Thank you, John Furrow. I'm honored today to join you and the members of the Canadian urban institute. I will always welcome the opportunity to discuss the good things that are occurring in the city of Buffalo and the tremendous potential of our community.First, however, I'd also like to thank David Crombie for his effort in bringing this meeting together and David Carter, who, along with the entire waterfront regeneration trust, has become an invaluable partner of ours as we continue to redefine and reinvent the city of Buffalo.
Also, I am joined by Mr. Alan Delisle who is my administration's senior economic development advisor. Alan is the president of the Buffalo economic renaissance corporation, which, as its name suggests, is responsible for all economic development issues throughout Buffalo. And let me say this, they are busy, for there is much to look forward to in Buffalo these days. I'll get to that shortly.
In 1901, the city of Buffalo commanded the attention of the world as the pan American exposition presented technological innovations, namely electricity that foreshadowed an era of growth and prosperity not only for Buffalo, but also for the entire United States.
In 1999, the world's attention will be directed to the city of Toronto, which will propose that the 2008 Olympics be brought to a city that has firmly established itself as one of the great urban areas of the world.
Who knows what will unfold over the next one hundred years, but one thing is certain: the golden horseshoe that encompasses southern Ontario and western new York is poised to assume its rightful place among the world's most productive, dynamic and progressive city-regions. With Toronto as the northern anchor and Buffalo as the American gateway, the city-region, stretching from Oshawa to Rochester will benefit from a unified, Trans-border relationship that will provide broader access to suppliers and business opportunities and thereby improve the efficiency of moving goods and services. This is critically important to the continued strength and success of Toronto and equally important for Buffalo's renaissance.
As I stated recently in Niagara falls at the international trade corridor conference, I am committed to concept of an international zone, which would establish an open system for the movement of goods and people across the u.s./Canadian border efficiently, cheaply and expeditiously. With an average of $80 million dollars worth of goods crossing the peace bridge daily, and the fact that most businesses today engage in just-in-time product delivery, it stands to reason that we make the flow of goods between the world's two greatest trading partners as smooth as possible. I have worked very closely with my good friend and fellow mayor Wayne Redekop of fort Erie to emphasize the need for a seamless border that supports and encourages the movement of the vast array of goods that nafta has stimulated between our two countries. Additionally, I look forward to expanding and strengthening Buffalo's ties to the cities of southern Ontario whose mayors participated in the Niagara Falls Trade Corridor Conference. Whether we care to admit it or not, our collective future is closely linked, especially as the world's economic alliances continue to expand, strengthen and flourish. I believe we possess a wealth of attributes that other emerging international city-regions contain, but I'm also aware that the longer we contemplate the concept of a unified, Trans-border regional alliance, the greater the risk of losing our competitive advantage. So why would individuals such as yourselves and the flourishing metropolitan Toronto region consider Buffalo as a valuable partner in the golden horseshoe.
The city of Buffalo, through the course of its history, has experienced significant success and bitter failure. The city's sustained rise to prominence was fueled by the united states' industrial expansion and as long as the nation's industrial strength continued, so too did Buffalo's preeminent position among our country's urban communities. The perception of Buffalo at the turn of 20th century was a progressive, industrial powerhouse that flexed its collective muscle by hosting the pan American exposition.
We demonstrated for the world the power and majesty of electricity; our image, as a community, was beyond reproach.
One hundred years later that image and perception has changed dramatically. Whether it is deserved or not, many people, perhaps some of you, have a perception that Buffalo is a city and a community worth ignoring. Indeed, earlier this year, during the Buffalo Sabres spirited playoffs with the Toronto maple leafs, it seemed the Toronto-based sports media was more interested in poking fun at the city of Buffalo and its residents than concentrating on the series. I don't blame those journalists; they write for an audience who very likely share their perception of Buffalo.
Fair enough. I come to you today to state that Buffalo, new York is a city worth noticing; it is a city filled with dynamic businesses; it is a city characterized by a well-educated and productive workforce; it is a city that is the ideal gateway to north America for Canadian goods; it is a city that is the perfect nexus for the emerging golden horseshoe running from Ottawa through Toronto into to Buffalo and on to Rochester. Ours is a city that has confronted the circumstances that led to our decline and we have established the means by which to revive and reinvigorate our economy. Very simply, we have applied the public sector principles of affecting change and melded them to the private sector demand for identifiable, bottom line success.
For the city of Buffalo to affect change, to garner outside interest in its potential and to generate job creation through long-term, stable economic development we don't have to look far to examine the impact of sustained, positive growth.
