First Buffalo River Marina, Ecological Design Support

Located on 15 acres of shoreline along Buffalo’s Outer Harbor, the 115-slip First Buffalo Marina was historically used for grain storage and transfer. The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation sought to improve the private marina while also opening portions of the site to the public, celebrating its industrial heritage, and enhancing its ecology by restoring habitat and managing invasive species.

As a key member of an integrated design team led by OLIN, Biohabitats provided ecological expertise to support schematic design of the full Capital Plan buildout and Design Development and Construction Documentation for a Phase 1 project. Biohabitats began by assessing the site’s ecological conditions and establishing invasive species management strategies to help guide the design process. This involved identifying and mapping invasive species and inspecting existing in-water habitat. Biohabitats then developed a variety of potential ecological restoration concepts, including upland naturalized landscape areas, living shorelines, and in-water habitat features. The concepts focused on plant communities, soils, habitat features, and synergy with ecological restoration already underway in the Buffalo Outer Harbor area and included consideration of long-term maintenance and monitoring requirements.

Biohabitats also identified opportunities to integrate stormwater management features into the site design in ways that could slow down, cool, cleanse, and utilize surplus rainwater to optimize site ecology. Biohabitats developed a planting plan and provided a soil amendment strategy and site grading input for habitat restoration and in-water habitat features. Biohabitats also provided technical assistance and review for final design documents, advisory review during the development of the construction document phase.

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• Design