The transformation of brownfields into a thriving green industrial park and construction of a new road consisting of a business park are among the key components in a draft master plan to revitalize Highland Avenue and the surrounding North End community.
Referring to it as the “beginning of the beginning,” close to 50 people attended the fifth and final public comment meeting Monday at the Doris Jones Family Resource Center to discuss plans and possibilities for the Highland Community Brownfield Opportunity Area. Those in attendance received a detailed presentation from Urban Strategies, Inc., the consulting company hired by the city.
“This is really your vision of the future we’re proposing, not ours,” consultant Mark Reid said about the 18-month process. “This has always been about creating a new image for this community.”
The planning process is being supported under a $375,000 grant secured by the city in 2004 and has involved several public meetings and interviews with more than 40 stakeholders. The goal is to create a plan to revitalize 560 acres of land identified as brownfields in the North End. Designation as a Brownfield Opportunity Area makes the community eligible for various brownfield redevelopment incentives, including state employment credits used to entice new businesses and promote commercial expansion.
Though the planning team has received plenty of feedback, the overwhelming theme has been the need to create jobs for North End residents. If all goes as realized in the 20-year master plan, Urban Strategies is estimating the creation of between 5,000 to 7,500 new jobs, Reid said.
Much of the focus is on transforming numerous brownfields at the northern most point of Highland into an industrial park housing factories and businesses utilizing energy efficient practices. The draft also proposes construction of a new street south of College Avenue that runs from Hyde Park Boulevard to Highland Avenue, which would free up hundreds of acres of land-locked property to establish a business park.
Reid said the new roadway is not meant to take away from Highland Avenue, which will remain a mix of residential and business properties.
“Highland will be celebrated as the main street of the entire community,” he said. “That’s the street everyone should go to after work.”
The draft also lays out plans to beautify the neighborhood and add a smattering of parks, including the remediation and transformation of the old Tract II Power City warehouse site near Beech Avenue.
A few people in attendance Monday questioned the draft’s effectiveness, saying it’s similar to plans that were proposed 10 years ago. Another concern was the plan doesn’t include specific strategies on how to reach the goals.
Joe McCoy, a longtime community activist and member of the Highland Community Revitalization Committee, was underwhelmed with the proposed master plan and doubted it would live up to its prediction of creating thousands of jobs for area residents. He believes any strong plan needs to begin and end with challenging people to take the initiative of finding work and supporting themselves.
“I would love to come back five years from now and see if this plan does anything in this community as far as self-sufficiency is concerned,” said McCoy, who now lives in Atlanta. “But I am guessing by then we will still be looking at this plan.”
Urban Strategies will spend the next several weeks implementing public comments before presenting the final plan to the city and state by the end of July.
Get Involved
To review a copy of the draft master plan or to find out more information on the project, visit www.shapehighlandsfuture.com. Comments can still be made by sending them to alan.nusbaum@niagarafallsny.gov.
Communities
Related Photos
-
Sandy White, urban planner from the University at Buffalo’s Center for Urban Studies, explains the study process for brownfields to Maurice Walker Monday during a forum on how to redevelop the Highland neighborhood at the Doris Jones Family Resource Center. Scott Schild
-
Santarosa Holdings Inc. on College Avenue is one of the many sites in the Highland neighborhood that is part of a Brownfield Cleanup Program. Scott Schild
HIGHLAND AVENUE: Creating a new image
UB group details plan for Highland Avenue revitalization
- Communities
-
-
Niagara USA Chamber hosts awards ceremony Thursday
Politicians, civic leaders, friends and family gathered to mingle over food and drinks, and recognize members of the small business community at the Niagara Falls Country Club on Thursday.
-
A Festival of Lights making a comeback?
Move over Niagara Holiday Market.
Make way for the return of A Festival of Lights?
-
Falls officials unveil new LaSalle Waterfront Park
John Mikula has been working for years to turn the prime piece of real estate on the upper Niagara River into a public recreation space residents of all ages can enjoy.
-
Driver safety message driven home
The Grim Reaper paid a visit to Niagara Falls High School on Monday to illustrate a point about driver safety.
A student dressed up like death himself patrolled the scene of a mock traffic accident in the high school's rear parking lot as part of a program designed to send a message about the dangers of drinking while driving and distracted driving.
-
City getting exercise stations for elderly at Hyde Park
Senior citizens will have a new way to stay fit in Hyde Park this summer.
Exercise stations specifically designed for the elderly and handicapped will be installed over the coming weeks, thanks to a $25,000 health and wellness grant from New York state. -
Relay for Life continues to grow in the Falls
Sometimes, you just need to smile.
That's the message 6-year-old Madisyn Tolfa delivered at the fourth-annual Niagara Falls Relay for Life event at Sal Maglie Stadium Friday.
-
Falls' Relay For Life giving cancer the boot
If cancer is ever going to be beaten, there are some who believe it could be beaten by feet.
-
Playing up Griffon Park in LaSalle
Mayor Paul Dyster announced plans for a new playground in Griffon Park to a small group of civic leaders and city employees Tuesday morning.
-
Aquarium of Niagara: Newly arrived rescued harbor seal seems right at home
The little harbor seal couldn’t know how lucky she is.
Two years ago she was found off the coast of Masschusetts, frail and emaciated, and disoriented from an inner ear infection. She couldn’t feed herself and was near death.
-
Charlie the Chimp on ‘How I Met Your Mother’ tonight
Niagara Falls’ own Charlie the Chimp will appear on tonight’s episode of “How I Met Your Mother” at 8 p.m. on CBS, channel 4, according to handler Carmen Presti.
- More Communities Headlines
-
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
