A pair of circular, stacked observation decks set to rise above the highly trafficked, tree-lined entrance of Niagara Falls State Park are among the proposed features of the recently announced Niagara Falls Heritage Gateways project in the city of Niagara Falls, New York. The design of the $12 million state-funded project is by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU), joined by a larger team that includes landscape architecture firm Hargreaves Jones.
Focused on the northern and southern ends of the proposed Downtown Niagara Falls Heritage Path, the project forms a large-scale, redevelopment-spurring link between downtown Niagara Falls and the oldest—and arguably most famous—state park in the United States. With its sweeping multi-waterfall views and wide range of recreational activities, the 138-year-old Niagara Falls State Park attracts millions of visitors annually. In recent decades, the adjacent downtown, however, has largely diminished—the result of disinvestment and a shrinking regional population. Conceived to generate new economic development in and around the city’s triangle-shaped downtown, the Heritage Gateways project serves as the first phase of the Downtown Niagara Falls Development Strategy. The extensive revitalization proposal was collaboratively conceived by PAU and the USA Niagara Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Empire State Development, in 2021. Aiming to breathe new life into the city’s vacant lots and disused storefronts, the master plan endeavors to “reimagine a vibrant downtown in the near term…while continuing to promote sustainable and dynamic growth and development over time,” according to a statement.
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