By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – The Bass Pro deal isn't dead, but officials said the company is about to be cut lose.
The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation Monday unveiled its grand plan for the waterfront renovation. And they say Bass Pro can easily be scratched out.
Canal development group Vice Chair Larry Quinn said, after two years, Bass Pro is about out of time.
Quinn said the deal isn't dead yet, but the board agreed Monday to set a 30-day deadline to end speculation and inertia on the long-awaited project.
Quinn said the development group has refocused and is ready to build - with or without Bass Pro.
Officials said they have other retailers in mind if Bass Pro passes on the deal. That deal includes roughly $35 million in public funding to help rehab the old Memorial Auditorium into a mega-sporting goods store.
But officials sid the public trough stops there.
Board Chairman Anthony Gioia said the waterfront project is by no means no dependent upon Bass Pro.
Federal, state and Power Authority settlement money is in place for several elements of the project.
Long promenades will be built to take visitors through the canal district, to a history museum and a bustling marketplace, similar to Seattle's popular tourist attraction.
A row of historic brick buildings with retail and living space would be reminiscent of Tribeca or Baltimore's waterfront.
Mayor Byron Brown said it is time to stop imagining and let people see it.
The board said it will vote at its next meeting to get environmental studies and requests for proposals going. Construction is expected to begin this summer, with the first stores opening possibly as soon as 2009.
Click the "listen" icon above to hear Joyce Kryszak's story now or use your podcasting software to download it to your computer or iPod.