Governor Kathy Hochul joined local and state leaders Monday for a beam-signing event to celebrate the planned development of new public apartments on Marine Drive.
The new apartments will replace the current buildings on Marine Drive, which were built in the 1950s. Hochul said the current development is desperately in need of updates.
“The 600 residents who call Marine Drive home ... deserve better,” Hochul said. “We're not just slapping on some band-aids and trying to fix up a couple projects here and there and calling it a day. We're replacing them completely.”
The construction of the new Marine Drive will be completed in three phases. Phase 1 is set to finish in summer 2028 and will feature 254 apartments. Hochul said current residents will be able to stay in their homes while construction is underway.
The governor’s office estimates that the construction will cost $600 million. The finished apartments will feature 730 new units to replace the 616 current units.
New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes was present at the event and said the new Marine Drive development is part of a broader push to reduce homelessness in the state.
“It's real clear. If people don't have any place to live, they do become homeless, and sometimes you have to have public housing in order to give people that opportunity to have a home,” Peoples-Stokes said.
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan was also present and said he grew up in the area at a time when the waterfront was home only to docks and “oily water.”
“Now that it's nice, you start hearing this whisper, ‘Well, maybe they should get rid of Marine Drive and move the poor people somewhere else,’” Ryan said. “That's not how we're working in New York State, and that's not how we're working in this City of Buffalo. So these buildings will stay what they are. This is a neighborhood, and it's a neighborhood that's affordable to the people who live in the City of Buffalo.”
Ryan said he does not want the waterfront to become an area where only the 1% can afford to live.
Barbara Maurent currently lives at Marine Drive with her daughter. She said she has participated in resident feedback events that have helped shape what the new Marine Drive will look like. Maurent's daughter uses mobility aides, so accessibly has long been an important issue for Maurent.
“The existing Marine Drive buildings were not built to accommodate people with disabilities, especially those who use wheelchairs or walkers, as my daughter does,” Maurent said. “The new Marine Drive will finally be a welcoming access place for everyone with mobility challenges.”
The new Marine Drive will include 27 units designed to accommodate those with mobility-related disabilities and seven units designed to accommodate those with sensory-related disabilities.
The development will also include 5,000 square feet of new commercial space, a new community center and a public plaza. The governor’s office said the project will bring economic benefits to the entire downtown Buffalo area around Marine Drive.
The new Marine Drive development is part of Hochul’s $25 billion five-year housing plan, which the governor said will “create or preserve” 100,000 affordable homes across the state.