Wendel Duchsherer are the design consultants

Southtowns Connector Project

• Outer Harbor access project
• Will allow for easier access to the Outer Harbor by re-engineering Route 5 and Fuhrmann Blvd; 3 alternatives for these modifications
• The Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be released to the public the first week of July and public hearings will be held on August 10 and August 11th
• Total cost of the project is approximately $145 million, although the implementation will be broken down into phases.
• Congressman Higgins has secured over $17 million in Federal funding for the first phase of the project.
• There are also plans to build an east west connecting road from Interstate 190 to Tifft St. and make improvements to Ohio St.

Tifft Nature Preserve

(1858-1883) Owned by the Tifft family. served as their family farm

(1900) Part of Lehigh Valley RR Coal Docks, connected to the Buffalo River via the City Ship Canal, with 12 shipping lines docked 83 vessels at Tifft

(1972) Land purchased by the city

(1973) Waste transferred from Squaw Island to make room for new sewage treatment plant and property established as a Nature Preserve with paths and other recreation improvements constructed.

(1976) Organized as a non-profit

(1982) Began being managed by the Museum of Science

• Largest nature preserve in Buffalo (264 acre)
• City-owned and operated by the Buffalo Museum of Science
• Contains various marshlands, ponds, wetlands, and grassy fields
• It has been proposed that the preserve be taken over by the New York State Park system

Coast Guard Station

• Currently directs 185 active duty members, 102 reserve members and controls 25 multi-mission boats
• The group provides operational, logistical, engineering and administrative support for 10 multi-mission stations.

Map Of Tours
Greenway Trail Project

• Phase I was completed this month - June 2005 at a cost of approximately $1 million
• Begins at the NFTA boat harbor and continues north along Fuhrmann Blvd. to the U.S. Coast Guard base
• Gives an additional 2.5 miles to pedestrians and cyclists along Buffalo's waterfront
• Connects the recently completed NFTA Beach Access Improvements to the regional Riverwalk system
• Phase II will start construction next April, 2006 and will be completed by the end of next year.
• Phase II will create an off-road bicycle and pedestrian trail along Ohio Street from the Outer Harbor/Boat Harbor to the DL&W mini-park and Cotter mooring area
• The total cost of Phase II of the project is $1.2 million

Times Beach Nature Preserve

• Times Beach was a beach prior to the 1950's
• It was developed into a Diked Disposal Area by the Army Corps of Engineers for depositing dredged materials from the Buffalo River and Outer Harbor.
• The Corps stopped using the facility in the 1970's
• Over time, the site evolved into a migratory waterfowl habitat
• The current public access improvements are part of a coordinated effort among the City, County, Corps of Engineers, DEC and a citizens group.
• Phase I has been completed at a cost of $500,000
• Phase II has been designed and will include trails, a boardwalk system, a fishing pier and bird watching access; construction will start in August of this year
• Expected to be completed in spring of 2006

Buffalo Lighthouse

• Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
• Owned by the Coast Guard, but leased to the Buffalo Lighthouse Association for restoration
• Built in 1833
• The base is made of the original lighthouse, built in 1818
• It is a relatively uncommon octagonal shape, to make it identifiable to sailors
• Built with locally-available limestone blocks
• Served as a look-out station during the rum-running days of Prohibition
• Used to store explosives during the 1950's
• The lighthouse, which had been dark for many years was re-lit to open the first international Friendship Festival in 1987

Outer Harbor Green Belt

• The Outer Harbor Greenbelt project area forms the western edge of the 120 acres of NFTA's Outer Harbor property
• The project is technically a brownfield remediation project, with $3.6 million in funding from DEC
• It will great a public access corridor along the entire shoreline, and includes shoreline protection and extensions of the regional Greenway pedestrian and bicycle trails
• It will also include development of new aquatic habitats along the shoreline
• Provides a public amenity for future redevelopment
• Will include waterfront access as well as green-space
• Construction is expected to start in February of 2006 and will be completed in June of 2007.

Buffalo Lakefront Development

• Key team members: Opus & Uniland

• 120 acres of waterfront land owned by the NFTA
• Former Port of Buffalo
• The proposal encourages a mixed-use development, including residential, commercial, cultural, civic and open space along with hospitality services, a town center, sports complex and water access.
• Since the plan does not rely on the development of office or industrial space, it does not compete with the Central Business District or adjacent industrial parks.
• Dedicating over 20 acres of the site to green space and public use.

