By JAMES FINK
jfink@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1611

As the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. weighs options for two key parcels on the Buffalo waterfront, it has hired a local engineering firm to determine how much environmental cleanup is needed for neighboring properties.

The agency awarded a contract to LiRo Engineers Inc. to determine what remediation work is needed at the former Cargil property and New York Power Authority parcel on Fuhrmann Boulevard. Combined, they equal 21 acres - roughly the same size as the Canalside footprint downtown.

The agency already owns the Cargil land and is expected to close on the 14-acre NYPA site within weeks. The authority used the land to house ice boom equipment during summer months.

Both parcels are expected to be shovel ready for future development. They are considered critical bridges between downtown Buffalo and the Outer Harbor property along Lake Erie.

"We are excited to be moving forward," said Jordan Levy, ECHDC chairman. "We hope to duplicate the successes that we have already achieved on the Inner Harbor with Canalside, and to open new waterfront access to the public."

LiRo was the lowest of three bids submitted to the ECHDC. Its bid was $272,312, plus a 20 percent contingency for design and engineering services with respect to the Outer Harbor property.

The harbor development agency wants to eventually see both parcels redeveloped for non-industrial uses, Levy said.

LiRo's study should outline whatever environmental remediation is needed for the property.