This is not how eminent domain is supposed to work. It is also not how development is supposed to work, even when, like Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino, you’re spending taxpayers’ money. Mayor Restaino told his Buffalo lawyers to tell the NY State Supreme Court that 10 acres of privateRead More

While the City of Niagara Falls has stalled a proposed Data Center with a $1.5 billion investment by Urbacon, one of the world’s largest data center developers, and NFR, the city’s largest landowner, other areas in the country, are seeing the need and taking advantage of the AI boom. AnotherRead More

The proposal of the Niagara Digital Campus, a $1.5 billion data center, allows the city to compete with the big cities in the world of big tech and AI advancements. The project has two of the three main ingredients needed to succeed. The developer, Urbacon, is a successful data centerRead More

Niagara Falls Redevelopment Reveals $1.5 Billion Data Center Plan Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) recently revealed a site plan for the first phase of its ambitious $1.5 billion data center project, coined the Niagara Digital Campus. Despite this unveiling, Mayor Robert Restaino has opposed the proposal despite a global surge inRead More

The Niagara Digital Campus is an innovative, $1.48 billion technology and data center hub that will bring thousands of jobs and cutting-edge technological infrastructure to the City of Niagara Falls. The joint project between Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) and Urbacon—a Toronto-based developer of state-of-the-art data centers—is privately funded and willRead More

By Tony Farina While Mayor Robert Restaino narrowly won re-election with a 3.5 to 1 vote advantage, he still appears committed publicly to building his events center arena on 10 acres of land the city will have to purchase from NFR on John Daly Blvd. if the city wins theRead More

Bold Vision: Leveraging State Land for Event Center, Tech Campus to Spur Growth! With the Mayoral election over, Niagara Falls can now turn its attention to the “two-project solution” as a potential avenue for economic growth and development in the city. This solution aims to provide residents with an arena,Read More

Mayor Robert Restaino wants to build a taxpayer-funded events center. He does not yet have the funding or land. But we understand the principle behind his effort, and we want to support it by proposing some better, more accurate names than his preferred one: Centennial Park. Mayor Robert Restaino’s MajesticRead More

By Dennis Elsenbeck I have lived and worked in Western New York for decades now. Many in the area know me from the nearly 30 years I spent at Niagara Mohawk and National Grid (culminating in the position of regional director for Western New York), or from my role onRead More

By Tony Farina Simply stated, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has now become part of the story of the competing Niagara Falls development projects, one supported by the mayor and the second by Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR). In denying a FOIL request by the Niagara Gazette,Read More

Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) and Toronto-based developer Urbacon have unveiled a $1.5 billion plan for the first phase of the Niagara Digital Campus, a state-of-the-art data center project in Niagara Falls, NY. The development is centered on a 12-acre plot known as “Parcel 0,” which is key to the project’sRead More

By Tony Farina There was good news for the taxpayers at Wednesday’s Niagara Falls City Council meeting as lawmakers beat back a bid by outgoing councilmember Ken Tompkins to cut ties with the outside counsel which would have effectively ended the possibility for continuing negotiations with NFR in the eminentRead More

By Tony Farina NFR’s development partner, Toronto-based Urbacon, last week released its site plan for the first phase of its $1.5 billion data center project which would be built on 10 acres of what is now referred to as “Parcel-0” off John Daly Blvd. on land owned by NFR butRead More

NIAGARA FALLS — A land-use tug-of-war in Niagara Falls puts jobs and innovation in the balance. Mayor Robert Restaino, anticipating a tough election battle against Dr. Carl Cain this November, is championing a plan to develop what he calls Centennial Park. The mayor envisions a $150 million, 7,000-seat stadium, despiteRead More

Voters want to know more about NFR’s plans for the Niagara Digital Campus. This report will hopefully help inform them. In the heart of Niagara Falls, a technological renaissance may unfold The Niagara Digital Campus promises to be more than just a technological marvel, it’s about economic revitalization. Beyond theRead More

By Winston Velvet In the heart of Niagara Falls, a debate is brewing, with two visions for the future of a ten-acre plot of land. A taxpayer-funded arena, or a high-tech data center with private investment adding to the tax rolls. Here are the mayor’s taxpayer-funded sketches of his arena.Read More

Niagara Falls, NY — Mayor Robert Restaino’s dream of building a 7000-seat arena – possibly bearing his name – has clashed with plans proposed by Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR) for a high tech data center – on the same 10 acres of land. While the November mayoral election looms, withRead More

As the mayoral election draws nearer in the city of Niagara Falls, one can’t help but wonder what will happen if Mayor Robert Restaino gets re-elected. Aside from Mayor Restaino dishing out small business grants to locals in exchange for votes and cutting ribbons at press events, Restaino’s focus isRead More

By Tony Farina Time is rapidly slipping away on a golden opportunity to possibly cash in on two competing development projects in Niagara Falls that could be transformative in so many ways. Let’s give credit to NFR’s Roger Trevino for his comments in the Niagara Gazette last week titled “InRead More

By Christian Printup I am a local boy, a proud son of Niagara Falls. I’ve worked in a handful of different places in the U.S. over the years — including, for the past seven-plus years, at Seneca Gaming Corp. as senior executive director of Entertainment and Special Events. Soon I’llRead More