Watts Architecture & Engineering is leasing the third floor and part of the second at 95 Perry Street- they're moving from Eggertsville, taking 20,000 sq.ft. of space, and bringing 70 employees to Cobblestone. :cheers:

This is some creative site design for Spaulding Green.
The TIS was based on Alternative 1. Though there probably isn't a great difference, if any, in the number of sublots and therefore trip generation between the two.

The TIS recommended signalization and/or auxiliary lanes at Goodrich & Greiner, Roll, and Clarence Center, and Greiner & Thompson; as well as further monitoring/future study for the Main & Goodrich/Gunnville complex (which Mr. Balling said does just fine because DOT consistently tweaks the timings there...I suppose that's why it locked up during the PM count I did in the middle of winter :ohno:).

Watts Architecture & Engineering is leasing the third floor and part of the second at 95 Perry Street- they're moving from Eggertsville, taking 20,000 sq.ft. of space, and bringing 70 employees to Cobblestone. :cheers:

Wow, that's good news. Watts was my competitor though often a partner on projects around WNY (most notably the downtown Casino). It was always a pain driving from downtown out to their office on Main St in Amherst or Williamsville or wherever.

Jerome

:hi: I dunno but something tells me you are wrong in your assumption :hi:

The TIS was based on Alternative 1. Though there probably isn't a great difference, if any, in the number of sublots and therefore trip generation between the two.

The TIS recommended signalization and/or auxiliary lanes at Goodrich & Greiner, Roll, and Clarence Center, and Greiner & Thompson; as well as further monitoring/future study for the Main & Goodrich/Gunnville complex (which Mr. Balling said does just fine because DOT consistently tweaks the timings there...I suppose that's why it locked up during the PM count I did in the middle of winter :ohno:).

Who did the TIS? Your old company or your new company? or neither?

:hi: I dunno but something tells me you are wrong in your assumption :hi:

Something tells me I'm not... but thanks for keeping the conversation rolling with your multiple personalities.

The TIS was based on Alternative 1. Though there probably isn't a great difference, if any, in the number of sublots and therefore trip generation between the two.

The TIS recommended signalization and/or auxiliary lanes at Goodrich & Greiner, Roll, and Clarence Center, and Greiner & Thompson; as well as further monitoring/future study for the Main & Goodrich/Gunnville complex (which Mr. Balling said does just fine because DOT consistently tweaks the timings there...I suppose that's why it locked up during the PM count I did in the middle of winter :ohno:).


I thought it was the residents of the small subdivision on the lower right, Green Valley Drive (southwest corner) of the site, quoted in the paper about traffic impacts. Neither show their street connected to the subdivision. :ohno:

The only significant difference is one has patio homes.

Who did the TIS? Your old company or your new company? or neither?
I did it myself, old company. Had to pull it out this morning for a refresher. I could probably scan and pdf it for any of you insomniacs out there.

Who did the TIS? Your old company or your new company? or neither?

So which plan was approved by the town???

So which plan was approved by the town???

I don't know anything about this project. Sabretooth did the traffic study.

I have no idea since I don't work there anymore (and I'd be kept on a need-to-know basis even if I did). Exhibit II in the TIS is Alternative 1 above. However, the article mentioned patio homes and there were none in the TIS, which analyzed 80 MFR and 300 SFR dwelling units. Theoretically a patio home would have a lower trip generation, so I can see why Alternate 2 (which does look familiar) may have been the one.

I thought I kept a copt of the report text which I could email you if you wanted, but I didn't. I just kept electronic copies of the exhibits, accident summary, and manual counts. Now that I look at it, I don't even have a copy of the latest report, this one is February 2007. I know why now, we revised it to meet Matt Balling's ridiculous comments and suggestions (which quite frankly did not project a conservative analysis at all) and sent it along to the town for preliminary review late last summer I think - and I don't recall ever seeing the completed revised copy. Generally speaking, it didn't really change - a turning movement LOS here, etc. I'd go so far as to say it actually reduced the subdivision's apparent impact (real responsible suggestions). Essentially the idiot helped me in my job because that was less impact I had to rationalize/justify/place on the developer's shoulders to mitigate in order to get the thing approved. I'm all but absolutely certain the patio homes were not added to the revision (they're not in the electronic copy I have now).

Frank Cordero has apparently never seen the site plan because I can't recall a site plan where Green Valley Road was extended. Granted engineers at that firm are kept out of the loop almost as if it's the company's mission statement (meanwhile the planners enjoy "exclusive club privileges"), but still. I read that and figured Green Valley Road was the main extended road (Glen Iris), without looking at the plan. Which would prompt my usual comment (see Fieldstone Estates Subdivision in Amherst), "why the hell would you buy a lot on a stub street if you knew it was someday going to be extended and you didn't want to deal with that?" It's not like the Interstate was plopped next to your house and you had no say - you made a conscious decision to buy that lot. Oh wait, nothing is ever anybody's fault but someone else's in this country. Oh hell, I still stand by my comment.

Yupp- Jerry Rome is right....sounds like Bass Pro is dead. :lol:

It’s October for Aud demolition in Buffalo, March for Bass Pro construction

Rosenow said while the development agency and its consultants work on getting the future store site construction-ready, Bass Pro designers continue to perfect blueprints for a 125,000-square-foot Outdoor World store. Current renderings, which have not been made public, depict a multilevel store, with underground parking for 450 vehicles.

Eric Recoon, a Benderson Development executive, is working directly with Bass Pro to integrate the new store into the framework of the 20-acre Canal Side site.

“We’ve seen a bunch of slightly tweaked iterations over the past months. It’s going to be a dramatic and impressive building, a one-of-a-kind store, that is very much in keeping with the Great Lakes/Erie Canal theme,” Recoon said.

The Benderson executive said Bass Pro officials will come to Buffalo in the next month to walk through the recently opened harbor and the project site as part of the effort to “marry the store design” to the larger $400 million development.

A master plan for siting the Bass Pro store, plus another 400,000 square feet of retail, entertainment, residential, office and museum space on the blocks surrounding the historic Erie Canal Harbor, will be made public by late summer, according to Recoon.

Full-blown plans for the entire Canal Side project are expected to be complete by early October to officially kick-off required environmental reviews.

“We have to begin the [State Environmental Quality Review] process at least six months ahead of when we want to start construction so there’s no delays,” said Jordan A. Levy, chairman of the harbor agency. “At that point our plans will become very, very public.”

The current timetable calls for the Bass Pro story to open in early 2010.

http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/392831.html

Well, at least when they do bail out, we'll be minus the environmental disaster that the Aud has become and flush with cash to go after someone else. (Cabelas?)

For sale: closed KFC that is ‘hot’ property

A Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Buffalo’s Elmwood Strip, closed since March due to health code violations, is up for sale.

F&R Development, a local investment group that developed the restaurant at 448 Elmwood Ave. in the mid-1960s, is asking $425,000 for the property. Robert Marcus, of Pyramid Brokerage Co.’s Buffalo office, which is handling the sale, said the site is getting a lot of attention.

“It’s a hot little property because of where it’s located,” Marcus said. “There’s been a lot of interest it because it has great redevelopment potential. I doubt it will remain a restaurant.”

The broker confirmed a potential buyer has signed a purchase agreement and is exploring the possibility of tearing down the one-story, 1,700-square-foot restaurant to open the site to a multi-story, mixed-use complex.

...

The group, which has made an offer for the property, is said to be weighing the feasibility of constructing a mixed-use building with first-floor retail and integrated parking, and apartments on the upper floors.

Marcus said he expects that group to make a final decision about the project by the end of August. ...


http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/393583.html

I have a rendering of the KFC proposal....but I can't put it out yet. Soon though.

How soon? :)

How soon? :)

I'm trying...now that the News story is out, perhaps they'll allow us to run the rendering. The developers are gun-shy about showing plans without having financing lined up and disappointing the public if it falls apart. We've seen enough of that (City Tower, Elmwood Hotel, Century Lofts....)

As an aside, It appears that most major projects completed recently have had not too much difficulty filling up (Uniland bldg on Delaware from a few years ago, the Avant, Cobblestone). It appears, with the proper developer/realtor team behind it, spaces WILL fill. I hope someday in the near future, a proposal like Buffalo City Tower can come along with all the ducks in a row.

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8828/32245729er0.png

Paul Koessler died this morning.

Jobs, unemployment up in Buffalo area
Business First of Buffalo

New York state Department of Labor figures for June show the Buffalo-Niagara Falls market gained 1,300 private-sector jobs, up 0.3 percent, compared to a year ago but the jobless rate turned higher as well.

Since June 2007, nonfarm jobs in this market have increased by 3,800, or 0.7 percent, the largest gain among Upstate metropolitan areas.

By comparison, Rochester has lost 3,100 nonfarm jobs, a decline of 0.6 percent. In the private sector, that area has suffered 3,800 job losses in the past year, a drop of 0.9 percent.

