Revitalization: Buffalo Brownfield Opportunities

As the first official post of What’s New Buffalo it seems only right to start with the redevelopment projects known as the Buffalo Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOAs). For years Buffalo has bemoaned its second-class status to her big sister, New York City, at the other end of the state. Buffalo BOAs is the Empire State’s way of beginning to reinvest in the city and has been an ongoing process since November of 2011.

So what is a brownfield? According to the EPA it’s a space that is complicated to reuse due to the presence of (or potential presence of) a hazardous substance, contaminant, or pollutant. Due to Buffalo’s industrialized past, brownfields are quite common. The three brownfields chosen to be redeveloped within the city limits are the Buffalo Harbor, the Buffalo River Corridor, and the Tonawanda Street Corridor. Last month there was an Open House on the redevelopment plan for these three areas, the results of which are still pending. Take a minute to check out the plans that are being laid out for the redevelopment of these key city areas.