The Western New York Power Proceeds Allocation Board (WNYPPAB) today voted to recommend $1.7 million in funding to Explore & More Children’s Museum. The funding will pay for a portion of the costs associated with exhibit planning and construction related to completing the interior build-out of the museum’s new site at Canalside in downtown Buffalo, expected to open in 2016. WNYPPAB’s recommendation is expected to be considered by the New York Power Authority board of trustees at a future date.
“Since Explore & More began programming at Canalside eight years ago, we have built a strong partnership with Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation and Empire State Development,” said Matt Davison, President of Explore & More’s Board of Directors. “That synergy was reaffirmed in 2012 when ECHDC selected Explore & More for the South Aud Block site, and again in 2013 when they formally accepted the Museum’s master plan and feasibility study. It’s renewed again today, as the Governor and the Power Proceeds Allocation Board support the plans to build a world-class children’s museum on Buffalo’s waterfront. This is an investment not just in a building, but in a future: for a city, a region and the children and families who live here.”
“Ultimately, this gift will support the children of our region, enabling Explore & More to provide innovative and fun learning for all,” said Barbara Leggett, Executive Director of Explore & More. “We know that children learn best through play, and Explore & More at Canalside will be filled with creative and playful hands-on experiences for the youngest Western New Yorkers. This investment in the future of Buffalo will improve our community – and the lives of children – for decades to come.”
Once built, the 40,000 square foot Explore & More at the south Aud Block in Canalside will be a vibrant, exciting, unique, hands-on play experience for children and families as they learn more about Western New York and the world around them. Located in the South Aud Block, the museum is estimated to attract 225,000 visitors in the opening year alone, and those visitors will typically shop, eat and pay for other nearby services before and after their museum experience.
ECHDC has committed to funding $8 million for the planning and construction of the Explore & More at Canalside museum project on the condition that Explore & More will be responsible for the interior build-out and exhibits that will make up the museum. Explore & More’s more than $11 million interior build-out project is expected to retain 13 jobs, create 19 jobs, in addition to 40 construction jobs, and bring new visitors and investment to Buffalo’s waterfront.
According to a study completed in 2008 by the National Association of Children’s Museums, nearly 50 percent of the museums opened in the previous 10 years nationwide were part of urban revitalization and smart growth plans. It is conservatively estimated that in addition to museum admission, local visitors to Explore & More at Canalside will spend on average $22.87 per person and tourists would spend $38.05 per person, resulting in more than $5 million in economic impact in the immediate neighborhood annually.