Developers tour Falls sites

Under deep blue skies, four busloads of developers took part in the tour to showcase the Main Street area properties that Niagara Falls recently acquired.

The end game: Land buyers and development future for the cluster of buildings, which range from Rapids Theater to the former Jenss Department Store to the former Slipko’s supermarket.

By all accounts, the tour did pique some interest.

Karen Utz, Empire State Development’s Western New York regional director, says she finds these types of hands-on tours helpful.

“It’s hugely important, we think that you have to have a sense of the properties, where they’re located, what’s around them, and what are the businesses around them are doing well,” Utz said.

Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino says he considers the tour a seed-planting exercise for the developers. The fruits of this tour may appear later.

For Niagara Falls, this could be the first of several tours planned not only for the Main Street properties but for other parts of the city as well.

“My pitch is, that as we go through this, this can become a template,” Restaino said. “Over the years people have tried to develop the whole city, they wanted to do the next big thing. If we start realizing that we can get good projects in small bites, at different parts of our city, we can start building it back again.”

But the question remains what did the development community think?

The short answer: They found the tour to be eye-opening - in a good way.

At least that’s the opinion of real estate broker and developer Renee Moran from Red Door Realty.

“For the development of the City of Niagara Falls, to see such a structured tour and the availability of so many properties that the City is willing to work with you on, the State is willing to work with you on to ensure proper redevelopment of this stretch Main Street. It’s the biggest day I’ve seen in the City of Niagara Falls,” Moran said.

Applications are being accepted through the Niagara Orleans Regional Land Improvement Corp, and a second tour is planned for April 8.