In December, Washington passed the much-debated Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which brought sweeping changes to the tax structure for individuals and companies in the United States. For many, this bill represented a potential turning point for the American economy.
When planning your next trip to the state capital, put down the car keys and exchange them for a boarding pass. Starting this February, OneJet will takeoff from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport enroute to Albany. This is a big win for the local business community which worked diligently to bring this service back after being pulled more than seven years ago.
OneJet will begin non-stop flights to Albany from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport on February 1, 2018. OneJet CEO, Matt Maguire, said during an introductory press conference Monday “the business community has been very responsive” with the efforts to bring round-trip service from Buffalo to the state capital.
Empire State Development Corporation has been a partner and leader in the revitalization of the Buffalo Niagara region. New York State’s economic development arm has been a central pivot for collaboration through the Regional Economic Development Council and a key organizing agency for our area’s priorities in public investment to stimulate new private growth. Beyond the agency’s support for signature projects such as Riverbend’s Tesla gigafactory and the Northland Workforce Training Center, Empire State Development offers a number of ongoing programs aimed at incrementally growing key sectors of the Buffalo Niagara economy.
Urban revitalization in Western New York isn’t exclusive to the City of Buffalo. Throughout the region, smaller cities and villages are reinvesting in their urban cores, establishing live, work and play environments. These efforts are capitalizing upon uniquely historic building stocks and an inherent character that can’t be authentically recreated in new, built-from-scratch communities.
It is an issue that is fast becoming a priority for businesses today. Creating and fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do for every type of company.
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s five Economic Councils help sharpen our focus on key industries driving our regional economy and the issues most important to local employers.
This past month, Buffalo saw the approval of a number of significant development projects in its neighborhoods, including 1111 Elmwood, a mixed-use redevelopment of the corner of Elmwood and Forest Avenues. These projects implement the smart growth principles that our city and our region have prioritized; fostering sustainable new investment on urban sites already served by infrastructure and public services.
There is no better way to get a vast view of Buffalo’s changing economy and skyline than on a boat. The Buffalo Niagara Partnership held our annual all-council meeting in mid-August onboard the Grand Lady that set sail on the Buffalo river and along the Lake Erie shoreline.
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is a growing trend in urban redevelopment that integrates some form of mass transit into a project based on its location, design, amenities and market appeal. We asked one of our Development Advisory Council members, Paul Ciminelli, President and CEO of Ciminelli Real Estate, to discuss the growing national trend of TOD and how his company has implemented this into its latest project.
