New concepts from PAU to Niagara Falls Heritage Gateway Project's Notable Revamp

PAU Founder and Creative Director Vishaan Chakrabarti have been chosen to head the design of the forthcoming $12 million Niagara Falls Heritage Gateway project, according to a press release issued by the firm on Thursday.

The project scope seeks the construction of four gateway structures to improve linkages between downtown Niagara Falls and the popular state park as an extension of an earlier strategic plan launched by PAU and the state in 2021.

©PAU Studio

“We’re eager to continue our work with New York State at Niagara Falls with an enlarged team that includes landscape architects Hargreaves Jones,” Chakrabarti said of the new partnership. “The Niagara Falls Heritage Gateway project provides an opportunity to show how careful architecture can repair rather than change our communities.”

The new proposals are the latest in PAU’s ongoing collaboration with the city’s economic development agency. In 2021, the firm collaborated with USA Niagara Development Corporation (USAN), a division of Empire State Development (ESD), on a master plan that used 25 neglected government sites downtown.

©PAU Studio

Niagara Falls Heritage Gateway Project’s Features

The Niagara Falls Heritage Gateway’s most striking feature is a spiraling viewing platform that runs along the border of the state park, offering the beautiful scenery of the American Rapids and Goat Island. In addition to a new pocket park at Buffalo Avenue and 1st Street intersection, PAU is developing nearly DiFranco Park with a multipurpose pavilion.

As for the history enthusiasts, the architects are erecting a pedestrian walkway along the Niagara Falls Power Company’s hydraulic canal, covered with information on the history of electricity generation and its influence on American society.

©PAU Studio

“We sincerely thank New York State for embracing public places and design that connect us to our history, environment, and one another.” “By Niagara Falls Heritage Gateway, we are establishing a new course for Niagara Falls, making targeted investments that will ultimately attract tourists and improve the community,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul in a news release.

“The Niagara Heritage Gateway project will bring fascinating new developments to the city’s downtown, drawing more visitors, strengthening the local economy, and improving the community’s quality of life.”

ESD’s Buffalo Billion II, a $65 million redevelopment strategy for the city and its neighbors in Western New York, contributed $10 million to the Niagara Falls Heritage Gateway project. The project will get an additional $2 million from the Regional Revitalization Partnership. As stated, PAU should finish the Niagara Falls Heritage Gateway project by 2024.