After more than two years of litigation, a state appeals court ruled in June that the City of Niagara Falls could legally force the sale of nine acres of downtown land to construct “Centennial Park,” a proposed $200 million sports complex and concert venue.
Now, city officials are looking to make good on that ruling.
In a petition filed in New York State Supreme Court on Friday, Niagara Falls is requesting court approval to force development company Blue Apple Properties to sell its five-acre portion of a vacant lot that sits across the street from the Seneca Niagara Casino. If successful, the city would purchase the “underdeveloped and stagnant” land through eminent domain for $4.2 million.
Court filings indicate that the city had spent at least three years trying to cut a deal with Blue Apple and even proposed a land swap, but the company refused those offers.
In April, the city sued Niagara Falls Redevelopment, which is affiliated with Blue Apple, in order to nullify the development company’s deed on 4.2 acres of the proposed project site. The city’s suit alleges that the land, formerly the site of a playground, was illegally transferred to Niagara Falls Redevelopment in the 2000s without the necessary approval from the State Legislature.
NFR has maintained in court filings that its deed is valid. If their suit is unsuccessful, the city could still force a sale of the land through eminent domain, per the State Appellate Division’s June ruling.
In a statement after the city’s June court victory, Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino accused NFR of “preventing Niagara Falls from fulfilling its potential as a true world class tourism destination.”
“NFR owns approximately 140 acres of property in downtown Niagara Falls,” Restaino said in a statement. “The fact that they are pulling out all the stops fighting the city over a few acres in which we are offering a fair market value for is revealing.”
The proposed Centennial Park would include a 6,000-seat arena, a skating rink, an amphitheater and a parking garage. A feasibility study released by the city in June claimed that the project would generate $50 million in the park’s first five years. Project proponents have not specified where the $200 million for the project would come from.
NFR had previously put forth studies to build the "Niagara Digital Campus," a data center, on the controversial site.
Restaino, a major supporter of the arena and park project, has said Centennial Park would boost the city’s tourism and hospitality industries.
“It’s going to check all the boxes that you’re looking to check,” Restaino told reporters in June. “Employment, home ownership, all those things that you look for while also generating revenue in an industry that’s going to surround us, one that we have to make sure that we support, while looking to make sure that we're also being more than just a one-industry location.”
