BUFFALO
Aud project to receive federal funding
1/26/01
A plan to transform Memorial Auditorium into an entertainment and transportation center will receive more than $6 million in federal funding, officials confirmed Thursday.
Mayor Anthony M. Masiello described the Aud project as key to revitalizing the downtown waterfront.
As expected, federal officials approved a request by Rep. Jack Quinn, R-Hamburg, to redirect $6.06 million that had been set aside for the proposed Gateway Bridge, which would have linked the inner and outer harbors.
Construction is expected to start within a year and be completed within three years.
With the latest appropriation, the federal government has committed $36.5 million to the Inner Harbor project.
The Aud project is just one component of a larger $285 million blueprint for revitalizing the 25-acre district known as the Inner Harbor.
Over the next several years, plans call for construction of an office building to accommodate an operations center for Adelphia Communications.
Crews already have been working on reconstruction at the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park, a project that will relocate the warships and create new boat slips and a museum.