The Outer Harbor General Project Plan has been affirmed.
On February 8, 2021 Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation Board of Directors affirmed the General Project Plan (GPP) for the Buffalo Outer Harbor Civic and Land Use Improvement Project.
This affirmation of the GPP is the culmination of six years of planning, community engagement and coordination with the City of Buffalo and other entities and outlines future improvements that will be made to the city’s Lake Erie waterfront to build on improvements that have been recently completed by EHCDC.
This important step formally prioritizes the projects presented in the 2019 Outer Harbor Preferred Plan. Additionally, it sets forth an initial list of project components that will undergo final design in 2021, with construction starting soon thereafter.
The project will be done in phases, with completion over a 20-year span, or as funding becomes available. Phase 1, estimated to cost $44 million, will be funded by the Buffalo Billion, ECHDC—via the New York Power Authority (NYPA) through relicensing agreements tied to the operation of the Niagara Power Project—and federal sources. This initial phase, which will begin by the end of 2021, includes the creation of new and enhanced open spaces, increased land and water access, the addition of comfort stations, and passive and active recreational amenities. Improvements on over 50 acres of upland and watered property, including the creation of an aquatic habitat in Slip No. 3, rehabilitation of Terminal B, and upgrades at Bell Slip and Wilkeson Pointe would occur during this first phase. The total GPP project budget is estimated to be $151 million. Later phases will be implemented when funding is secured.
