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The City of Buffalo is focused on two goals related to the biotechnology industry. We must be prepared to capture potential expansions in the research field, and we must develop real estate product for private sector investment. The recent announcement of the formation of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Center Group, to coordinate land and development issues in the Main/High/Virginia area, is encouraging news for the City of Buffalo's development efforts. The proposed $75 million "Bioinformatics" Center would act as the linchpin for this area.
BERC and Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency staff played an integral role in bringing Fertility Acoustics to its Main Street location, and we are moving forward with efforts to identify real estate opportunities to compliment Fertility Acoustics' investment, especially on the west side of the street. The adjacency to a historic residential district is a perfect match for urban development.
BERC staff continues to work with a developer to transform the 23 High Street parcel into a medical-related development, based on its unique location as a gateway anchor for the medical corridor. A wet-lab incubator space could be a potential component in this development. The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency (BURA) owns a parcel on Michigan Avenue, which has the potential to be a key Medical Center development site. The Century Center development projects are also located immediately adjacent to the southern portion of the Medical Center.
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Center is immediately adjacent to the "fruit belt" residential area, from which it pulls a high percentage of employees. Various properties throughout the Medical Center include NYS Empire Zone incentives.
To compliment the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus initiative, the City is working with the University of Buffalo to study the potential of developing a medical research park on the South Campus. The Association of University Related Research Parks (AURRP) has conducted a preliminary analysis, and has determined that Buffalo has what it takes to create the environment necessary for a research park. In fact, the metro Buffalo region has more established research funding sources than most regions supporting successful parks.
Action Plan: Investigate real estate opportunities. Begin land assemblage through targeted acquisitions. Assist Buffalo Niagara Medical Center Group and the University of Buffalo with land and development issues.
Contact Information
Michael Ball, AICP
Project Manager
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
901 Washington Street
Buffalo, New York 14203
Phone:(716) 843-7431
Fax: (716) 843-7410
Email: mball@bnmc.org
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