Mayor Robert Restaino has consistently said it could cost taxpayers $150 million to develop the arena and “events campus” known as Centennial Park in Niagara Falls.
Documents obtained by the Niagara Gazette through a Freedom of Information Law request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development show Restaino’s administration estimated in 2022 that the total project cost could be $15 million higher, or $165 million.
During a recent interview with the newspaper, Restaino described the number as “hypothetical,” submitted to HUD along with other best estimates at a time when the administration was still considering pursuit of a federal loan to cover the cost of acquiring land for the project.
“We don’t want people to hang on these numbers,” Restaino said. “These are hypotheticals.”
The “hypothetical” numbers are included in a trio of documents HUD initially refused to release in response to the newspaper’s FOIL request which sought copies of any and all communications, including letters and emails, between the city and the federal agency as they related to Centennial Park between Jan. 1, 2020 and Aug. 31, 2023.
In its initial response in October, HUD turned over several pieces of project information while withholding three documents submitted by the city under the heading “Centennial Park Land Acquisition – Financial Assumptions.”
Restaino’s administration argued revealing the contents could “pose potential harm” to an ongoing eminent domain proceeding involving Niagara Falls Redevelopment, the private company that owns the 10 acres of land the mayor’s administration has targeted for Centennial Park’s development.
The newspaper filed an appeal with HUD, arguing that the documents were a matter of public record and that while the agency could redact potentially sensitive information prior to their release, it could not withhold them in their entirety.
Following a review by HUD’s Associate General Counsel for the Office of Ethics, Appeals and Federal Law, the agency agreed on Feb. 9 to release the financial documents in full.
At the time they were filed, the administration was still considering borrowing against the city’s annual allotment of Community Development Block Grant funds to secure a federal loan for up to $9.9 million to cover the cost of buying NFR’s land.
A majority of residents who spoke during a December 2022 public hearing on the loan proposal vigorously opposed the idea of using CDBG funds – generally earmarked for demolition of blighted buildings, road repairs and other community improvement efforts – for Centennial Park’s development.
During his interview with the newspaper, Restaino said the administration no longer intends to pursue the federal loan and will instead seek city council approval to enter into the bond market to obtain private financing for land acquisition funds. Restaino said he expects a request will be made to the council in the coming month.
“The whole idea of borrowing against our community block grant funding is really a non-starter,” he said. “It really doesn’t make sense.”
The mayor said the new financing plan won’t cost taxpayers any “new” money as the administration anticipates the new bond will come in at a lower cost than an existing infrastructure bond that is scheduled to be fully repaid in the coming year. The mayor described going to the bond market as a “much more affordable” option.
“There’s no new money that the taxpayers are going to contribute because the bond is already baked into the debt service,” he said.
The financial documents obtained by the Gazette show the city estimated the total project cost for Centennial Park’s to be $165 million, or $316.09 per square foot. The construction estimated is listed at $117.1 million, or 71% of the total project cost. The administration told HUD it expected the project to be completed in two years if the city is successful in securing the necessary funds to build Centennial Park.
Restaino said if the city can secure the land and the funds needed for Centennial Park, the administration does not envision the city operating itself but rather hiring a private firm with venue management experience to do so.
Council Chairman Jim Perry said he was not surprised by the $165 million cost. Like Restaino, Perry described the numbers as are more like projections, adding that he would not be surprised if, given rising costs and other factors that impact large-scale construction projects, Centennial Park ended up costing closer to $170 million.
Perry said he remains generally supportive of the administration’s efforts to pursue the project, believing, as Restaino does, that having an arena and “events campus” downtown would not only activate vacant land long-held by NFR but also boost local tourism and improve conditions for nearby business and hotel owners.
“If we follow the course we’re going, we’re going to have things close off and we’re going to continue to have businesses close down,” Perry said. “Either we take a bold step and move forward or we curl up in a ball and die.”
As to the potential amount the city may need to borrow to buy NFR”s land, Perry said the administration told him they estimate it will take between $7 million and $10 million, adding that city officials are “really fighting to keep it at 7 (million).”
Perry views it as the price the city will need to pay if it wants to go through with the project. The alternative, he said, would be to “trash the whole idea.”
“I’m thinking it’s going to be about $7 million,” Perry said. “The mayor is saying ‘we’ve got to prepare for $10 million.’ Either that, or we do nothing.”
Councilman Donta Myles, a frequent critic of Restaino who has consistently opposed efforts to develop Centennial Park, remains highly skeptical that the project will live up to its billing. He said he’s also concerned about the potential high cost to taxpayers involved.
“The last number I heard was $150 million,” Myles said. “It’s already ugly enough at $150 million.”
Restaino said the administration will soon seek council approval for an agreement to hire a consultant to produce a more comprehensive feasibility study for Centennial Park.
Myles said a full examination of the project’s feasibility should have been done a long time ago, before the city started spending money on legal fees in its ongoing eminent domain legal battle over NFR’s 10 acres.
Absent a feasibility study, Myles said there’s no way to know how much it will cost the city to operate Centennial Park or if the project has the potential to turn a profit long-term.
“We don’t have the funding to build this center and animate it,” he said. “Then who is going to do the marketing? You’ve got to pay.”
“You are building it just to build. You are monument building,” he added.