INVITATION TO BIDDERS Niagara Falls Heritage Gateways: Gorge Gateway Park & Hydraulic Power Plaza Sitework

In 2018, through its “Strategic Land Acquisition Program” USA Niagara began purchasing some of these vacant/underutilized properties in the downtown tourist district now totaling seven buildings and over eight acres of vacant land. With these key parcels now acquired, USA Niagara has begun to focus its attention on strategies that will reactivate these properties. The first step in this process was the creation of a formal strategy to ensure new development is done in a thoughtful manner that responds to the character of downtown. The resulting “Downtown Niagara Falls Development Strategy” illustrated a range of interim interventions and attainable development guidelines to re-imagine a more vibrant downtown in the near-term while building momentum and continuing to promote sustainable dynamic growth over time. Implementation of the Development Strategy includes the construction of several public infrastructure investments, including a series of heritage-themed gateways to better connect downtown amenities with the natural assets of the State Park. The gateways will also include checkpoints that link together the numerous cultural, historical and natural assets of downtown Niagara Falls. Phase I of the project construction will focus on sitework for the “Hydraulic Power Plaza” and “Gorge Gateway Park” at the corner of Main Street and 1st Street.    Gorge Gateway Park will transform approximately 2.27 acres of City-owned vacant land (formerly DiFranco Park) into a multi-use recreational space to act as transition between the natural setting of Niagara Falls State Park and the dense urban setting of downtown Niagara Falls (see figures 2 and 3). The park will include an event lawn for gatherings and picnicking; woodland gardens with walking paths and benches; stormwater meadows to capture and store rainwater on-site; and a seat wall terrace that will allow for views above the rest of the site, provide seating and accessible path from the top of the site to the bottom while traversing approximately 12 feet of elevation drop.       Hydraulic Power Plaza will be built on vacant land between 1st and 2nd streets. The approximately 1.4-acre plaza will follow the alignment of the historic hydraulic Canal that once ran through the site to power early industry and electric generation. The plaza will include landscaping, informal setting areas, a small play structure, an array of lights supported by steel structures inspired by historic transmission line towers and a 105-foot-long misting fountain that invokes the former canal. The plaza is also designed to accommodate a temporary ice rink in the winter months. In addition to providing a new connection from the State Park to downtown Niagara Falls, the plaza will become an amenity for adjacent future developments to be constructed on the surrounding State-owned land. Following construction, the plaza will remain a public amenity owned and operated by New York State agencies.   Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Set Aside: No Total MWBE Participation Goals: 30% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Contracting Goal: 6% Due date:07/29/2024 4:00 PM Late Proposals Will Not Be Accepted Contract term: TBD County(ies): All NYS counties Location: NYS Business entities awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years: None