Niagara Gazette

Local News

February 4, 2009

USA NIAGARA: Diplomacy key for agency

Officials say talks continue with high-profile developers

USA Niagara Development Corp. arrived on the scene in 2001 armed with some potentially powerful tools for dealing with one of the city’s most-pressing concerns: downtown land owners who have for years sat idle on their vacant properties.

The state offered a wealth of development knowledge, a higher level of legal expertise and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to force speculators to turn over land under the power of eminent domain.

So far, the state used its eminent domain power just once downtown when it acquired the old Falls Street Faire site for the purposes of turning the building into Conference Center Niagara Falls.

USA Niagara President Christopher Schoepflin said he does not anticipate a time in the near future when his agency will go down that road again. For now, he said, the agency’s preferred approach is diplomacy, with a side of self-improvement.

“Certainly, government has remedies down the road, but engagement with current landowners and a positive resolution is always, from a time and cost perspective, much more productive,” he said.

Schoepflin said USA Niagara maintains an open dialogue with the higher-profile developers in its district, including perhaps the two most controversial, Cordish Corp. which leases the dormant Rainbow Mall and Niagara Falls Redevelopment which controls the Turtle building downtown and a large swath of land near the old Nabisco plant east of John B. Daly Boulevard.

As the dialogue continues, Schoepflin said the agency is focusing on work it can accomplish in the near-term that will make the area more attractive not only to residents and visitors, but to investors as well. He pointed to the pending redevelopment of the west pedestrian mall as a good example of an improvement effort that could spur neighboring property owners to re-assess their investment plans.

“We can say, look, we’re doing all this work around you and we’re continuing to improve the marketplace,” he said.

Mayor Paul Dyster said he too supports the diplomatic approach, but said it comes with an understanding that more aggressive tactics can still be employed in situations where all other options have been exhausted. In some cases Dyster said it may be necessary for the state and the city to take a more aggressive approach, especially when it comes to land owners who appear to have little interest in developing their properties.

As is the case with some Third Street property owners, Dyster said out-of-towners who own multiple buildings aren’t even complying with local building codes or generally accepted maintenance standards much less offering to open a new restaurant or shop.

“Sometimes, you’ve got to pull those people along with you if you want to make things happen,” Dyster said.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News
  • Boat gas prices not sinking yet

    May 28, 2012

  • Senator asks airlines to drop seat fee for kids

    May 28, 2012

  • Lease moving forward

    May 28, 2012

  • Siren sig Search continues for man presumed drowned in gorge

    Members of the Niagara Regional Police Marine Unit with the help of the Whirlpool Jet Boat spent Sunday afternoon continuing a search for a 22-year-old man that was swept away in the lower Niagara River rapids Saturday.

     

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • 120525 NF Memorial 2.jpg Falls ceremony honors fallen military, veterans

    With the weather fully cooperating, the Niagara Falls Veterans Memorial Commission got a chance to showcase its new creation in Hyde Park Saturday.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • Police sig Man presumed drowned in Niagara River

    Emergency crews called off a search in the lower Niagara River for a person who was swept away by the water Saturday afternoon.

     

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • Police sig California tourists robbed at gunpoint in Falls

    Falls police are investigating a report of armed robbery from a parking lot in the 100 block of Niagara Street Saturday.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • Buy local resolution seems familiar to city officials

    The city council will vote on a resolution that will encourage the city to do more business with local companies.

    Council member Glenn Choolokian will introduce the resolution “relative to promoting city purchasing activities for local   businesses in the city of Niagara Falls,” with the support of council Chairman Sam Fruscione and council member Robert Anderson   at next week’s meeting.

    May 27, 2012

  • Court sig Second suspect pleads in shooting death of NU student

    All Cordero Gibson could do as he stood in a Niagara County courtoom on Friday morning was weep.

    The 23-year-old Falls man was pleading guilty to his role a in robbery gone bad that had left a Niagara University student dead. Because he didn't fire the shot that killed Brandon Johnson, Gibson dodged the bullet of a murder conviction.

     

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • 120525 Parade 1.jpg SLIDESHOW: Memorial Day events in the Falls Niagara Falls celebrates Memorial Day Weekend activities on Saturday with a parade on Pine Avenue, a memorial service and viewing of the new Veterans Memorial at Hyde Park, a concert series on Old Falls Street and free boat safety inspections by the Niagara County Sheriff Department Marine Division at the City of Niagara Falls Boat Docks on Buffalo Avenue.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo

Featured Ads
Seasonal Content
House Ads
AP Video
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria 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
Opinion
House Ads
Night & Day
Twitter News
Follow us on twitter
Follow me on Twitter
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Front page
Poll

Do you think cigarette sales to non-Native American customers should be taxed on reservations?

Yes. Items should be taxed like they are everywhere else.
No, the indian reservations are sovereign land and they are selling them on their land.
Not up to me. Native Americans decide the rules on their land.
Don't care. Smoking isn't good for you.
     View Results