The city of Toronto is an economic dynamo that has evolved from a reserved mid-sized city into a vibrant international powerhouse. I recall in my youth residents of Toronto travelling south to Buffalo for "big city" entertainment: good restaurants, exciting entertainment, and a real night on the town in the big city. What a difference forty years makes.
Admittedly, Buffalo will not attain the international status of Toronto, but we are an international city and we can and will play an important role in the regional development of southern Ontario and western New York. As I have stated on numerous occasions, we can pursue separate goals and ideals and achieve limited success or we can work collectively, as one of the most dynamic cross-border city-regions in the world, and set a new standard for regional cooperation that will be the envy of the world-at-large. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you today would ask what Buffalo has to offer that Toronto doesn't already possess and why would anyone from this community decide to do business in Buffalo.
The Canadian economy is robust. According to the Ontario ministry of finance, production has expanded for twelve consecutive months, the longest uninterrupted string of growth in more than a decade. And in Ontario recent forecasts indicate that for 1999 real gdp growth will range from 4.3% to 5.2%. These are impressive figures. So what could Buffalo possibly contribute to this more-than-rosy picture.
Well, for starters we are the American gateway to the largest, most affluent and most populated urban corridor in the world, otherwise known as bosnywash. Over 70% of the North American population are within a day's drive of Buffalo. What better location to establish distribution centers for Canadian manufactured product into the United States? Apparently others have taken advantage of Buffalo's strategic geographic location: between 1993 and 1997, the value of exports from the Buffalo/Niagara region doubled reaching $2.7 (u.s.) billion. Indeed, through the first quarter of 1999 strong u.s. demand led to a 2.7% increase in real exports from Ontario. So the demand is there; the market is robust. Why then would any business leader look to Buffalo as a locale for business expansion?
As the leader of the city of Buffalo it's my job to extol the virtues of my city and to encourage businesses to establish operations within the city limits. Critics might dismiss such activity as boosterism and they'd be right, but only partly.
I am not here to sugarcoat or conceal the reality of life in our city. We have problems; we have lost population, we have lost businesses, we have lost some of the best and brightest of our young people who have sought careers in more promising markets. And your fellow citizens' perception of our city ablaze with house fires was fed by a nightly dose of Buffalo-based television news reports that run stories that excite. Let's face it a multiple alarm building fire will always beat out the opening of a fifty -person engineering firm on the city's waterfront, which I welcomed to Buffalo last week from their former suburban headquarters. Or the two new hi-tech businesses that opened their doors last week bringing the number of information technology employees in the city to over two thousand and the variety of cutting edge I-tech businesses to over thirty and counting.
Within the last 18 months six new high tech firms have opened their doors in downtown Buffalo. With the fifth densest fiber optic network in the world, we anticipate further growth among high tech firms seeking a reliable, established and efficient fiber optic infrastructure.
When my administration took office in 1994 our city's finances were in disarray. During the first five years of my administration we have closed over $100 million in budget shortfalls, while avoiding unnecessary tax increases. We reduced the size of the city's workforce and restructured the bureaucracy. Our efforts have continued with an ongoing reconfiguration of the city's building permit process, long criticized as unresponsive and inefficient. That is changing. Additionally, the voters of our city recently passed overwhelmingly a referendum revising the city's charter for the first time in 70 years. The voters didn't need much convincing; we need to change the way we govern and manage our city. The charter revision commission I appointed adhered to those basic principles and I am pleased that we will now enter the 21st century with a charter that will help streamline and enhance the quality and delivery of city services. When I took the oath of office I recognized the challenges Buffalo faced were daunting, but I didn't seek the mayor's office to wring my hands and fret over problems without seeking meaningful and sustainable solutions. We must have done something right, both moody's investor services and standard and poors increased the city's bond rating earlier this year. The rating agency action marked the first increase in the city's bond rating since 1992.
Once in city hall, our objective was to redefine the manner, in which city business is conducted, thereby fostering an attractive atmosphere for business development. The fruits of our labor are finally been realized. After putting our financial house in order, we could begin the process of coalescing various economic development initiatives. Perhaps most prominent is the redevelopment of the city's waterfront. Last month, the city broke ground with governor Pataki and members of our city, state and federal governments on the $27 million inner harbor project. Simultaneous to this significant redevelopment effort, the city has selected one of the united states' most prominent urban development firms - the Cordite company, to develop the remainder of Buffalo's downtown waterfront in collaboration with Adelphia communications and Buffalo-based Benderson development company.
