Explore & More Children’s Museum is still expected to locate its facility in Canalside but it will not be on the South Aud Block parcel as originally planned and is likely to be delayed. The bungling Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) has rejected the only proposal it received to construct three buildings on three South Aud Block development sites. Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation was the sole firm to respond to a request for proposals for the parcels that was to include the Explore & More, commercial space, a Canalside Information Center, and the Erie Canalway Trail Milepost Zero plaza. In the end, ECHDC could not reach an agreement on a development deal with Ciminelli.

While the ECHDC has committed $8 million in funding for the construction of the Explore & More Children’s Museum core & shell space, Ciminelli was required to lease the 40,000 sq.ft. of space to the Museum for $1 per year for 30 years with a 10-year option. Building size constraints, expensive design features, and limited space for private sector tenants likely caused headaches for other potential bidders.

ECHDC, better at spending than building, is trying plan B. And C. The Buffalo News has the disheartening news:

[Sam] Hoyt, [ the Western New York regional president for the Empire State Development Corp.] acknowledged that the “very significant” presence of the nonprofit museum, the visitors’ center and other features had deterred most developers and made it financially difficult even for Ciminelli to undertake without “very, very significant public subsidy.”

“We weren’t in the end comfortable with the amount of assistance that would be required to make it work,” he said.

The agency now plans two separate development tracks, one for the mixed-use building and another for the museum, which would still be on the South Aud Block, but on a different parcel than originally envisioned.

“We fully expect to issue another RFP for that parcel, and we are absolutely committed to Explore & More being at Canalside, in the South Aud Block,” said Hoyt, who is also a member of the Erie Canal Harbor Development board.

Hoyt declined to elaborate, but said officials are “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s with the Explore & More team,” and hope to make an announcement within the next week or two.

As for the three South Block parcels, ECHDC will be seeking new proposals from developers for a mix of retail, residential, restaurant and possibly office space.

Once built, the 40,000 square foot Explore & More museum is expected to attract 225,000 visitors in the opening year.