June 4, noon update: Mayor Rob Restaino held a press conference on Thursday morning to discuss the vote on the settlement and said that the split of the land is not going to occur. NFR will build the data center on the rest of its land to the east of that specific location.
June 3, 8:00 p.m. update: The Niagara Falls City Council voted 4-1 to approve a $4-million settlement with Niagara Falls Redevelopment.
The settlement would, among other things, split the land at 907 Falls Street into two. The city could build its $200-million Centennial Park stadium concept, and NFR could develop its $1.5-billion Niagara Digital Campus data center.
“I am somebody that is firmly in tune with environmental justice and working in that space. So I do get the public angst that we have received today, and in my mind, in our minds, we were really working towards providing an opportunity or a gangplank for Niagara Falls to move forward and develop a project of its own,” Council Chairman Brian Archie said.
Council member Bridgett Myles was the only member to vote against the settlement.
“I was all for this administration finally bringing NFR to the forefront, to the table, to talk about things and to move the needle. When I found out more information, I did my research, sitting at the tables. It was not a good deal. We need to clean up our house first,” Myles said.
Original Story: It's been roughly 25 years since the property at 907 Falls Street in Niagara Falls was occupied. Now, we may finally see some development, should the city choose to accept a $4 million settlement.
A legal settlement between the City of Niagara Falls and Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) has been brought to the city council for a vote.
The settlement would, among other things, split the land at 907 Falls Street into two. The city could build its $200-million Centennial Park stadium concept, and NFR could develop its $1.5-billion Niagara Digital Campus data center.
While the settlement lists half of the property as a "donation," signing this would still cost $4.029 million, as a "reimbursement of costs and expenses incurred by NFR in connection with the Donated Property."
The settlement would also resolve ongoing litigation, such as eminent domain proceedings, and it would require NFR to design, construct and operate an electrical substation to power its data center.
WATCH: Niagara Falls City Council to vote on property settlement with NFR
The city council meeting will start at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Mayor Robert Restaino said that he will speak publicly after the vote.
I've covered the $200-million arena concept several times, including in September when commissioners of the OHL and USHL said they'd like to put an expansion team in the arena.
WATCH: ‘Great opportunity’: OHL and USHL looking at Niagara Falls for a potential expansion franchise
"The sport is in growth mode in the United States," said Glenn Hefferan, commissioner of the United States Hockey League (USHL). "I certainly think that a tourist destination could be an interesting place for us to operate. The town is, I think, just about the right size for us. I think it's just far enough from Buffalo that it could really work."
"I think there's a great opportunity for us to build something pretty special," said Bryan Crawford, commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). "Great youth hockey programs, great and passionate hockey fans, most importantly. Second thing is that it's a great fit within the footprint of the OHL. We have teams in Michigan, Pennsylvania [and St. Catherines]. 15 of our 20 teams are within three hours or less of Niagara Falls, New York."
