The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation announced today that a tripartite “predevelopment agreement” had been reached between it, Benderson Development, and the popular retailer Bass Pro.
ECHDC Chairman Anthony Gioia called the agreement “exciting” and a “new beginning” for Buffalo waterfront development.
Larry Quinn, who spearheaded the recent effort to attract Bass Pro to Buffalo’s waterfront alluded to the 3-year old non-binding deal to site the store in the mothballed Memorial Auditorium. Quinn said that, when the ECHDC came on board, it took another look at that deal and would see what was really possible. Instead of a single deal for a single store in a single structure, the ECHDC looked at repositioning downtown Buffalo to the inner harbor waterfront.
The hope is that the project, when complete, will include both sides of the Buffalo River. With money from the recent re-authorization of the New York Power Authority’s operation of the Niagara Hydroelectric plant, a street-level bridge to the outer harbor will hopefully be built.
An impressive slideshow displayed what the new “Canal Side” project will look like. Bass Pro wanted to build its store in a building that resembled what was on Buffalo’s waterfront in the mid-19th century. The overall project will include mixed-use properties on four city blocks, include 1,300 parking spots, and with Benderson as the master developer, it is expected that their experience, coupled with Bass Pro as a major anchor draw, the project will be unlike any other downtown has ever seen.
Included in the renderings was an aquarium with a glass wall that would enable passersby to see the tank, along with the 40,000 square foot “Hanover Market” that will feature local merchants and retailers, and provide them with an entree to what is expected to be a popular destination.
When all is said and done, this project will be three times larger than the Bass-Pro-in-the-Aud project, and twice as large as the first phase of Baltimore’s harbor development.
$25 million in public money will be devoted to preparing the Aud’s site for construction, and also to construct the building’s outer shell. Bass Pro will construct the remainder of the building, and will pay an annual $300,000 fee for the right to site at that location. Money has also been set aside to demolish the old Aud, and to attract “special tenancies”. Eric Recoon from Benderson described that as money that can be used in the future to attract retailers or businesses who would not come to Buffalo without certain expenditures or incentives.
Quinn pointed out that the four parcels that make up this project have not earned the city a penny of property tax revenue over the past 50 years, and that the tax base is estimated to increase by $10 million after the first phase is completed.
Gioia reiterated that the money is in place, and this is really going to happen.
Recoon stated that Benderson will use its 60 years’ worth of experience to create a world-class destination for people to live, work, shop, and stay. Bass Pro was key to Benderson’s involvement, and other national retailers are overjoyed to do business with a project that can boast a Bass Pro as an anchor tenant.
Bass Pro’s Jim Hagale thanked Buffalonians for their patience, and mentioned that the company is very cautious. They don’t build 75 stores a year, but 5. He stated that the region will soon embrace this unique store as their own. He also responded to questions whether the store will be successful thusly: “It’s a no-brainer. We sell bait and boats. You have water.”
The entire project takes up 755k square feet.
It is called a “predevelopment agreement” because environmental impact studies must be completed, and the deal cannot be completed until that time, but Quinn noted that the deal was final and binding. In addition, a land transfer agreement with the City of Buffalo must be negotiated in order to finalize the deal. There will be a progressive non-discrimination/affirmative action requirement in place for contractors on the project, and an operating agreement will be executed to ensure that the whole area is maintained in a top-flight manner.
The project will be vetted by an architectural review committee, and County Executive Joel Giambra wishes that one of the architects be appointed by the county, and that two additional ones have experience with historical preservation, heritage tourism, or historical urban architecture.
Congressman Brian Higgins (D-Buffalo) noted that the waterfront was what made Buffalo great, and it will make it great again in the future. The city finalized the Bass Pro deal from a position of pride rather than weakness, and he was proud of that.
Giambra pointedly stated that it was ridiculous for anyone to think that this project’s design was an “abomination”, as stated by preservationist Tim Tielman in Friday’s Buffalo News. Quinn noted that the picture of the commercial slip from the 1850s didn’t show any parkland along the water.
Afterwards, Mayor Byron Brown said that he thought that December’s 30-day deadline certainly was helpful in getting us to this point. It lent some urgency to the negotiations and helped get things moving along again. He also had not considered, but liked the idea, of the city auctioning off any salvageable fixtures in the old Aud so that people could preserve their memories and city history, and that the city could raise some needed revenue.
Alan Bedenko is the author of the website BuffaloPundit.com and a contributing author to many other blogs. He is the president of the WNY Coalition for Progress. This column originally was posted on BuffaloPundit.com
© Alan Bedenko, 2007.
The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the WNY Coalition for Progress.
A New Beginning?