After a summer of sometimes frosty relations, the Seneca Nation of Indians and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown have struck a deal that will enable the Senecas to build the casino it originally envisioned.

Brown, along with Seneca Nation President Barry Snyder Sr., late Thursday afternoon, said they have reached a suitable agreement that clears the way for the Seneca Gaming Corp., the casino operation's arm of the Indian nation, to build a $125 million, 220,000-square-foot facility along a nine-acre parcel just off South Park Avenue that's been declared sovereign territory.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, Seneca Gaming Corp. and the Seneca Nation of Indians will pay $631,000 for the portion of Fulton Street it needs. Also, Seneca Gaming will provide between $5 million and $7 million of infrastructure improvements, create 1,000 jobs with preferences given towards hiring women, minorities and Buffalo residents, spending $1.7 million to market the casino outside of the immediate Buffalo Niagara and New York state area and help with other developments around the city's inner harbor area.

The agreement is a 180-degree turnaround from late July when Brown pulled the plug on negotiations with the Seneca Nation saying he was uncomfortable with the terms.

But, slightly more than two months later, Brown and Snyder have agreed to essentially the same deal - but with more written assurances and protections for the City of Buffalo.

"Fortunately we agreed to more than we disagreed to," Brown said. "What is important here is together we have negotiated an agreement that is good for the City of Buffalo."

The logjam was broken by local attorney Michael Powers, a partner with Phillips Lytle LLP, who brought the sides together via "electronic and shuttle diplomacy."

"The parties were closer than people thought, so we just let them cool off," Powers said. "As long as everyone was working in good faith - and they were -I knew we could get it done."

The pact must be approved by the Buffalo Common Council, the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority and the Seneca Nation's tribal council. All will have copies of the contract within the next few weeks.

The deal is considered essential for the Seneca Gaming Corp.'s quest to build what it considers a showplace casino. Designed by Sesh Associates, a New Jersey-based firm with a long resume of casino projects, the project marries the water with a casino by bringing a mini-river into what is being called the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.

A two-block stretch of little-used Fulton Street was considered crucial to the design. That was the centerpiece of the negotiations.

"We are getting an A-plus casino instead of a C-minus one," Powers said.

Under the terms of a 2002 compact it signed with Gov. George Pataki, the Seneca Nation has to open the Buffalo casino by Dec. 8, 2007. A temporary casino at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Perry Street will be open by spring to meet the compact's deadlines.

Construction on the permanent casino will begin next spring and should be completed with 24 months to 30 months.

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