‘One Bayfront’ master plan launched; consultant team, funders named and open house scheduled

City leaders and the administration announced a community-driven Bayfront master-planning effort called One Bayfront, describing the consultant team, funding sources and a summer public engagement schedule ahead of a blueprint expected by the end of 2026.

Mayor Devlin said the city selected WSP (with Perkins Eastman and a market-analysis firm) to lead the planning work and that Infinite Erie contracted and is managing the engagement. “I want to be really clear the city is not paying for any of that. It was funded by Erie Insurance paid for some of it and I think maybe the Erie Community Foundation. Infinite Erie is leading the charge in the sense that they contracted with the consultant and they're kind of manage project managing the consultant,” the mayor said.

The administration launched an online survey and plans a public open house on June 25 at the Intermodal Center, described as the first of several community touchpoints this summer. The process will present initial vision boards and solicit public reaction; officials said they expect iterative feedback and plan to produce a market-informed blueprint by the end of 2026 to guide future development decisions along the bayfront.

Council members asked that Infinite Erie present to the full council and that planning staff incorporate feedback into any review of waterfront conditional uses to ensure equity is built into permitting and ordinance language. The planning department is expected to report back with findings about how other cities structure waterfront rules and to propose ordinance language adjustments if needed.

Officials encouraged broad public participation in the survey and upcoming meetings and asked councilors to share outreach materials through social media and neighborhood networks.