Empire State Development news and press releases

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Empire State Development (ESD) and the City of Buffalo today announced the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation (CTRC) will welcome the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Advisory Panel to conduct a week-long analysis of potential reuses of the Central Terminal starting Monday, June 26, 2017. The comprehensive review of future options for the iconic property at 495 Paderewski Street and related parcels will be complete by June 30. The analysis is being supported with funding from ESD, the City of Buffalo and ULI Foundation.  “By bringing in the renowned Urban Land Institute to study the Central Terminal, it will give us the information and analysis necessary to ensure the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood is well-positioned for future economic development,” said Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky. “The completed study will provide a road map for our robust planning process as the Central Terminal leadership team works to move forward to repurpose this immense complex so it ultimately fits the needs of the City of Buffalo and its residents.” “The Urban Land Institute is recognized as one of the world’s most respected sources of objective information on urban planning, growth and development so to get its recommendations for the Central Terminal will help bring confidence and direction for future decisions regarding the iconic property,” said City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. “Having ULI in town will help us tremendously to understand how best to adapt and reuse this one-of-a-kind property to build off the city’s existing momentum. I thank Governor Cuomo and ESD for their commitment to this project.” “The Central Terminal Restoration Corporation is thankful to the City of Buffalo, specifically Mayor Brown and the strategic planning office, as well as the State of New York and Empire State Development for providing our organization the opportunity and technical support to participate in the Urban Land Institute study,” said Paul Lang, Vice Chairman, Central Terminal Restoration Corporation.  “We, along with our community supporters and stakeholders, are excited to play a role in this process and are looking forward to charting the course for the restoration of the historic Central Terminal.” Twelve ULI panel members—experts from across the nation, all highly-qualified professionals in design, real estate and government—will volunteer a week of their time to analyze the Central Terminal property. The panel will conduct a detailed tour of the site, as well as consult with public and private officials and representatives from other relevant organizations and other individuals familiar with the challenges involved. The conclusions and recommendations will be presented to the CTRC at the close of the onsite assignment. ULI leader Michael Stern, principal at MAS Places in Jackson, Wyoming, is the chairman of the advisory panel that will be visiting Buffalo. “We’re excited to bring ULI’s expertise to Buffalo,” said Stern. “We are aiming to demonstrate how the revitalization of this historic site can contribute to the area’s overall economic prosperity, livability, investment appeal, and competitiveness.” Besides Stern, other members of the Central Terminal ULI study team include: Dan Anderton, community planner and landscape architect at Dewberry in Germantown, Md. Ross Tilghman, president, Tilghman Group, Seattle, Wash. Keith Bawolek, managing principal and chief executive officer, Vermillion Realty Advisors, Chicago Jennifer Ball, vice president, planning and economic development, Central Atlanta Progress, Atlanta Betsy del Monte, principal, Transform Global, Dallas Malaika Abernathy Scriven, Walter Reed project manager, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, Washington, D.C. During the week, the panelists will tour the complex site and surrounding area, and spend two days meeting and interviewing more than 100 stakeholders from the public and private sector. After carefully analyzing the site and completing the interviews, the panelists will then frame their recommendations and draft a presentation that will be made to the public at the conclusion of the visit. The scope of the study will include the following:  From a market and neighborhood revitalization perspectives, what would be the most appropriate and/or desirable mix of uses at the complex and estimated square footages/acreages? Given the scale and complexity of the complex, what is a logical sequence of next steps for Central Terminal?  What would be the menu of options for financing? Given that transportation has played a critical role in the history of the complex, can future bus/rail public transit or passenger/freight rail programming serve as a useful tool in a redevelopment scheme?  What would be the best means and methods of ensuring historic integrity is preserved in perpetuity? What types of residential uses might be a reasonable component of an adaptive reuse strategy?  The Urban Land Institute has studied numerous Buffalo properties, including the Richardson Olmsted Complex, One Seneca Tower and former Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital campus. Founded in 1936, ULI is composed of more than 40,000 members, representing the entire spectrum of the land use and development disciplines, including architects, planners, real estate brokers, builders, attorneys, and engineers.  