Published: June 06, 2009 11:01 pm      

HIGHLAND COMMUNITY: Draft plan ready for review

Tentative plans for a new-look North End will be presented to residents on Monday.

Officials working on the Highland Community Area Brownfield Opportunity Area have scheduled a meeting from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Doris Jones Family Resources Center to discuss the project’s preferred land use and draft master plans. Both documents were developed based on input from the community and following months of research. The finished products will one day help guide future development along Highland Avenue and in surrounding neighborhoods.

“I think we’ve got a master plan strategy that really strikes out in some new and interesting directions,” said Mark Reid, a consultant from Urban Strategies, Inc., the company hired by the city to assist the Highland community in becoming a Brownfield Opportunity Area.

The planning process is being supported under a $375,000 grant secured by the city in 2004 and has involved several public meetings and interviews with more than 40 stakeholders. The goal is to create a plan to revitalize 560 acres of land identified as brownfields in the North End. Roughly 200 acres of that property is currently vacant. Designation as a Brownfield Opportunity Area makes the community eligible for various brownfield redevelopment incentives, including state employment credits used to entice new businesses and promote commercial expansion.

Reid said the words most often heard from the community are “jobs, jobs, jobs.” Reid said the draft master plan includes elements aimed at not only advancing larger scale economic development projects like the re-opening of the old Globe Metallurgical plant on Highland Avenue, but also the promotion of smaller manufacturers. The plan also focuses on advancing job training programs as well as new streetscapes, parks and other physical and visual improvements designed to enhance the appeal of the area. The plan is also integrated in with renewal efforts in adjacent neighborhoods, including the U.S. Customs House renovation project and other improvements in the Main Street corridor.

“We believe that Highland’s success cannot occur in isolation,” Reid said. “It needs to be embedded in an understanding of the overall redevelopment of Niagara Falls.”

Project coordinators will consider comments made by residents during Monday’s meeting as they finalize the project’s master plan. They are hoping to have the final plan prepared for submission to the state by next spring.

Willie Dunn, executive director of the Highland Community Revitalization Committee, Inc., said the project will provide a vision for redevelopment that will allow the area to capitalize on existing plans for growth, including the re-opening of the Globe facility. He said he’s confident the final plan will live up to expectations due to the high-level of community involvement that has already gone into the process.

“Residents all agree that they want to see something positive happen in the Highland Community,” he said.

To review a copy of the draft master plan or to find out more information on the project, visit www.shapehighlandsfuture.com.



Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250