James Haggerty, Author at Niagara Falls Redevelopment

February 15, 2023

Buffalo Business First reports on “$1.5 billion plan to build a massive data center campus”

On Tuesday, November 5, 2024, Buffalo Business First — a member of the American City Business Journal’s chain of weekly business publications reaching readers nationwide — profiled “the next steps on a $1.5 billion plan to construct a massive data center campus in the City of Niagara Falls.” As Buffalo Business First reported, Niagara Falls Redevelopment […]

February 15, 2023

Mayor Admits He Selected Parcel 0 to Help Seneca Business Interests; Public Hearing March 13

FEBRUARY 15, 2023 BY NIAGARA REPORTER- Mayor to Hold 3rd Public Hearing in March on Parcel ‘0’ as ‘Plans Shift’ Niagara Falls, NY: On February 9, Mayor Robert Restaino convened a special meeting of the Niagara Falls City Council to advance his plans to develop Centennial Park. All five council members were present. The mayor’s […]

February 13, 2023

New York State Report from 2021 Highlights the Right Location for an Events Center in Niagara Falls

As issues heat up related to the City of Niagara Falls proposed taking of private property for an ill-advised and unfunded $150 million park and events center, it makes sense for all residents of Niagara Falls to reconsider the 2021 Development Strategy Summary prepared by New York State and the USA Niagara Development Corporation, found here, […]

February 3, 2023

Szwedo: We Can Have All Three, Instead of Just One

Jim Szwedo is a Niagara Falls businessman and activist, who heads the Niagara Street Neighborhood Revitalization Organization. This article originally appeared in the Niagara Falls Reporter on February 3, 2023 Please do not mortgage our future for Centennial Park When it comes to the dueling project proposals by the City and Niagara Falls Redevelopment, […]

February 2, 2023

Niagara Falls Reporter Asks: Is Someone at City Hall Lying?

The article below appeared on February 2, 2023, in the Niagara Falls Reporter: What Came First: the Data Center or Events Center on Parcel 0? Is Someone at City Hall Lying? The Parcel 0 series covers the battle between Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino and Niagara Falls Redevelopment LLC. Manhattan billionaire and philanthropist Howard Milstein owns […]

February 1, 2023

Former NGTI Director Whalen: Centennial Park Is Bound To Fail

The following opinion piece appeared in the December 27, 2022, issue of the Niagara Gazette, and was reprinted in Niagara Falls Reporter on January 30, 2023. Pat Whalen is the former director of the Niagara Global Tourism Institute and has been involved in planning, facilities management and operations for more than 30 years. Mayor Robert Restaino has a $150 […]

January 30, 2023

Data Center or Events Center? Niagara Falls Reporter Investigates City’s Fight With NFR

A battle is heating up in Niagara Falls, NY. It is a fight over property rights, the government’s use of eminent domain to force the sale of private property, and the highest and best use for a property that is a gateway location for both the City and for a private development company with substantial […]

January 27, 2023

Niagara Gazette: Centennial Park loan hearing survey results won’t be released

On January 27, 2023, the Niagara Gazette reported that Mayor Restaino has decided that the results of a public survey taken at the end of a contentious city council meeting regarding the Mayor’s speculative $150 million Centennial Park project would be kept secret. The Gazette Reported: During an interview this week with the Niagara Gazette, Restaino said […]

June 28, 2022

Urbacon and Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) Announce Plans to Develop $1.48 Billion Niagara Digital Campus

With an estimated 5,600 construction jobs and more than 550 permanent jobs for area residents, the Niagara Digital Campus would be among the largest private development projects in the city’s history As part of the project, NFR also proposes donating public amenities to the City of Niagara Falls, including land with potential use as a […]

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