It has long been recognized as one of the world’s most respected and most reliable sources of objective information on urban planning, growth, and real estate development.  As part of its mission, the Institute maintains an Advisory Services Department for the purpose of benefiting the general public through improved planning and utilization of urban land. Now in its 70th year, the ULI advisory services program assembles experts in the fields of real estate and land use planning to participate on panels worldwide, offering recommendations for complex planning and development projects, programs and policies. Panels have developed more than 650 studies for a broad range of land uses, ranging from waterfront properties to inner-city retail. According to Thomas Eitler, senior vice president of ULI’s advisory services program, the strength of the program lies in ULI’s unique ability to draw on the substantial knowledge of its 40,000-plus members, including land developers, engineers, public officials, academics, lenders, architects, planners and urban designers. “The independent views of the panelists bring a fresh perspective to the land use challenge,” said Eitler. “The advisory services program is about offering creative, innovative approaches to community building.” About Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has more than 40,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. For more information, please visit uli.org.  About Central Terminal Opened in 1929 to serve more than 200 trains and 10,000 passengers daily, the iconic Buffalo Central Terminal operated for 50 years, until the Art Deco masterpiece officially closed as a train station in 1979. In 1997, the 18-acre Buffalo Central Terminal site was acquired by the non-profit Central Terminal Restoration Corporation (CTRC). Efforts are ongoing to refurbish and repurpose the property on Buffalo’s East Side and possibly even to revive it as the city’s active train station. To help fund restoration, the CTRC currently hosts 30+ public events a year in this beloved building.   Contact: Michael DeGeorge (Mayor Brown’s Office) | mdegeorge@ch.ci.buffalo.ny.us | (716) 341-9522 Pamm Lent (Governor’s Office) | pamm.lent@esd.ny.gov  | (716) 846-8309

State-of-the-Art Concourse Creates Passenger Access to the Penn Station Tracks and Platforms through the Landmarked James A. Farley Post Office Building for the First Time Final Deal Closed for $1.6 Billion Penn-Farley Complex After Decades of Delays​ Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Senator Charles Schumer today marked the opening of Penn Station’s expanded West End Concourse, the first phase of the transformational redesign of America’s busiest transit hub into a world-class facility for the 21st Century. The new, state-of-the-art concourse will provide direct access to 17 of the station’s 21 tracks, and will connect the future Moynihan Train Hall to Penn Station underground via 33rd Street, with direct connection to the 8th Avenue Subway (A/C/E). New plazas and street level entrances at 8thAvenue into the century-old, landmarked Farley Building on either side of monumental staircase will provide access to this new, lower concourse as well as streamline boarding and exiting for passengers. Public art and landscaping will greet commuters accessing the trains via these new entrances.​ “The state-of-the-art-infrastructure, technology upgrades, and wayfinding improvements of the expanded West End concourse will provide immediate relief for passengers enduring increasing congestion and overcrowding in Penn Station and help New Yorkers get to where they need to go better and faster," Governor Cuomo said. "I thank Senator Schumer for his leadership on this project and his commitment to making Senator Moynihan's bold vision a reality. With the final agreement allowing for major construction to begin, we are moving full speed ahead in our work to build a bolder, fully modernized Penn-Farley Complex, bringing Penn Station out of the Dark Ages and into the 21st century.”  Senator Chuck Schumer said, "This is a monumental day in New York City history because we are one step closer to making Senator Moynihan’s vision of transforming the Farley Post Office into a 21st century rail hub a reality.  The expanded West End Concourse will take tremendous pressure off of the overcrowded Penn Station complex, and attract visitors and community residents to the food, shopping and grandeur of the entire complex. Once complete, Moynihan Station is poised to be one of the greatest transportation and infrastructure legacies of our generation,” said U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer. “I am proud to have helped deliver critical federal resources that paved the way for Moynihan Station and enabled Amtrak to contribute to this critical hub. I applaud Governor Cuomo for his role in pushing this deal through the finish line. This is exactly how government is supposed to work. As New York City continues to grow, we must continue to invest in major infrastructure projects like this one to guarantee New York can handle the transportation needs of the next century.” Read full press release here.