Niagara Falls City Council approves settlement with NFR, construction of new data center to move forward
The Niagara Falls City Council has approved a settlement with Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR), ending a multi-year legal dispute. This agreement paves the way for NFR to proceed with its proposed $1.48 billion Niagara Digital Campus data center project. The city will receive a portion of land from NFR and pay the company over $4 million in costs.
The Niagara Falls City Council on Wednesday voted to approve a settlement with Niagara Falls Redevelopment (NFR), concluding a protracted legal battle over vacant land in the city. The agreement greenlights NFR's plan to construct a $1.48 billion data center, dubbed the Niagara Digital Campus, on the property.
As part of the settlement, NFR is required to donate a section of land near Falls Street and John Daly Boulevard back to the city. In return, the city must undertake the necessary procedures to facilitate NFR's data center development. Furthermore, the city will compensate NFR over $4 million for expenses incurred related to the donated property and is prohibited from using the land for purposes that could compete with NFR's data center.
The dispute originated in November 2021 when Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino proposed acquiring the NFR-owned land, which had been vacant for more than 25 years, through eminent domain to build a public space called "Centennial Park." Months later, in June 2022, NFR sought zoning changes to permit a high-powered data center, a proposal that raised environmental and energy usage concerns among residents. Mayor Restaino is scheduled to hold a briefing on Thursday to discuss the council's decision.