BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The vacant North Aud Block site at Canalside will take its next step on Thursday.
The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation will select a designer for the site, who will then determine how the site will integrate with the Canalside community. Currently, the site is a vacant pit adjacent to the Canalside Ice that is fenced off.
Physical development of the site is still about a year away. Ranalli said the architects and design teams will be on board in the next few months, who will then hold a series of public meetings throughout the year.
"We're hopeful by the end of this year we can have some direction that we can come back to the board and move forward into the final design and construction," Ranalli added. "(We're) not a long ways away. We certainly want to go through a process and make sure we do include the public. We've heard a lot of ideas for this parcel since we lost our tenant a few years ago. We want to do this right."
"This is the last big piece of Canalside to be designed and developed," Ranalli said.
Other projects in early stages include Sinatra Development's Heritage Point on the South Aud Block site. The southern end of the Donovan Block, between 716 and the East Canal, is also expected progress with Benderson Development. Explore & More Children's Museum is also expected to open in the coming months.
Other projects are in the works including the longshed and packet boat.
Proposals from design teams are due by 3 p.m. Thursday