Erie Canal Harbor Development
Corporation (ECHDC) is a subsidiary of Empire State Development and
was created to spearhead the city of Buffalo’s waterfront
redevelopment effort. ECHDC’s mission is to revitalize Buffalo’s
inner and outer harbor areas and restore economic growth to Western
New York, based on the region’s legacy of pride, urban significance
and natural beauty.
ECHDC’s activities are governed by an active Board of Directors,
made up of many of Western New York’s most prominent business
figures. In addition, the Chairman & CEO of Empire State
Development participates on the Board of Directors as a non-voting
member.
Since its foundation in 2005, ECHDC has
taken an aggressive approach to waterfront redevelopment, resulting
in significant progress over a very short amount of time.
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For instance, the Corporation
recently completed work on the
$53 million Erie Canal Harbor Redevelopment Project,
which revitalized 12.5 acres of idle waterfront space into a
contemporary downtown tourist destination.
This project incorporates
many historic elements of the original Erie Canal and
celebrates Buffalo’s role as the important western terminus
of this modern engineering marvel. |
In
addition, ECHDC has been instrumental in advancing the overall
“Canal Side” project, which focuses on developing 23 acres of
Buffalo’s inner harbor
lands for public, commercial, residential and
other mixed-uses. This redevelopment effort includes several
substantial construction projects, including reclamation,
asbestos remediation and demolition of the Buffalo
Memorial Auditorium ("Aud"), as well as reclamation,
asbestos remediation and refurbishment of the General
Donovan State Office Building, which are both situation on
the proposed “Canal Side” site. |
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Recent ECHDC activity regarding
Buffalo’s outer harbor has mainly focused on securing
several of the area’s largest land parcels, in order to
transform these lots into park space, and also prepare them
for eventual redevelopment.
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The Corporation recently
finalized an agreement with Cargill, Inc. to purchase a
seven acre parcel located directly next to the New York
Power Authority’s (NYPA) ice boom storage site.
ECHDC is also in negotiations
with NYPA and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
over the acquisition and transfer of an additional 125+
acres of outer harbor lands.
In addition, ECHDC is focused
on reestablishing access between the inner and out harbor
areas, As a result, the Corporation is helping spearhead the
Buffalo Harbor Bridge Study, which seeks to determine
possible locations and structure options for a rapid access
vehicle and pedestrian connector between the inner and outer
harbor. This study is being funded through a partnership
between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA),
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New York State Department
of Transportation (NYSDOT) and Empire State Development
(ESD). |
In 2007, with the help of the Governor’s office and many other key
elected officials, ECHDC struck a historic agreement with the New
York Power Authority under the Niagara Power Project Re-Licensing
process. This agreement provides a steady stream of funds to the
Corporation, at the tune of $3.5 million per year, for the next 50
years. |
