With Negotiations in the Final Phase, Schumer Urges NFTA and Uniland to Include Three Critical Elements in Outer Harbor Plan

With Negotiations In The Final Phase, Schumer Urges NFTA And Uniland To Include Three Critical Elements In Outer Harbor Plan

Senator Stresses That Agreement Must Incorporate Sections Parceled Off For Diverse Mix of Uses, Office Space to Attract New Large Scale Employers, And One Public Entity in Charge of Waterfront Development

Schumer: We Need Activity Along The Waterfront 24-7, 365 Days A Year; The Waterfront Must Become The Vibrant Destination For Work, Play and New Families

With negotiations over the development agreement for the Outer Harbor in the final phase, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on both the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) and Uniland/Opus Lakefront Development Team to include three critical elements that will ensure the area's success. Schumer, a longtime waterfront development advocate, believes the Inner and Outer Harbors can, and must, be transformed into a balanced mix of commercial office space to attract new employers, parkland and a thriving community for the City of Buffalo.

Today, Schumer urged the NFTA and Uniland to include in their final agreement provisions that allow parceling off smaller sections for specialized developers to ensure a diverse mixed use; the development of job-inducing office space along the Outer Harbor; and one public entity assume eventual responsibility for the development of the waterfront.

"We are at a critical juncture for a waterfront that is just bursting with potential for the future of Buffalo," Schumer said. "We must use this opportunity to inject a new vigor into this project - the NFTA and the Lakefront Development Team must conclude their negotiations A.S.A.P., and they must do so in a way that allows for the development of a balanced, dynamic 24-7 waterfront filled with new jobs, new parks and new homes."

• First, Schumer said the agreement should include a proven development principle followed by the successful waterfront Battery Park City project: parceling off smaller sections of the project for specialized developers. This would involve parceling the Outer Harbor into smaller sections, to be bid out to specialized developers in a competitive, public process. These pieces of the waterfront would be developed in accordance with the overall development plan agreed to between NFTA and Lakefront Development and will allow for a more flexible, organic and dynamic development plan that will give different developers the opportunity to what they do best. This would provide a diverse mix of uses along the waterfront - from recreation and retail to residential and office space, and we need to have developers doing what they do best in the context of an overall design. Schumer said that choosing the best developer for the parcels should be done in a competitive and public way - perhaps with a board of interested parties such as NFTA, Lakefront Development, City of Buffalo and the Erie Harbor Canal Development Corporation providing guidance and input to the decision.

• Second, Schumer stressed that it is critical that the agreement include provisions that allow for the development of significant job-inducing office space along the Outer Harbor. Schumer has said that with the development of the waterfront, Buffalo has a unique opportunity to attract top-notch employers to an attractive new environment. In the process of attracting large new employers, such as HealthNow and GEICO, to the area, Schumer believe economic development officials have a greater chance of landing new job creating business when they have a menu of location options to offer. The mixed use development will retain young people and attract newcomers who want to access the best of urban living - an exciting place to live, to work, and to play all at their fingertips. This effort must be synchronized with existing planning efforts, such as the master plan of the City of Buffalo, so that various nodes of economic development like the waterfront and the Downtown can both grow in a mutually beneficial way. • Lastly, in terms of accountability, efficiency and success, Schumer stressed that it is critical that one - and only one - public entity assume eventual responsibility for the development of the waterfront. With the creation of the Erie Harbor Canal Development Corporation, there is a functioning public agency dedicated exclusively to waterfront development. As this organization matures and embraces its full mandate to develop Buffalo's whole waterfront, Schumer said the NFTA should turn over its control of the Outer Harbor to the EHCDC so that it can oversee a cohesive development of both the Outer Harbor and Inner Harbor. "It is promising that there will be a final agreement within the next month," Schumer said. "However, it is essential that the plan for the Outer Harbor include elements that will help it to thrive. Adding office space is critical to making the waterfront vibrant both during the day and after work. Enabling sections to be parceled off will ensure that the Outer Harbor plan is flexible and will lead to faster, smarter development. Finally, having one - and only one - public entity with the tools necessary to keep development moving forward and maintain the Outer Harbor is essential. We want to develop the waterfront into an area with constant activity and vitality that will contribute to the transformation of the City and entire region."

In a personal letter to Gregg Stamm, Chair of the NFTA and Carl Montante of Uniland, Schumer wrote, "As I have stated before, I have seen this formula: the mix of residential, retail, recreation and office space prove successful in Battery Park City along Lower Manhattan's waterfront. I know it can be the key to the success of waterfront development in Buffalo too. In Western New York, we have long struggled to retain our youth who often move away after college. As a result, employers cannot find the type of young talent they require, and the entire region suffers. I believe that creating a lively waterfront could be the best tool we have to attract the new businesses that will entice our young workforce to stay in Buffalo, even as we create attractive new public spaces and new residential communities."

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/record.cfm?id=261279&&year=2006&