Centennial Park plan advances

Niagara Falls can’t cut down the dead tree or fix the landscaping in front of city hall or even fix the potholes on Acheson Drive before the opening of the largest private tourism investment in city history other than the state-subsidized Maid of the Mist, but it can begin negotiations to buy vacant land for an event center from a do-nothing developer.

The city council voted 3-2 on Wednesday night to empower Mayor Robert Restaino to begin negotiations to purchase 4-acres of land for up to $4.2 million from Niagara Falls Redevelopment according to a 3-2 vote at the city council on Wednesday.

Democratic Council Chairperson James Perry and Republican Council Member Traci Bax and Democrat Brian Archie voted yes for the resolution which supports the mayor’s $200 million event center. 

Republican Council Members David Zajac and Democrat Donta Myles voted no. Zajac said he is for the event center but wonders about the wisdom of moving forward with no financing commitment from New York State or a private investor.

The debt service on a $200 million project if the city were to bond it would be about $10 million at current interest rates. The city’s annual budget is about $100 million.

Since the initial discussions began, estimated costs have increased from $150 million. The final cost will likely be $250 million or so given the inflation of costs related to construction labor and supplies.

A feasibility study released in a press event two weeks ago, and paid for with grant money, projected revenue for the new arena to exceed operating expenses. It also included a projection of $50 million in economic impact over the first five years but did not include any details on financing or debt service. The study was not released to the media and public until after the press conference, making it impossible to ask real questions of the stakeholders including why the study did not account for debt service and why the only alternative site included was the Rainbow Mall. 

Present at that event was Assembly Majority Leader Crystal People’s Stokes who voiced support of the project but offered no commitment to funding.

The resolution covers about half the land for the proposed hockey arena. Supporters like to call it a Convention Center or even a "multi-purpose event center." The mayor is claiming ownership of the other portion of land needed because, while it was signed over to Niagara Falls Redevelopment many years ago under a previous administration, it was parkland and required an alienation resolution with the state legislature before it could change hands or no longer be a park.

Litigation over that second parcel is ongoing.

NFR is moving forward with its plans for a $1.5 billion data center on a site that includes the proposed Centennial Park. The site is adjacent to the Seneca Niagara Casino roughly a half-mile from the tourist district. The council voted last month to be the lead agency in the State Environmental Quality Review for that Planned Urban Development.