Back in 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo was presented with the “Buffalo Billion” Investment Development plan by the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council (WNYREDC). The governor committed to putting an unprecedented $1 billion investment in Buffalo, targeting areas like manufacturing, healthcare, tourism, workforce improvement, and entrepreneurship. With the Western New York area being generally more conservative than the rest of the state (Buffalo native Carl Paladino was Cuomo’s outspoken opponent in the 2010 gubernatorial elections), many locals doubted that the Democratic governor would be able to deliver on his promise.
But with the release of the new state budget in April, it looks like the Buffalo Billion will be delivered in full. Following previous investments of $170 million in tax credit and $150 million in capital, $680 million has been allotted to the plan, completing Buffalo’s billion dollars from the state. This money is intended to go to a high-tech update of South Buffalo’s Republic steel plant, development of the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus (including a SUNY and Albany Medical Research partnership), and funding of an advanced manufacturing park in Batavia. With these ventures, the development council hopes to improve Buffalo’s economy and have that trickle down to the rest of Western New York.
The Buffalo Billion’s biggest-ticket project is the $225 million RiverBend “clean energy and tech hub” to be built on the former Republic steel plant. This new building complex will house two major Silicon Valley companies, Soraa and Silveo. These two tech firms produce solar panels and LED lighting, respectively. The California companies pledge to invest $750 million each into the project and create 875 jobs. Not only is Buffalo picking up a major manufacturing plant, RiverBend even focuses on advanced technology and green energy (compared to Buffalo’s old standby industry, steel). Most of the initial $225 million invested goes towards purchasing and renovating the site and land. This sort of good foundation won’t necessarily ensure success, but it makes the entire plan more attractive to the two investing companies and gives them even more reason to stay in Buffalo.
The high-tech manufacturing at RiverBend, expansion of the medical campus, and new waterfront tourism developments will create jobs, jumpstart the economy, and improve the City of Buffalo as a whole. This area has suffered years of stagnation and decline, but Buffalo’s finally seeing a concentrated effort to boost infrastructure. Our city’s future is starting to look like a billion bucks.
by Melissa Li
