With a settlement in place that will end years of litigation and clear the way for the development of both the proposed Centennial Park and Niagara Digital Campus projects, Falls Mayor Robert Restaino said Thursday that the city can now begin to “take control” of its plan to develop a year-round events center.
“Last night was very important for the city of Niagara Falls,” the mayor said at a late morning news conference. “Everyone has been asking us (since the Centennial Park project was proposed), ‘Do you have the land?’ Now we can respond with a resounding, ‘Yes.’ “
Restaino thanked Falls City Council members who approved an 88-page stipulated settlement order that requires Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) to “donate” 10 acres of land, located at the intersection of 10th and Falls streets, to the city. The city had sought the land, through eminent domain and other legal proceedings, to be used for the Centennial Park project.
In exchange for the land, the city has agreed to grant NFR all of the approvals necessary for the South End landowner to create a Planned Unit Development (PUD), which would allow for the construction of a $1.5 billion data center known as the Niagara Digital Campus, adjacent to the proposed Centennial Park.
NFR spokesman James Haggerty emailed a statement Thursday morning, “We are pleased that the City Council has approved the settlement of all litigation between NFR and the City of Niagara Falls, and has established the Planned Unit Development (PUD) district and implemented other zoning-related changes that allows the Niagara Digital Campus to become a reality. Our efforts have always been about bringing jobs and economic development to the people of Niagara Falls. The Niagara Digital Campus will bring 10 years of union construction jobs to area residents, as well as hundreds of permanent jobs.”
Haggerty said the digital campus will generate tax revenues “unlike anything Niagara Falls has ever seen — most of which will directly benefit the people of Niagara Falls and can be used to fund education, roads, police and firefighters, and other essential benefits.”
Under questioning by reporters, Restaino said NFR will need to go through normal review processes before any data center construction can begin.
“Last night wasn’t the approval of a data center,” the mayor said. “There are still things that have to happen for that to occur. The city isn’t necessarily promoting data centers as its preferred industry.”
NFR has controlled more than 140 acres of prime South End real estate for more than two decades, without ever completing any development projects. Asked if he thinks the landowner will move forward with its digital campus plan, Restaino said, “That’s a question for the landowner, not me. I don’t know what they will do. There is nothing in the agreement that addresses that, in terms of requiring them to do something.”
As part of the agreement, the city is required to pay NFR $4.029 million as a “reimbursement of costs and expenses incurred by NFR in connection with the donated property.” The mayor said he anticipates that money will be available in the city’s general fund.
Gaining ownership of the property bounded by Falls Street, Eighth Street, 10th Street, the former 10th Street Park and a portion of an adjacent property along John Daly Memorial Parkway, will allow the city to move forward with its plans for the construction of a “multi-faceted, year-round event campus” that would include a 6,000 to 7,000-seat arena for sporting and entertainment events, a smaller arena for sporting and entertainment events and a splash pad that could be converted into an ice-skating rink during winter months.
The park plans also call for the construction of a parking ramp with exterior walls that could be used for rock climbing and a roof that could be used as a location for concerts or movie screenings. Restaino confirmed that the estimated project cost remains at around $200 million.
The mayor said the question of how to finance the Centennial Park project is “a conversation that we can now pick up in earnest.”
“The city is charting its own course,” Restaino said. “We haven’t had an opportunity to do that in two decades.”
Restaino said the city will look to “our state partners” as a potential source for funding. He noted that the state has previously provided funding to support development and redevelopment projects in Rochester, Albany and Buffalo.
“The city of Niagara Falls is at the point where other communities have enjoyed large state investments in their downtowns,” the mayor said. “My hope is (putting together financing for the park project) is something that accelerates over the next two years.”