Niagara Falls, N.Y. (WBEN) - Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino says $5 million in state allocations for two key city projects was an "early Christmas present" for the city.
The funds include $1 million for renovations to the Rapids Theatre and $4 million for Niagara Falls' ongoing efforts to renovate a series of long vacant buildings - mostly along Main Street - in one of the city's key business districts.
What the funds will do is help spur a series of urban renewal efforts in Niagara Falls and help Restaino see his long term Main Street economic development revival take hold.
Call it development game changers.
At the center of Niagara Falls' efforts is finding a new operator of the Rapids Theatre, making it a live entertainment and special events hub.
Restaino said there three groups very interested in the Rapids Theatre.
And just across Main Street sits the vacant former Jenss building that is being eyed by a development group led by Buffalo attorney and noted preservation specialist Jason Yots. The Yots team want to see the Jenss building anchored by 36 apartments.
Interest in other Main Street properties is beginning to take hold, Restaino said.
"What we are seeing now is everyone's desire to lean in and get things started," Restaino said.
But there is no development magic wand, the mayor cautions.
Main Street's redevelopment - including the 38 properties the city has specifically targeted - will take time.
"It's time to view those buildings as assets," Restaino said.
In the past year, Niagara Falls and its development partners have hosted a number of site visits and tours. It was one of those tours that piqued the interest of Yots and his development team.
"You get one project going and it changes everything," Restaino said.