It is estimated that this redevelopment project - a combination of family-oriented attractions and entertainment, retail space, residential units and commercial development - will exceed $150 (u.s.) million. As part of the project, Adelphia communications, the fourth largest telecommunications firm in the united states and growing - as well as the owners of the Buffalo Sabres, has pledged to construct an office complex that will house up to 1,000 employees and be available for future employee expansion.
Just south of this waterfront site is a region that was the focal point of Buffalo's industrial past. As the steel industries and related businesses departed they left behind large tracts of land that are now commonly known as brownfields. European nations, particularly Germany, have led the way in the redevelopment of these fallow grounds and have returned the properties to productive reuse. My administration has identified 1,200 acres of south Buffalo brownfields as the centerpiece of the south Buffalo redevelopment project. Located close to the shores of lake Erie and along major railroad and highway corridors, the site represents the largest brownfield redevelopment project in new York state, one of the largest urban brownfield redevelopment projects in the united states and one of the largest industrial park developments on the east coast.
The project focuses on industrial redevelopment, but includes a wide range of development initiatives and community benefits. The core of the project focuses on the creation of two modern, mixed-use business parks featuring a wide range of amenities designed to enhance the marketability of the site and provide new recreation opportunities. Approximately 625 of the 1,200 acres on the project are proposed as new light industrial and commercial uses, with the remainder reserved for recreational uses. Public investment in the project is estimated between $45 to $65 (u.s.) million. I believe our south Buffalo redevelopment project will long serve as a model for returning these vacated properties to meaningful and productive reuse. One of Buffalo's greatest assets remains our geographic location. From the glory days of the Erie Canal and a vibrant maritime history to the redevelopment initiatives I have outlined, our proximity to the great lakes and Canada is an asset few communities - anywhere - can look to for future development. We have it and we intend to make the most of it.
To that end, the city of Buffalo entered into a agreement with the town of fort Erie and the waterfront regeneration trust to develop an international waterfront gateway strategy, which represents a broad
Visitor-based economic development strategy for both communities. The international waterfront gateway strategy serves as an important linchpin between not only Fort Erie and Buffalo, but New York State and Ontario and the United States and Canada. The plan put into place the necessary components to stimulate and enhance a visitor-based economic development strategy that takes advantage of the unique international cross-border relationship between Buffalo and fort Erie.
If tourism is the largest and fastest growing industry in the world today and 25% of the workforce in the Canadian Niagara region by 2010 will be employed in the tourism industry, then it is essential that our efforts along the golden horseshoe not only prepare for the estimated 30 million tourists to the Niagara region by 2016, but that we establish the infrastructure today to accommodate such activity.
I support enthusiastically the mid-peninsula transportation corridor and will work with our federal and state representatives for the expansion and improvement route 219, thereby connecting the flow of goods and people to us continental 1, linking Toronto all the way to Miami, Florida.
The concept of international trade corridors, as discussed with my Canadian mayoral colleagues in Niagara Falls last week, is critical to the success of our emerging city-region. Without the required upgrades to our transportation infrastructure, particularly surface transportation, then our efforts are for naught.
Surface transportation upgrades are not the only infrastructure improvements that are required for future growth. I propose our two nations begin in earnest the study and implementation of high-speed rail links between Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal, and Windsor.
The international gateway strategy mentioned earlier and the eventual expansion of the fort Erie/ Buffalo international crossing depend on these broader infrastructure improvements. The future our city-region can and will be so much stronger, so much richer, and so much brighter with the coordination and integration of these vitally important improvements.
The implementation of the u.s.-Canadian free trade agreement and nafta has resulted in a substantial increase in cross-border trade in the Niagara region. Cross-border trade of Canadian and u.s. goods through the region reached $59 (u.s.) billion in 1996 and it continues to grow daily. This large volume of trade has the potential to attract new businesses and significant economic investment to the area. To compliment and benefit from this large volume of trade, the Niagara region and specifically the city of Buffalo must continue to develop strategies that attract investment in new industries that will benefit from the access to this flow of trade.
The Buffalo standard metropolitan statistical area (smash) is considered the sixth busiest international trade is in the United States, with over $80 (u.s.) Million in merchandise crossing the Peace Bridge each day.
