Officials with the Buffalo Niagara Partnership detailed their annual report Wednesday morning before an estimated 300 guests at Buffalo's Canalside.
Among the accomplishments in its fiscal year 2014-15, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership formed a leadership council to assist the business startup group 43North, fostered an outreach to companies that may be interested in providing supplies to Solar City and its forthcoming massive manufacturing plant in Buffalo's RiverBend district, supported efforts to further grow business interest in RiverBend, supported the Buffalo Building Reuse Project and extended the Brownfield Cleanup Project.
"I think we're going to talk a lot more about workforce. I think that's becoming a major issue," said Buffalo Niagara Partnership President and CEO Dottie Gallagher-Cohen, when asked about the next challenges for the organization.
With other speakers stating that it's an interesting time to be in downtown Buffalo, Gallagher-Cohen suggested there is progress, though it comes with patience. She likened Buffalo's redevelopment to getting "base hits."
In the meantime, she is also encouraged by an opportunity to end a longtime exodus of people.
"We've seen for the first time an escalation of population in Erie County, just by a few hundreds folks but after decades of the arrow going the other way, that feels great," Gallagher-Cohen said. "If we can get downtown fixed, and we can have all these jobs we hope we will have, and we become a place people will want to live, my hope would be that we could reverse that trend."
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership enjoyed its own growth in fiscal year 2014-15, adding 90 new members.
