BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo has closed the sale of four city-owned parking ramps to the Buffalo Parking Authority, netting the city approximately $62 million.
The deal closed June 29, just one day before the end of the fiscal year and will help balance the books before the city signs off on the year. Deputy Mayor and Buffalo Parking Authority Chair Benjamin Swanekamp confirmed the sale was finalized around 12:30 p.m., Monday.
He said the city will receive $30 million immediately, with the remaining balance paid over the following two fiscal years.
The city originally budgeted to take $25.6 million for the ramps before June 30, 2026, but the Ryan administration managed to get a little more.
"We rounded it up to $30 million just to give us a little bit of padding because our goal was to end the current fiscal year with a modest surplus," Swanekamp said.
The sale marks a reversal for Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan. The ramp sale was originally factored into the current budget by former acting mayor Christopher Scanlon - an idea Ryan called a "gimmick" on the campaign trail. Ryan had instead sought to borrow funds through the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, also known as the control board, but that effort fell short.
WATCH: Buffalo sells 4 parking ramps to Buffalo Parking Authority for $62 million
"Ultimately we were unsuccessful with that lobbying effort in Albany, which meant we had to proceed with this transaction and so my job was to get the best possible deal that I could for the city," Swanekamp said. "Between this, the budget we recently passed and our successful lobbying efforts in Albany for direct state aid, we're getting the city in a strong financial position."
The four ramps sold are the Augspurger, Adam, Turner and Fernbach ramps downtown. They will continue to be operated by Buffalo Civic Autoramps, known as BCAR.
"Things for day-to-day customers are not gonna change that much," Swanekamp said. "BCAR is still critically instrumental in running the ramps; they have the expertise and knowledge to keep them running day to day, except they'll be doing it for the parking authority rather than the City of Buffalo itself."
Both the Scanlon and Ryan administrations predicted the ramps would bring in around $2 million or more in annual recurring revenue once sold, but that will not happen due to an IRS rule, Swanekamp said.
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