To support this area's role in international trade, travel and tourism, the Buffalo and fort Erie public bridge authority is preparing for the 21st century by planning for and building facilities, which will expand the capacity of this vital international crossing. The Peace Bridge is one of the busiest trade corridors between the United States and Canada. In 1997, the bridge accommodated approximately 61% of all commercial traffic on the Niagara frontier. Between 1990 and 1998 commercial traffic increased 56%. In 1997, an annual record was established for the seventh consecutive year when 1.3 million trucks crossed the bridge. On April 1, 1998 the daily truck record rose to 5,509 trucks in one day.
The operation of the Peace Bridge provides substantial positive impact to the economies of the city of Buffalo and the surrounding metropolitan region. A recent report estimated that the Peace Bridge provides total economic impact on the city of Buffalo economy of $4.9 (u.s.) billion and on the economy of the metropolitan region of $7.2 (u.s.) billion. The sources of this impact include: commercial goods and raw materials imported into and exported from the Buffalo area; direct expenditures of the peace bridge and others dependent on the bridge; and expenditures by Canadian tourists and visitors to the Buffalo area who use the peace bridge.
Recognizing the importance of the Peace Bridge on both Buffalo's economy and image, a public process is currently underway to determine the best possible bridge and plaza system that will meet the needs of the entire cross-border region. The city of Buffalo has applied recently for tea-21 monies to assist the gateway strategy it has developed with the waterfront regeneration trust and the town of Fort Erie.
With the near completion of the city of Buffalo's master plan, we have already introduced the downtown strategic development component, we will be further prepared to provide the type of urban environment that will complement and reinforce the golden horseshoe city region. I look forward to working further with my Canadian mayoral counterparts and the Ontario provincial government led by Premier Mike Harris. In fact, with the strength of our western New York congressional representatives, who have supported our redevelopment efforts with great dedication and success, I look forward to the participation of the Canadian federal government. Prime Minister Jean Chretien's government must be a strong participant in a joint effort we pursue as a city-region. The benefits to each country - Canada and the United States, I believe, are immeasurable.
In Buffalo, we will continue on the path we have laid before us. With our network of superb universities and colleges - we have 60,000 students enrolled in university-level institutions locally - our potential for research and development is limitless, particularly in our burgeoning bio-medical corridor.
Matching these institutions for higher learning with one our region's finest medical treatment and research networks will only further enhance Buffalo's position within the golden horseshoe. But we're not stopping there. The city has fostered and developed an exciting international academic and economic development relationship with Northern Ireland and the republic of Ireland. With support from our colleagues in southern Ontario, the emerging Atlantic corridor will provide economic development opportunities, as well as academic research possibilities, for small- and medium-sized businesses seeking access to the north American marketplace via Buffalo and the European union via Ireland. I traveled to Ireland and northern Ireland earlier this year to see for myself the potential our community can derive from this vitally important international relationship. I would be happy to provide you with more details of this initiative, which seems to grow daily.
In addition to these exciting developments, the recently announced $25 (u.s.) million, five-year regional marketing initiative that will be coordinated by the Buffalo Niagara enterprise (bne) is yet another sign that our community is committed to future growth and prosperity. The bne's goal is to create 50,000 new jobs and stimulate $1 (u.s.) billion in investments throughout our region. This initiative represents something that had been lacking in our community: a true private and public sector collaborative effort that will put our region on the map and the radar screen of site selectors and business decision-makers in the global marketplace.
I hope my remarks provide you with a better understanding of the Buffalo I serve as draw near to the new millennium. My administration is dedicated to fostering a closer and mutually successful relationship with the communities that comprise our unique city-region. The golden horseshoe is only as strong as the urban centers it encompasses. If our city-region is to emerge in the 21st century as one of the world's premier urban networks, we must collaborate and cooperate; we can't succeed alone and not even Toronto.
I propose the development of joint task forces from our city-region that will begin to examine our shared interests in economic development, infrastructure improvement and expansion, tourism, cultural activities and the arts, and international trade. If Toronto can propose a compelling rationale for hosting the 2008 Olympics, then I say let your friends in Buffalo lend a hand.
As I stated earlier, there is much yet to be done to re-establish the city of Buffalo's prominence, but I am confident, with the collective strength of the golden horseshoe and Buffalo's continuing revitalization efforts, the new century will witness not only a renaissance in Buffalo, but a city-region dynamo that will be second to none. In the months to come, I hope to visit with you again and introduce to you other leaders of our region who share my administration's vision for Buffalo and western New York in the 21st century.
I extend an invitation to all of you to visit us, see what changes we are making in the way the city of Buffalo conducts business and learn firsthand the limitless potential of new York state's queen city.
Thank you.