More than $2 million in economic development grant funding to bolster projects across Western New York

These investments help to create jobs, strengthen local economies, and revitalize communities. Developers use grant funding for a range of purposes, including attracting businesses, revitalizing urban areas, and transforming vacant properties and brownfield sites into new commercial and mixed-use developments. 

“Every project we support starts with a vision for what an underused property or vacant building can become,” said Ken Kujawa, National Grid regional director. “By connecting developers and communities with resources through our economic development programs, we help turn those ideas into reality and create opportunities for long-term economic growth.”

The six projects include:                                                                 

Two Northland Avenue Projects each receiving $375,000 grants 

To support demolition and remediation at the former Otis Elevator/Curtiss-Wright manufacturing building at 741 Northland Ave., Buffalo, National Grid is providing a $375,000 grant to Buffalo Urban Development Corp., through the company’s Brownfield Redevelopment program. This program provides grants to fund necessary utility related infrastructure improvements and other costs to progress the redevelopment of a brownfield site or vacant building. The project, anticipated to be over $4 million, was established to return a long-vacant brownfield to productive use, and aligns with National Grid’s goals to remove environmental and safety burdens while positioning a property for future commercial or light industrial development and create jobs. 

Another Buffalo Urban Development Corp. project receiving a $375,000 Brownfield Redevelopment Program grant is located at 777 Northland Ave. This project calls for remediation of a long-vacant property for future advanced manufacturing or light industrial redevelopment. This project addresses environmental and site-readiness barriers through demolition, asbestos and lead abatement, and cleanup to attract jobs and private investment. 

 

Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo to receive $312,500 grant

The Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo is located within Buffalo’s historic, 42-acre Richardson Olmsted Campus. Among the buildings on the campus is Building 12, vacant since the 1970s, which is undergoing a multi-million-dollar transformation into a mixed-use site that will include an architectural gallery, visitor center and community gathering place. By increasing visitation and time that people spend in the city’s Museum District and Elmwood Corridor, the project will support tourism and small businesses. For this project, National Grid is providing a $312,500 grant through its Main Street Revitalization program, which provides grants to eligible property owners, municipalities and non-profit development corporations that are transforming vacant structures into vibrant, state-of-the-art buildings that symbolize growth in Western New York’s central business districts. 

$312,500 grant to transform, modernize vacant Hotel Niagara 
The long-vacant, 12-story, Hotel Niagara is undergoing a $56 million transformation that will convert the nationally registered historic landmark into a 160-room hotel with meeting space, a restaurant, lounge, and a rooftop terrace overlooking Niagara Falls. Upon completion, the hotel is expected to create more than 60 full-time jobs in areas including hospitality, management and operations. To meet historic preservation standards and modernize the building, National Grid is providing the developer, Hotel Niagara Development LLC, with a $312,500 Main Steet Revitalization program grant. 

Business Park receives $356,300 grant to meet demand for development-ready land in Niagara County
Niagara County Business Park, a planned 60-acre site in the Sanborn/Cambria area, is the recipient of a $356,300 grant through National Grid’s Strategic Economic Development program, which provides expertise and incremental resources to leverage greater macro-level business attraction. 

The grant will also aid site leaders as they pursue their goal of expanding Niagara County’s inventory of competitive sites for job-creating projects. The kinds of companies that potentially could be targeted are those in advanced manufacturing, semiconductor supply chain firms, agribusiness, food processing, logistics and warehousing. In addition, the funding will advance engineering and design work needed to extend and finalize key infrastructure components, including a planned 13.2 kV electricity extension. 

Maplevale Farms to receive $388,000 grant to offset electricity infrastructure costs at new Findley Lake facility  
Falconer-based Maplevale Farms, a long-established food distribution company, received a $388,000 grant to relocate and modernize operations to a new, $31 million, 126,000-square-foot facility in Findley Lake. When construction is complete, the new site will feature dry and cold storage, approximately 20,000 square feet of office space, and nearly 64,000 square feet for cutting fresh steaks and an 8,500-square-foot maintenance shop. 

The project will strengthen Chautauqua County’s economy by retaining more than 200 jobs and creating 23 new positions. National Grid is supporting the expansion with an Electric Capital Investment Incentive Program grant, which will offset costs of a three-phase voltage conversion and other distribution system improvements needed to accommodate increased electricity demand.