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Albany,
NY – April 2021 / Newsmaker Alert / Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced
the design for a new, $46 million state-of-the-art visitor center in Niagara
Falls State Park. The new facility (view
renderings here) will be a gateway to adventure along the Niagara River
Corridor, greatly improving the visitor experience, complementing nature,
increasing the length of visits within the park in all four seasons, and
enhancing awareness of nearby recreational and cultural offerings. The
Governor also announced that the Ralph
C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation has committed $8 million in grant funding
toward the construction of the Welcome Center. The Welcome Center is a
signature project of Governor Cuomo’s NY Parks 100 initiative announced
in this year’s State of the State proposals.
“New
York is home to some of the nation’s greatest parks and outdoor recreational
opportunities that attract visitors from all across the globe, and Niagara
Falls State Park is no exception,” Governor Cuomo said. “This new visitor
center continues the stunning transformation of New York’s most famous
and most visited state park, welcoming the millions of tourists who visit
each year while highlighting the unique history and beauty of the park
and the entire Western New York community.”
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The
new facility would provide expanded space for peak-time visiting and include
areas for ticketing, interpretation, dining and retail operations. The
building will replace a 35-year-old structure that is no longer capable
of hosting the 9 million visitors a year the park receives.
“Niagara
Falls is a wonder of the world unique to Western New York,” Lieutenant
Governor Kathy Hochul said. “With a rich legacy as the oldest state park
in the United States, New York continues to invest in this landmark gem
to bolster regional tourism, economic recovery and showcase this awe-inspiring
attraction for future generations.”
The
new 28,000-square-foot visitor center will include new ticketing and information
desks, interpretive museum space including an immersive experience and
exhibits highlighting a diversity of topics including natural, industrial
and Indigenous American history; new concession spaces; restrooms and associated
support spaces. The glass, steel and concrete facility has been designed
to complement nature and include a rooftop solar array, green roof elements
and a separate restroom building. Enhanced site amenities include new accessible
paths; plantings; outdoor exhibits, and interpretive and wayfinding elements.
The existing 7,000-square-foot regional administration building immediately
adjacent to the facility will be adapted to include a multi-purpose community
room, regional archives and offices for Niagara regional interpretive staff.
The
$8 million grant from the not-for-profit Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation,
created after the 2014 death of Wilson, the former owner of the Buffalo
Bills and a co-founder of the American Football League, continues Ralph
Wilson’s remarkable legacy of support for tourism, parks and outdoor recreation,
trail development, and community revitalization in Western New York.
The
visitor center is a signature project in the Governor’s NY Parks 100 initiative,
which renews the historic commitment to investing and expanding the State
park system by committing at least $440 million over the next four years.
This critical period of revitalization will culminate in the 2024 celebration
of the 100th anniversary of the State Park Act, which first created our
nation-leading State park system in 1924 under Governor Al Smith. NY Parks
100 will continue crucial investments in park infrastructure while enhancing
opportunities to reach the full range of New York State’s recreational
and cultural offerings, including local parks and trails, regional flagship
parks and historic sites, and vast wilderness parks. The initiative will
focus on creating places to recreate locally, relieving overcrowded parks,
welcoming new visitors, and protecting New York State’s environmental and
historic legacy. This new plan will ensure people from all communities
and across all ages and abilities can fully experience our outdoors, our
culture, and our heritage.
The
building is being designed by GWWO, a national leader in visitor center
development. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2021 and
wrap up in time for the 2023 tourism season.
State
Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said, “Niagara Falls is New York’s very
own Wonder of the World, and it should reflect that grandeur to people
from all walks, internationally, nationally and locally. This project will
not only serve to welcome, orient and educate visitors to the park, it
will serve as a jumping off point to many other regional attractions -
which will mean longer visitor stays and more opportunities for all of
our tourism partners.”
President
& CEO, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation David O. Egner said, “A new
and reimagined Niagara Falls State Park Welcome Center along the Shoreline
Trail has tremendous potential to strengthen the area’s growing tourism
economy, creating more jobs and enhancing the quality of life for area
residents. The $8 million grant for this project also builds upon the Foundation’s
broader efforts to catalyze economic development in Western New York and
improve access and connections to public spaces and trails throughout the
region. We look forward to the future Welcome Center being a world-class
destination the residents of New York and the region can be proud of when
it welcomes an estimated 9 million visitors annually from across the world.”
Congressman
Brian Higgins said, “This re-imagined Visitor Center for Niagara Falls
State Park is an essential part of the larger effort to open up the beauty
of Niagara Falls to the rest of the world. It builds upon the recent removal
of the former Robert Moses Parkway reconnecting the residents of Niagara
Falls to what is arguably the greatest waterfront on the planet, and complements
other significant recent parks improvements funded through the re-licensing
of the Niagara Power Project.”
