By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Steps to remove the former Memorial Auditorium and Donovan Building in downtown Buffalo have been approved.
The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation board voted yesterday 4 to 1 in favor of a contract to remove asbestos and hazardous waste from both sites.
Newly appointed harbor corporation chairman Jordan Levy says Tuesday's vote was monumental. Levy says preparing to tear down the Aud is the first phase required to rebuild Buffalo's waterfront.
Once the Aud is razed, the land would be shovel-ready for redevelopment. It could become the future site of Bass Pro. The company has decided not to build at the historic canal site.
Clean up and removal of both the Aud and Donovan Building will take 14 to 18-months to complete and cost more than 11-million dollars. Some question if Bass Pro would wait that long. But Mayor Byron Brown says tearing down the Aud is not just about Bass Pro.
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