North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec discussed the recently approved $18 million project to transform the city-owned Norman Keller Building into a new community center in a video interview published Saturday, November 7, 2026. The proposal would consolidate youth, senior and recreation services under one roof at 500 Wheatfield Street.
Mayor Tylec’s comments about the project’s latest chapter appear in a video hosted by The Buffalo News. According to the article, city voters approved the North Tonawanda community center project, though the full details of that approval were discussed in the video itself. The ballot proposition asked whether the city should be authorized to finance up to $18 million for the project, according to beenews.com.
What the Center Would Include
The project would convert the Norman Keller Building into a community center housing a youth center, senior center and the Lumber City Development programs, per the city’s own project page at playntrec.com. The design calls for a 7,700-square-foot gymnasium for recreational programming, along with a 3,000-square-foot multipurpose space and a 1,000-square-foot fitness center, the city says.
The city’s page draws a distinction between two dollar figures that have circulated around the project. The $18 million figure represents the total projected cost and the maximum amount the city is asking voters to authorize for financing, while $15.5 million is described as the engineer’s current estimate of the anticipated construction cost specifically. Those two numbers are not interchangeable, according to the city’s own breakdown.
How the Cost Estimates Shifted
The project’s price tag has moved over time. An earlier Niagara County economic development report listed an estimated project cost of $12 million with an expected completion date of 2027, the same beenews.com report notes. The city later approved a 25-year, $15 million bond resolution intended to help finance the center and attract grant funding, according to a report from cnhi.com. The current ballot measure instead seeks authorization for financing up to $18 million, a separate and more recent figure from the bond resolution…