After five months, what's happening with construction on the new Bills stadium?:
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/a...119a44179.html
"Five months into the project, the construction site of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium may just look like a big hole in the ground, but down below in that opening there are hundreds of workers building the foundation for the more visible and larger-scale work that lies ahead.
A few weeks ago, a steady stream of truckers began moving in and out of the site, pouring concrete that sets the stage to build the steel frame of the $1.7 billion stadium in Orchard Park. Steel will come onto the site in February and workers will start erecting the skeleton of the stadium soon afterward, taking at least a year to complete.
That’s when the project will start to look like more than a big hole in the ground.
“I think that’s when it will get fun for folks and they’ll start stopping by more to look and gawk,†said Steve Ranalli, president of the Erie County Stadium Corp., the state entity overseeing the compliance and oversight of the project. “Once that steel comes up next year, I think people will really see the stadium take shape.â€
Ranalli, who is almost nine months into his new role after heading the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. for five years, has a front-row seat to the project. The Stadium Corp., which essentially will divvy out the $850 million in public money going toward the stadium construction over the course of the three-year project, has its local offices next door to the construction site at the former Department of Motor Vehicles office on the campus of ECC South.
“It’s an economic development project – the economic impact the Bills have on the community is impressive – but we all know it’s psychological too,†he said. “I saw that on the waterfront as well, but this is an even bigger project.â€
Because the new stadium is one of the biggest projects ever in Western New York, it’s also been heavily scrutinized and reaching goals to involve the local community, including women, minority and service-disabled veteran contractors, has been an early issue.
After a slow start that led to criticism from some Erie County officials, the project’s general contractor Gilbane Turner is starting to come into compliance with the goals in the contract, Ranalli said. The Bills are required to make and document a “good faith effort†to achieve, at minimum, an overall participation goal of 30% for minority- and women-owned businesses – 15% each – and 6% goal for service-disabled veteran-owned businesses.
Empire State Development concluded that the Bills’ effort through June to reach those participation goals “is well below its expected performance.†Since, Gilbane Turner has conducted more outreach in the community and made additional efforts to split up work into as many packages as possible to involve more contractors, Ranalli said.
“They didn’t start out great and we put them on notice early on, but they have increased the outreach and we’ve actually seen in the contracts of late that they have hit higher goals,†Ranalli said.
A sheet piling wall, with precast concrete panels slipped in, is being built up on the site to take the pressure off the steel framing. Most of the utilities have been moved off-site, with installation of new utilities underway.
It will take over 2,000 trucks placing 18,000 yards of concrete to complete the foundation by the spring. After the steel goes up, the building will be clad, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems will be installed and sections, suites and food and beverage areas will be built out. About 24,000 tons of steel will be needed to build the stadium – enough for three Eiffel Towers, Ranalli said.
Hundreds of workers have been on-site so far, but that will balloon into the thousands as soon as some of the more detailed work gets underway. Ranalli expects the original goal of 10,000 people being put to work on the project to be reached.
About 10% of the overall project budget has been billed out so far, worth about $150 million.
The Bills have awarded 17 contracts as of this week – with more than 40 projects still out for bid. Seven of them have gone to local companies as the prime contractor and more than 60% of all the contract work – for prime and subcontractors – is being performed by companies from New York, Ranalli said.
Gilbane Turner is still hosting Meet the Prime Contractor sessions for potential subcontractors. Last week, more than 200 subcontractors showed up at a session where 13 bid packages were being discussed. Ultimately, there will be around 90 to 100 project packages to bid on.
“There’s a long way to go,†Ranalli said. “The goal is not just to spend the state money and build the stadium but also to involve as much of the community that we can.â€
Key players behind the scenes
The 36-month construction plan is being monitored weekly and updated regularly by the Stadium Corp., which meets often to collaborate with Erie County and Bills officials.
The state maintains all the project documents – which includes mountains of stadium drawings by architectural firm Populous – and is responsible for making sure the key elements of the stadium program are followed during the construction process. The Stadium Corp. also goes through hundreds of pages worth of documents in monthly payment requisitions.
Ranalli, an engineer who’s been with the state for 15 years, is one of four staffers in paid administrative positions to help manage the stadium project. The Stadium Corp. is spending $2.6 million on those staff members and for consultants and technical experts over the first year of the project.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and her staff also get regular updates on the project to stay apprised of the progress, he said.
