NIAGARA FALLS — Long-stalled plans for the proposed Niagara Experience Center received a significant boost on Wednesday.

The project, first pitched by local historian Paul Gromosiak back in the 1990s, has been placed on a “priority” list created by members of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council.

The experience center was one of 12 regional projects the council  considers worthy of “immediate” assistance from the state. It was joined on the list by another Niagara Falls project, the ongoing development of Niagara County Community College’s new culinary arts center inside the old Rainbow Mall building.

Placement on the council’s priority list does not guarantee financial support from the state for either multi-million dollar project, but it does place both in the running for funds that will be doled out as part of a competitive process involving all 10 regional councils across New York.

“I think what this means is that there’s probably a better chance to get the funding to start to turn this into a real project than there has been since (former Gov.) Eliot Spitzer was in office,” Mayor Paul Dyster said, referring to the experience center’s long history of development.

The experience center concept started with Gromosiak who first pitched the idea to members of the Niagara Falls City Council. He has long believed that Niagara Falls would make an ideal location for a center where visitors could learn more about local cultural and historical points of interest.

Under former Gov. George Pataki, state economic development officials explored the idea in greater detail, preparing plans for a center that would help visitors learn more about the region’s culture and history through interactive exhibits. Pataki’s administration committed $10 million to keep the project moving, but a formal plan never materialized. Dyster said Spitzer expressed interest in the idea during his administration, but the project stalled after Spitzer was forced to leave office amid scandal.

Dyster believes the experience center has a chance to be a real “game changer,” not just for Niagara Falls but for the entire area and he’s hopeful it will warrant strong consideration for funding once the process of reviewing various priority projects begins.

“I think whenever you are looking for transformational projects in our region, the Niagara Experience Center pops to the top of the list,” he said.

The Western New York council is one of 10 economic development councils statewide. It will be competing for project dollars through a $1 billion pool of economic development funds being set aside by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to spur growth across New York. The council’s “priority” projects are recommended for immediate state support. The list includes at least one project from each county in the Western New York region and collectively supports direct creation and retention of more than 1,500 jobs with nearly $285 million in capital investment and $74 million in state investment. Other projects on the list include: the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, the Roswell Park Cancer Institute Genome Project and the Buffalo Arts and Technology Center.

Officials from the regional council also announced on Wednesday the adoption of their five-year strategic plan for the region which is composed of Niagara, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Erie counties. The plan is being submitted in response to Cuomo’s challenge to stimulate real, regional economic development. A Strategic Plan Review Committee will analyze and compare each region’s plan. Based upon this review, four regions will be awarded up to $40 million each in capital funding and tax credits to be applied toward the priority capital projects identified in their plans. The remaining allocations will be divided among the other six regions.

“We strongly believe our plan deserves to win, not just because it is truly a home-grown plan that reflects the values and aspirations of Western New York’s citizens, but because it is a practical plan that is achievable,” said Western New York Regional Council co-chair and Managing Partner at Larkin Development Group Howard Zemsky. “Public participation was an integral component of our strategy, which justifies our priority projects for state funding.”

Western New York Regional Economic Development Council priority projects

• NCCC Culinary Arts Institute

• Niagara Experience Center

• Roswell Park Cancer Institute Genome Project.

• Hauptman Woodward Crystallization Laboratory

• Center for Innovation in Medicine

• The Urban Automotive Center of Excellence

• Buffalo Arts and Technology Center

• East State Street reconstruction

• Olean CBD to redevelop several properties on N. Union and West streets

• Buffalo CBD will re-establish high-quality, multi-modal transportation corridors that link Main Street, the Genesee Gateway and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus

• Small Business Green Retrofit Initiative

• High–Temp Materials Characterization Laboratory at Alfred State