“I don’t think it was luck,” Higgins said. “I think it was hard work and perseverance, and I think this was all part of our strategic vision.”

“It was about a 30-year plan. And our strategy was, ‘you can’t rebuild Buffalo’s waterfront on polluted waterways,’” Higgins said.

Funding to get the river cleaned up came from the federal Great Lakes Legacy Act and then the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. It came through a consent order negotiated with Honeywell International that saw the company pump millions of dollars into the river’s restoration.

It involved the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state Department of Environmental Conservation and other agencies.

And the “friends” environmental advocacy group that transitioned to the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, then to its current Waterkeeper moniker, invested too and kept the process moving toward its goal.

“Buffalo is a great example on what collaborating on financing can do,” Hartig said.

Now more and more private sector investment is spurring the momentum leading redevelopment between Canalside and Old Bailey Woods.