Erie County will turn over ownership of the stadium to the state once it is complete but until then, county officials are still working on the project in a complementary role, Ranalli said. The county has the main responsibilities with permitting and inspection for the project and meets with the state and the team on a regular basis.
“We’ve been happy with the progress so far,†he said. “We are all talking, working well together and each team brings what they need to it.â€
Also and this topic was mentioned in another thread in the general section of the forum, Minority-owned restaurants hoping for place in new Bills stadium find home at ECC:
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/m...febb6749a.html
"When officials leading the Erie County Level Up program sought to find a place where minority-owned restaurant owners could prepare to compete for concessionary opportunities at a new Buffalo Bills stadium, they didn’t have to look far.
Next door to the construction of a $1.7 billion stadium in Orchard Park was a kitchen and cafeteria on the South Campus of SUNY Erie Community College that had been sitting dormant and going unused since at least 2020.
It made for an ideal partnership.
For the first time in several years, that cafeteria saw traffic on Monday from patrons looking to purchase hot foods and beverages. The draw was five Black-owned Buffalo restaurants that have been brought to the campus through January as part of the Erie County- and Buffalo Bills-led initiative Taste of Diversity.
The six-week pilot program that will go through January is to serve as a training ground for Taste of Diversity participants to learn to work in a fast-paced shared kitchen in a stadium-like concession setting. It also helps them build a portfolio and healthy relationship with the Bills early on.
“If it wasn’t for this college opening up this campus cafeteria, which has been essentially non-existent since pre-Covid days, we would not be here today,†said Erie County Legislator Chair April Baskin. “The Taste of Diversity series is allowing these business owners to get the necessary experience to bid on the forthcoming contracts for the stadium and other large-scale projects in our region. They’re gaining practical experience that will help them level up their business and create generational wealth for their families that has been missing in communities of color.â€
But it wasn’t easy. Baskin said there were many late nights as the space was being readied again for service.
Richard Rojek, custodian of buildings and grounds at ECC, said it took about three weeks to get the kitchen and cafeteria operational. It started with simply turning the gas back on and gaining insurance for the restaurants to operate there, and then it took bringing back much of the equipment needed to run a kitchen and serve food.
“It was a serious undertaking to do this, but I feel like it was worth it,†he said. “This kitchen was basically mothballed for a couple of years. We got everything back from the ECC North Campus and we opened pieces and parts to get everything ready.â€
Larry Stitts, who founded Golden Coffee Cup with his wife, Jackie Stover-Stitts, about 10 years ago, said it took a great deal of preparation and practice runs to be ready for service Monday, but he “learned so much†in the process.
The other participating businesses include Crenshaw’s Chicken & Waffles, Manna @ Northland, Radah Baked Goods and Em Tea Coffeecup Café. While the restaurants will primarily serve ECC students and faculty, nearby Bills staff and stadium construction workers are also invited to campus to enjoy the offerings.
“Our experience with being in this initiative has brought a lot of light to learning about the language of running your business, the capability statements, how to network and show up properly and how to meet the standards,†said Lee Thomas, co-owner of Radah Baked Goods, as he stood next to his wife and business partner, Lavenia Thomas. “This program has done a lot for my family, and we have gained new family as well through it.â€
Level Up was born out of the community benefits agreement with the Bills as part of the new stadium’s 30-year lease, which requires 30% of concessionaires and suppliers to be a local minority- or women-owned business enterprise.
The program has been running for six months, in collaboration with corporate partners like Highmark, and is helping to prepare an array of Black-owned businesses – not just restaurants – to be involved in the new stadium project. That also covers construction work and other retail and service providers.
It’s providing a pipeline to help disadvantaged business owners navigate the MWBE certification process, countywide small-business resources and securing corporate and public contracts.
Penny Semaia(a Utica Proctor grad who is of Samoan descent that played Football at Pitt), who came from Pittsburgh earlier this year to serve as the Bills vice president of new stadium relations, said the team jumped at the opportunity to help in this effort.
“We are a foundation of truly caring people,†Semaia said. “We have colleagues and friends who have been part of this community for years. … This community means a lot to us.â€
Restaurants participating in the Taste of Diversity will also get a $2,500 business grant.
“The people who need these opportunities the most have to get prepared to seize the opportunities that are forthcoming,†Baskin said. “Many have said to me in the past that if they could just get a chance to show ... what they can do, they know they could do a good job. Well, now, we get to see them get that chance.â€
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