Billsman
January 5th, 2006, 12:58:11 AM
Brown inspects harbor project
New mayor expects '07 deadline to be met
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060104/1018474.asp
One of his first official journeys from City Hall took Mayor Byron W. Brown to the waterfront Tuesday for a close look at the $49.5 million Erie Canal Harbor Development Project.
After watching a crane move pilings into place for the re-creation of the historic canal's western terminus, the new mayor said that he was pleased with the pace of work and that he expects the project to meet its October 2007 completion date.
"I'm going to hold them to that," Brown said after receiving an update from planners and construction managers.
High-profile developments tend to be viewed skeptically until they are finished - especially when they have fallen years behind like the canal harbor project, Brown observed.
By seeing the work move ahead, "it becomes real," he said. "Now I can report to citizens that it is actually happening."
Thomas D. Blanchard Jr., the Empire State Development Corp. official who has overseen the project from the start, assured the mayor that many elements of the 12.5-acre project, including the canal terminus, walkways and a new Naval & Military History Museum, will take shape within months.
The revised blueprint is designed to improve public access to and from the harborfront "in a practical way" that will attract investors and tourists, Blanchard explained. Two-and-a-half acres of the triangular plot beneath the Skyway near Memorial Auditorium was set aside for private developments spurred by the planned conversion of the vacant Aud into a giant Bass Pro Outdoor World store.
"It's a big and complex project," Blanchard said. "We're happy it's headed toward completion."
Brown said the project meshes with his campaign pledge to take an aggressive approach to economic development, and pronounced his administration "ready, willing and able" to help.
"The waterfront development is critical to city and regional economic development," he told Blanchard and Anthony H. Gioia, chairman of Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., which Gov. George E. Pataki appointed to oversee Buffalo's waterfront projects.
"We'll work with you in any way we can to facilitate what you're doing for this city and this region," Brown said.
New mayor expects '07 deadline to be met
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060104/1018474.asp
One of his first official journeys from City Hall took Mayor Byron W. Brown to the waterfront Tuesday for a close look at the $49.5 million Erie Canal Harbor Development Project.
After watching a crane move pilings into place for the re-creation of the historic canal's western terminus, the new mayor said that he was pleased with the pace of work and that he expects the project to meet its October 2007 completion date.
"I'm going to hold them to that," Brown said after receiving an update from planners and construction managers.
High-profile developments tend to be viewed skeptically until they are finished - especially when they have fallen years behind like the canal harbor project, Brown observed.
By seeing the work move ahead, "it becomes real," he said. "Now I can report to citizens that it is actually happening."
Thomas D. Blanchard Jr., the Empire State Development Corp. official who has overseen the project from the start, assured the mayor that many elements of the 12.5-acre project, including the canal terminus, walkways and a new Naval & Military History Museum, will take shape within months.
The revised blueprint is designed to improve public access to and from the harborfront "in a practical way" that will attract investors and tourists, Blanchard explained. Two-and-a-half acres of the triangular plot beneath the Skyway near Memorial Auditorium was set aside for private developments spurred by the planned conversion of the vacant Aud into a giant Bass Pro Outdoor World store.
"It's a big and complex project," Blanchard said. "We're happy it's headed toward completion."
Brown said the project meshes with his campaign pledge to take an aggressive approach to economic development, and pronounced his administration "ready, willing and able" to help.
"The waterfront development is critical to city and regional economic development," he told Blanchard and Anthony H. Gioia, chairman of Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., which Gov. George E. Pataki appointed to oversee Buffalo's waterfront projects.
"We'll work with you in any way we can to facilitate what you're doing for this city and this region," Brown said.