Map Of Tours

PART 4 – BUS TOUR – TRAVEL TO NIAGARA RIVER SECTION

Pass By:

HealthNow Site

• HealthNow will relocate its corporate offices of 1,200 employees from its current location on Main Street adjacent to Canisius College
• The Project will build a new 425,000 sf office building, remediating a contaminated site currently owned by National Fuel and preserving the historic façade of the former Buffalo Gas Works
• The total project cost is approximately $87.5 million
• 2007 is the expected completion date

Squaw Island Park

• Converted landfill that is being redeveloped as a Natural park for fishing, bird watching and picnicking, all of which totaled $11.5 million
• The park was opened to the public late last year (2004)
• It is connected to the Riverwalk trail
• $100,000 has been allocated to make improvements to the park entrance, that will be bid this July
• There will be a Phase II of park improvements, contingent on available funding

Broderick Park

• Once a stop in the underground railroad
• The last stop before escaped slaves crossed the river to freedom into Canada
• The original site of the West Side Rowing Club

West Side Rowing Club

• Formed in 1912 with the purpose of teaching the sport of rowing to the youth of Western New York
• A non-profit organization run by volunteers
• Original Club-house burned down in 1975 (on Broderick Park site) and lost all but 7 of it's shells
• Clubhouse was rebuilt on the current site and now has over 60 shells
• The club sponsors many programs: learn-to-row for adults and youth, High School, adult recreational and highly competitive men's and women's Master's program.
• Has produced 10 Olympians & 34 national U.S. team members

Frank Lloyd Wright Boathouse

• A favorite design of Frank Lloyd Wright's that was never built
• Will serve as a working boathouse for rowing clubs, in addition to being a tourist attraction
• Fund raising efforts to secure $5 million for construction of the boathouse are almost completed and construction could start this Fall 2005.

Buffalo State College Waterfront Campus

• The Great Lakes Research Center is a state-of-the-art research facility focusing on understanding the physical, chemical, and biological make-up of the Lower Great Lakes and their contributing waterways.
• The Community Teaching Pavilion, completed in October 2005, is a multi-purpose facility that can be used for classes, meetings, and ceremonies. It is intended for use by Buffalo State College and the Western New York Community
• The Waterfront Campus will also include a Maritime Center that will serve as a permanent home for its collection of historic boats, as well as a design and construction laboratory for Buffalo State's Watercraft Studies Program. The Center will also sponsor community events, outreach programs, educational programs and exhibitions.
• The planned development will also feature EcoLab, a K-12 education facility focused on the natural environments of Western New York. This facility will be used to encourage pre-college students, their families, and their teachers to collaborate in investigations of the natural environment.

Yacht Club Development

• Formed in 1860
• Several of the first clubhouses were built on the Bird Island Pier
• In 1893 it was moved to the foot of Porter opposite the Colonel Ward Pumping Station, that same year it was relocated to its present location.
• Partially destroyed in a fire in 1951, but quickly rebuilt
• The club also owns a retreat in Point Abino, Ontario, just around the beach from Crystal Beach

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LaSalle Park

• Largest waterfront park in the City of Buffalo; almost 70 acres
• The park has pathways, public space for picnicking, baseball diamonds, soccer fields and a performance center
• City completed 1st 3 phases ($3.5 million) of $10 million Master Plan
• Completion of additional phases contingent upon repairs to seawall and securing additional funding.
• Army Corps of Engineers is currently investigating plans to reconstruct the park's seawall.

Colonel Ward Pumping Station

• When it was constructed it was the largest pumping plant in the United States
• Today it's still one of the largest and most well-equipped water treatment and pumping stations in the world
• The site was originally completely underwater
• They dredged a tunnel from the old pumping station to the site of the new one
• It was the largest work of it's kind undertaken on the Great Lakes
• The rock that was excavated from the tunnel provided fill for the new pumping station to be built on

Waterfront Village

• Built on the site of a former obsolete marine terminal
• Part of Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Plan
• Developments began in the late 1970's
• The most recent development was in 2001
• Includes 238 housing units

Harbour Pointe (1981) 20 Townhouses

Rivermist (1983) 37 Townhouses

The Breakwaters (1984) 48 Townhouses

Marina Village (1984) 24 Condos

Gull Landing (1987) 23 Condos

Portside (1988) 19 Townhouses

Admiral's Walk (1988) 52 Condos

50 Waterfront Circle (2001) 5 Townhouses

• Total Assessment: over $61 million
• Still a vacant 5.6 acre parcel next to Admiral's Walk
  • Development Proposals solicited by City
  • Development decisions have not been made (Ellicott vs. Norstar)

ERIE STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROPOSALS

· City developing plans to restore Erie Street to its original alignment.

· Improve access from downtown (Main Street – former Shelton Square) to the waterfront

· Create urban development parcels – more urban village /Elmwood Avenue type of development versus suburban development and surface parking lots

END AT SHANGHAI REDS

• New $5 million waterfront restaurant developed by Specialty Restaurants
• Site of former Crawdaddy's

Map Of Tours