Take a tour of the Buffalo construction boom
Since Gov. Andrew Cuomo set in motion his plan to make major investments in the Western New York economy with his Buffalo Billion initiative, announced during his 2012 State of the State address, various projects have started to take shape, while others remain in the planning stages.
While the Cuomo administration has claimed victory with the Buffalo renaissance, pushing the state-subsidized collection of projects as a national model, it remains to be seen whether the plan to spark the economy by investing in key emerging markets will blossom into a long-term success story.
Still, it’s hard to deny that the perception of the region is changing for the better as more of these projects gain a foothold.
City & State has mapped some of the more significant developments in the works or recently completed throughout the city of Buffalo:
 |
RiverBend |
(Click for More Information)
1339 S. Park Ave., Buffalo
Far and away the largest investment from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative, $750 million – $350 million in capital, $150 million in tax breaks and $250 million in unspecified state funding – has been committed to building one of the largest solar panel manufacturing facilities on earth. The plant, which is expected to cost more than $900 million in total and is more than 1 million square feet, will be owned by the state, but used by Elon Musk’s SolarCity. The company has pledged to invest $5 billion in the endeavor, which officials say will create nearly 1,400 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs. With construction well underway, the company hopes to start operations sometime in the second half of 2016.
 |
Buffalo Manufacturing Works |
(Click for More Information)
847 Main St., Buffalo
On the edge of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, this Buffalo Billion-funded manufacturing center provides a space for training and experimentation, where students and businesses can access state-of-the-art technology. This allows businesses to work with center operators EWI to test production changes that could increase their efficiency or profitability without having to make the upfront investment in costly equipment like 3-D printers. The $53 million investment is expected to create or retain 3,500 jobs over the next decade, according to state officials.
 |
Workforce Development Center |
(Click for More Information)
683 Northland Ave., Buffalo
The development center was deliberately located in a once-vibrant manufacturing corridor in one of the city’s poorer neighborhoods, a move that state officials say will provide an opportunity for people in need of quality jobs. Slated to open in 2017, the $44 million center – funded with $29 million in Buffalo Billion money and $15 million from the New York Power Authority – will bring together a number of state agencies, education outfits and manufacturers to train a workforce set that is aging out in industries where Western New York is experiencing growth.
 |
Medical Innovation & Commercialization Hub and Institute for Genomics |
(Click for More Information)
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
An effort to capitalize on the University at Buffalo’s research work, these initiatives, each supported with $50 million in Buffalo Billion funds, are located in the heart of the growing medical campus just east of downtown. The state has signed anchor tenant Albany Molecular Research Institute, which will use the state-owned innovation hub for its work. The company is expected to invest $200 million into the Buffalo operation, and hire 250 employees, according to the state’s original estimates – though that has been slow to take shape, as only about 20 employees are currently working out of the Buffalo office. The nearby genomics institute involves a partnership with Manhattan’s New York Genome Center that will increase the computational infrastructure for both institutes and is expected to spur development of new companies on the medical campus, creating 500 jobs, according to state projections.
 |
Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub |
(Click for More Information)
Key Center, Buffalo
With IBM as an anchor tenant, the IT center takes over a large part of the recently vacated Key Center, where the state is spending $55 million to create a facility where Big Blue and other companies will partner with the SUNY Polytechnic Institute to train future industry workers and current staff while working to develop new software. State officials have said that the company expects to have 50 employees working out of the Buffalo offices by the end of the year, but the center should house 500 employees within the next five years.