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National Grid invests in city
by chocieni City
officials said the renovated Genesee Gateway Building is an example of the kind
of building the Buffalo Building Reuse Project will help save. The project may
turn vacant property into housing. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
The City of Buffalo's efforts to revitalize
the nearly 2 million square feet of vacant space downtown got its first boost
from the private sector Wednesday, with National Grid pledging to invest up to
$4.25 million over the next three years.
The funds, which will be added to the $11.25
million that the city already has earmarked for the project over the next three
years and $4 million from New York State, will help finance private-sector
projects that are in line with the goals spelled out in the Buffalo Building
Reuse Project earlier this year.
The building reuse project, which was the
result of a study that involved more than 30 local development and business
officials, recommended designating the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. as the
lead agency to handle downtown projects, with a beefed-up staff and additional
financial resources.
It also recommended a strategy that focuses
on transforming lower-class office space into housing to create new
neighborhoods downtown.
Mayor Byron W. Brown said the National Grid
investment is a significant step forward for the reuse project - one that he
hopes will spur other private-sector donors to step up.
"We can do wonders in downtown if we
have the resources to do it," Brown said. "We think this is going to
be the first of many private-sector organizations stepping up and making an investment
in the Buffalo Building Reuse Project."
Ken Daly, National Grid's New York president,
said the investment in the project is part of the utility's stepped-up efforts
to spur economic development within its upstate service territory.
"As Buffalo goes, so goes National
Grid," he said.
"That's why it's so important that we
support these initiatives," he said. "It's good for us. It's good for
the local communities."
National Grid agreed to invest up to $1.25
million annually during each of the next three years, with the potential for
further funding through the company's energy efficiency programs. National Grid
also agreed to contribute up to $500,000 to support the building reuse
project's marketing efforts to promote the city to out-of-state investors in
targeted industries.
The investment is National Grid's biggest
economic development commitment in Western New York, and one of its largest
upstate, company officials said.
"None of what needs to happen will be
easy to achieve, and all of it requires significant monetary contributions and
political leadership," said Andrew J. Rudnick, president of the Buffalo
Niagara Partnership, which spearheaded the building reuse project effort at
Brown's request.