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BUDC to assist remediation plan at East Side site
A plan to redevelop an East Side industrial site has the backing of the Buffalo Urban Development Corp.
BUDC directors unanimously approved Tuesday to invest $2,190 in
a preliminary environmental review of a 10.5-acre site at 537 E. Delavan Ave.
The property once housed operations for Vibratech Inc. and, before that,
Houdaille Industries. It is owned by Medina-based Salvage Properties Trust,
which uses a portion of the complex for its auto salvaging business.
Geo-Environmental of Buffalo was the low-bidder from 13 bids
submitted to BUDC earlier this month. BUDC directors awarded the contract to
the firm. If the property review passes a series of tests and due diligence
investigations, it may be acquired by the city of Buffalo, or more
specifically, Buffalo Urban Development Corp. which will oversee a remediation
and transformation into an industrial or office park. The development template
will follow the same one BUDC used when it turned the Union Ship Canal into the
Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park and the neighboring RiverBend Park.
"We do need to build up our inventory of available brownfield
development sites," said Peter
Cammarata, BUDC president.
The key will be finding out about the properties industrial
past. Given its history, the property has a heavy industrial background meaning
cleanup efforts may be time consuming and pricey.
"It is a good idea to find out what kind of (environmental)
problems may be there," said Craig
Slater, a Buffalo attorney and BUDC director.
The upside is that bringing the property back to life could have
a deep, positive impact not only on its immediate East Side neighborhood, but
the entire city, said Brendan
Mehaffy, Buffalo's economic development pointman and head of the
Buffalo Office of Strategic Planning.
"If we can bring this site back, the benefits go well beyond
just the community," Mehaffy said. "It spreads to the region."
The GZA report is due back later this spring. Further BUDC
action will be determined by GZA's report.