BUFFALO, NY - New plans are in the works for Buffalo's Waterfront, following the State's approval of millions of dollars for four projects.
The first contract is the biggest - nearly $4 million - for the construction of things like walking and biking trails, an urban bike path, and what they call "the great lawn." This is the area on the southern end of the outer harbor, before you get down to the State Park. Construction starts next month, and will take a year.
The second construction contract deals with about 140 acres of mostly vacant land on the outer harbor, and will include fixing up the Michigan Pier, doing a lot of environmental remediation, plus restoring some habitats.
Then come the two consulting projects.
The first will look at about 15 acres of land at the northern end of the harbor. They want to update this and have the Queen City Bike Ferry relocate to this area.
And finally, a consulting project to figure out what to do with Terminal B.
The building is 100,000 square feet, and they hope this indoor opportunity will turn the outer harbor into a 12-month destination.
"Would be a game-changer," said President of Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation, Tom Dee, "because you're not isolated and outside now. You have protection from the elements. You have programmatic elements that can happen inside, and you have food and beverage."
So there's now a lot in the works to transform the outer harbor - a little more than $7 million in projects approved just Monday, with the funding coming from the original Buffalo Billion and the Buffalo Billion 2.
Everything planned should be done by 2020.