BUFFALO, N.Y. — After six years of planning the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) approved plans to improve the Buffalo Outer Harbor.
The General Project Plan is a proposal to improve the more than 200 acres of land there over the next 20 years, or as funding becomes available. According to the ECHDC, the project will be done in phases.
Phase one is set to begin at the end of this year and would create and open more space, increase access to the land and water, create comfort stations, as well as passive and active recreational amenities.
It also aims to improve more than 50 acres of upland and watered property. This includes rehabilitation of Terminal B, the creation of an aquatic habitat in Slip No. 3, and upgrades at Bell Slip and Wilkeson Pointe.
The first phase is estimated to cost roughly $44 million, with the entire project estimated at $151 million. The ECHDC says later phases of the project will be implemented when funding is secured.
“Today’s [Monday] affirmation of the GPP is an exciting milestone for the Outer Harbor,” said ECHDC Chairman Robert Gioia. “This project will improve over 200 acres of land, providing for increased water and land access, open space, public amenities and an awareness of local history needed to reconnect the city to its waterfront.”
You can view some of the renderings of the Outer Harbor General Project Plan below:
