Tag: Economy

Apr 19

2012

IDA deals trigger backlash

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The Erie County Industrial Development Agency has put a moratorium on granting tax breaks to hotels. The Lancaster IDA is having second thoughts about proposed tax breaks for a pizzeria. Labor unions are challenging the hiring practices at a Niagara Falls company that received property  in tax breaks in 2010. After years of “full steam ahead,” local IDAs are starting to have second thoughts about business as usual. That’s not to say they’ve necessarily changed their ways – questionable projects continue to get the green light more often than not – but there’s been an unmistakenable swing in momentum. “IDAs[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 5

2012

Lessons for Buffalo from a boomtown

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Buffalo is not Austin, Texas, and never will be. They bake. We freeze. They have Lance Armstrong. We had OJ. They don’t pay state income taxes. We do. Oh boy, do we. But I’ve come away from two visits to Austin since last summer thinking there are lessons to be learned. The Texas capital is booming. Austin proper added some 160,000 residents between 2001 and 2010, up 20 percent. Only one major metro area grew at a faster pace. The region also added jobs at a faster rate than any major metro area in the nation over the past eight[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Mar 27

2012

Hotel discounts that cost taxpayers

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It seems local IDAs still haven’t come across a hotel subsidy deal they don’t like. The Amherst IDA in January approved $1.9 million in tax breaks for a hotel and retail shops on Main Street in Williamsville that Carl Paladino plans to develop on the former site of Stereo Advantage. On Monday, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency voted to grant $275,000 in tax breaks to  the Millennium Hotel adjacent to Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga. Benderson Development recently announced plans for a hotel in the former Donovan state office building it is redeveloping at Canalside. They’ll no doubt be asking[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Mar 7

2012

A new tack for Central Terminal

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One billion dollars opens the door to all sorts of possibilities. Consider the Central Terminal. Despite its scars, the Central Terminal might be the neatest space in Buffalo. The city’s proverbial diamond in the rough, even if the emphasis is on “rough.” Plans to revive the hulking structure have been kicked around for years, to no avail. Now comes a pitch from Larry Quinn, conveyed in an interview published Tuesday at investigativepost.org  to restore the Central Terminal and relocate the Albright-Knox Art Gallery there. I asked Quinn how he would spend the $1 billion in cash and incentives that Gov.[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Mar 4

2012

Larry Quinn on Sabres, Canalside, HSBC

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To quote Frank Sinatra, Larry Quinn has “been up and down and over and out,” perhaps moreso than any public figure in Buffalo over the past generation. He’s been a boy wonder city development whiz under Jimmy Griffin and a Manhattan developer. Managing partner of the Buffalo Sabres not once but twice and now involved in an effort to build an Irish Olympic hockey program. Hailed for building the downtown arena and later working with Tom Golisano to save the team from bankruptcy. Lambasted for the departures of Pat LaFontaine and Chris Drury. Lauded as a visionary planner and reviled[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 24

2012

Q&A: Howard Zemsky

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Howard Zemsky is co-chairman of the Regional Economic Development Council for Western New York and will play a significant role in the shaping of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to invest $1 billion of state incentives in the Buffalo-area economy. He’s been hailed for his company’s redevelopment of the former Graphic Controls building on Seneca Street into the Larkin at Exchange Building, which has served as a catalyst for the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood. He’s active in the civic and preservationist community. Cuomo recently appointed Zemsky chairman of the Buffalo State College Council and is expected to soon elevate him[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 23

2012

Cuomo’s welcome break with the past

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A fair number of folks I’m talking to in economic development circles aren’t entirely sold on Andrew Cuomo’s plan to spend $1 billion to jump start the Buffalo economy. For starters, a lot of the details have yet to be worked out. There’s skepticism over the governor’s motives. And there’s his apparent intent to throw a lot of money at companies willing to relocate to the region, which has the makings of  good photo ops but a poor return on investment. But Cuomo is showing a willingness – indeed, an eagerness – to abandon the mindset behind the failed policies[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 23

2012

Clearing up the confusion

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The governor wants all the development in the city. Or not. He’s focused on just a couple of big projects. Or maybe more. The answers vary regarding Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plans for $1 billion in state incentives to rally the local economy, depending on who is doing the talking. And a lot of people are talking. Mayor Byron Brown. State Sen. George Maziarz. Assemblyman Sean Ryan. Among others. Investigative Post interviewed the two local officials who have spoken directly with Cuomo about his intentions and who are among those charged with translating into action his $1 billion pledge of economic[...]

Posted 12 years ago
Investigative Post

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