Senator
Tim Kennedy said, “Niagara Falls State Park welcomes millions of visitors
from around the world every year, and this new Visitor Center will truly
enhance the experiences of these guests. Not only will this project strengthen
New York’s recreation and tourism opportunities, but it will also serve
as a new resource for the surrounding community. I’m pleased to see New
York make this impressive investment in one of our region’s most iconic
parks, and thank the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation for helping to guide
this vision forward.”
Senator
Rob Ortt said, “The Niagara Falls State park is a one of a kind asset to
Niagara County, the Buffalo Niagara region and the State of New York. The
announcement of a new state-of-the-art visitor center will greatly enhance
this already treasured attraction, improve the experience for the millions
of annual visitors and bring additional interest to the park and surrounding
community,” said Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt. “I am grateful to the
Ralph C. Wilson foundation for partnering with the State of New York to
provide substantial new investment to the park and the City of Niagara
Falls.”
Assembly
Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “I would like to thank Governor
Cuomo and congratulate the WNY State Parks team on the announcement of
a new Niagara Falls State Park Visitors Center. Known as America’s oldest
state park, this new center will enhance visitors’ overall experience witnessing
the natural wonder that is Niagara Falls.”
Assembly
Member Angelo Morinello said, “Thank you to Governor Cuomo for his continued
focus and financial contribution in the City of Niagara Falls and the world
class attraction that the Niagara Falls State Park is. This new visitor
center will add to the overall visitor experience, allowing them to learn
more about the region and spend more time in Niagara Falls. This investment
serves to compliment the already over $150 million that has been invested
here as we continue to rebuild this global attraction.”
City
of Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino said, “As the oldest state park
in the United States, and most famous park in New York State, I am thrilled
at the opportunity with this innovative improvement. Knowing that our City
plays host to over 9 million visitors each year and is the tourism catalyst
for Western New York, we are excited for the opportunity to better accommodate
the needs of tourists during their stay with us. By presenting visitors
with a state-of-the-art welcome center with the help of New York State
and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, we anticipate continued investment
in our community and further allowing us to bolster economic growth within
Niagara Falls.”
President
& CEO of Destination Niagara USA John Percy said, “The investments
that have been made to improve the Niagara Falls State Park over the last
several years have been nothing short of extraordinary. A new, state-of-the-art
facility is a much needed and highly anticipated addition to the park that
will provide visitors year-round access to a Visitor Center that will offer
a superior experience.”
State
Parks will issue a Request for Proposals from potential partners for a
10 plus year agreement beginning in 2022 to operate food, beverage, retail
and recreational concessions throughout Niagara Falls State Park, including
space in the new Visitor Center. The new agreement would offer 7,300-square-feet
of “white box” space to be built out by the next operator for concessions
and support areas. Once issued, information
on the RFP will be posted here.
This
project will complement the $150 million revitalization of Niagara Falls
State Park landscape. Launched in 2011, the Niagara Falls State Park landscape
revitalization plan was a multi-year commitment to renew the park in a
manner that better reflects noted park designer Frederick Law Olmsted’s
vision for the landscape. The plan renovated the park’s major viewing areas
including Luna Island, Prospect Point, Lower Grove, Three Sisters Islands,
North Shoreline Trail, Luna Bridge, and Terrapin Point with new pedestrian
walkways, enhanced landscaping, new benches, light posts and railings.
The interactive Cave of the Winds pavilion, which highlights the natural
and cultural history of Niagara Falls, opened in 2017.
Removal
of the Niagara Scenic Parkway in the city of Niagara Falls provides
unprecedented access to the Niagara Gorge by connecting the city to its
waterfront for the first time in a generation and is the largest expansion
of Niagara Falls State Park since the creation of the park. Niagara Falls
State Park is a state and national treasure. Created in 1885, it is the
oldest state park in the nation, attracting over 9 million visitors annually.
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New
York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees
more than 250 individual parks, historic sites, recreational trails and
boat launches, which were visited by a record 77 million people in 2019.
A recent university study found that spending by State Parks and its visitors
supports $5 billion in output and sales, 54,000 private-sector jobs and
more than $2.8 billion in additional state GDP. For more information on
any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit NYS
Parks website, connect with us on Facebook,
or follow on Instagram
and Twitter. The free New
York State Parks Explorer mobile app is available for iOS and Android devices.
To download, visit: Google
Play Store, NY State Parks Explorer App or Apple
Store, NY State Parks Explorer App.
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Media:
Albany:
518-474-8418
New
York City: 212-681-4640
Press.Office@exec.ny.gov |