BUFFALO, N.Y. — For years, 2 On Your Side has been reporting on the development plans and legal troubles for the site of the old Freezer Queen plant on Buffalo's Outer Harbor.
What ever happened to those ambitious plans that were first introduced a few years ago?
"It's no longer leeching harmful contaminants into the lake," said Adam Walters, the attorney representing the Queen City Landing developer.
With the remediation done, and all lawsuits resolved, the $100 million Queen City Landing development could see shovels in the ground this spring.
"This basically takes the approved version from three years ago and makes some really important changes," says Phil Pantano, spokesperson for Queen City Landing.
Those changes include lowering the height from 23 stories to 20 and making the indoor parking area part of the whole building instead of being off to the side, shrinking the project's footprint by about 30 to 40 percent.
The plans include parking for about 350 cars and a combination of 206 one, two, and three-bedroom units. They would be a mix of market rate apartments and condos.
A restaurant and retail space are planned for the ground floor, and the sixth floor would have a restaurant and event space.
The developer bought the property more than ten years ago. The City of Buffalo approved his plans in 2016, but environmentalists filed several lawsuits pausing those plans.
“Gerry Buchheit, the developer, was really handcuffed for a couple of years with a project he couldn't build because of outside influences," Pantano said.
Another big change: moving the building further away from the water by about 30 feet, meaning there would be more green space access for the public.
"The public really is going to be able to use the site as much as the residents, and I think that's a key, key part of doing waterfront development in Buffalo," Walters said.
They will present the latest plans to the Buffalo Planning Board next month with a goal of opening the building in 2021.
Here's a story from 2016 when preservationists tried to save the old Freezer Queen building:
