Williams completes purchase of Tonawanda Coke site
Developer
Acting through
"Our team knows the challenges of cleaning up and addressing environmental challenges created by our region's industrial history," Williams said. "We are ready to start the hard work of turning the page on what was to what can be at the site."
Now comes the state-supervised remediation of the site, which will be closely watched by both Tonawanda residents and environmental groups.
In particular, the
But Williams insists that the investigation and cleanup would be the same no matter which program is used, and that Honeywell's responsibility doesn't change, even with the
"The concept that Honeywell would not stand up to its obligations is just patently untrue," Williams said. "As a corporation, they wouldn't do that. It's not the way they operate."
Williams also said that a Superfund cleanup might take longer because of significant regulatory delays that can take years, and that
"It's just not true to say that the Brownfield Program has less rigor, has less environmental compliance or has less cost for cleanup than Superfund," Williams said. "It gets you to the same numbers."
Already, teams from both Williams' Riverview and from Honeywell are already onsite at
"We're hitting the ground running," Williams said. "We and Honeywell share the same strong commitment. Everybody wants to see the property cleaned up, and we've already started a process for achieving that important goal."
Indeed, the two companies already have a working history, having previously partnered on two other local remediation and redevelopment projects -- the former Buffalo Color property on
In the first case, the two spent
In the second, the
In Tonawanda, Riverview will now work with the
He's previously suggested the campus could be ideal for computer data centers. "Once the site has been cleaned up, it has attributes that support data and technology-focused redevelopment," Williams said. "The investment and job-creation opportunity, in a long-term view, is very achievable."
But Williams insists that the cleanup is the primary focus right now, with redevelopment to come later. He said the cleanup "will be grounded in technical excellence, scientific rigor, and community engagement. This process will lead to the site being put back into productive use and generating tangible economic benefits for the
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