The unemployment rate in the Buffalo did rise year-over-year to 5.7 percent compared with 4.5 percent in June 2007 but a bit better than the 5.8 percent rate in May.

Rochester's unemployment rate last month was 5.4 percent, up from 4.3 percent a year ago and 5.3 percent the previous month.

New York state's private-sector employment increased over the month by 4,200, or 0.1 percent, to 7.26 million in June -- the first monthly increase since January.

Statewide, the unemployment rate, after seasonal adjustment, increased from 5.2 percent in May to 5.3 percent in June 2008, its highest level since December 2004 (when it was 5.4 percent). In June 2007, the state's jobless rate was 4.6 percent.

RIP City Tower. Issa sold the site today. :fiddle:

50-plus crowd wants to stay rooted
Business First of Buffalo

A study of nearly 500 Erie County residents aged 50 and older found that an overwhelming number prefer to stay in their current residences rather than move outside the region.

The survey is included in a policy brief, "When I'm 65," compiled by the University at Buffalo Regional Institute.

Of the 480 residents who took part in the survey, 82 percent want to remain where they currently live. Those between 50 and 64 years of age are more likely to anticipate a move.

UB also found that in the period from 1995 to 2000, three-quarters of the 50-plus population that did change addresses remained in the Western New York region.

"Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is not a mass exodus of the region's older residents to the Sunbelt," said Debra Street, UB sociology professor and leader researcher on the report. "Overwhelmingly, their preference is to remain not only in this region, but in their homes."

Respondents voiced familiar concerns about the main issues facing Western New York -- property taxes, the economy and weather, though many said they appreciate the change of seasons.

RIP City Tower. Issa sold the site today. :fiddle:

Well, a 20-30 story tower there would be nice.

Who knows, maybe someone has plans for it.

I'd like to see a similar project move forward on the site. Hopefully, the ambition of this project got someone thinking.

Nice profit for Issa too.

Maybe Paladino will get off his arse and enlarge and build 50 Court. Seems to be the more viable as well as needed of the two sites.

Now that the tower is officially dead, here's one of the more interesting rumors that was going around-

Hodgson Russ was said to be very interested in moving to the Tower and was the anchor tenant that Issa said he was close to signing. In the interim, they were going to take 30k of space in the Statler for expansion space. Once the tower opened, Hodgson would sell Issa the Guaranty and he was looking at doing a residential conversion there.

:nuts:

Well, pretty safe to say he'll never crack the American market now, at the very least not the way he seemed to want to. I wonder if any of his Manchester projects are getting canned?

In the end, he just bit off way more than he could chew. You say the site was sold, to whom?

Now that the tower is officially dead, here's one of the more interesting rumors that was going around-

Hodgson Russ was said to be very interested in moving to the Tower and was the anchor tenant that Issa said he was close to signing. In the interim, they were going to take 30k of space in the Statler for expansion space. Once the tower opened, Hodgson would sell Issa the Guaranty and he was looking at doing a residential conversion there.

:nuts:

How come everyone (especially ecoast and Steel) scoffed when Jerome said that exact same thing last year? As I recall you said he did not even know George Hambeerger from whom he received the information? Looks like good ole Jerome was more substance than you gave him credit for.:lol:

How come everyone (especially ecoast and Steel) scoffed when Jerome said that exact same thing last year? As I recall you said he did not even know George Hambeerger from whom he received the information? Looks like good ole Jerome was more substance than you gave him credit for.:lol:

:lol:

Because "Jerome" was a proven liar. Right Jerry? :banana:
Funny the news is also saying Issa paid $1 million for the property, where as "Jerome" was saying it was a buck! Good ol' George might have passed that info. along. :nuts:
And what exactly in my quote did "Jerome" say a year ago???
(cue the history re-write)

Croce bought the Issa site to keep as a surface lot for his nearby restaurants.

Jerome laid out the whole Guaranty to Issa Tower scenario. You can go back and look it up - this site is too slow for me to bother. I'm more into Pittsburgh these days.

Croce bought the Issa site to keep as a surface lot for his nearby restaurants.

:lol: Nearby?!?! Guess you had lunch with Croce too? :lol:

Jerome laid out the whole Guaranty to Issa Tower scenario. You can go back and look it up - this site is too slow for me to bother. I'm more into Pittsburgh these days.

Ummm- please take the time to find and post. History gets rewritten.
Poor Pittsburgh- You've done a good job posting news stories over on that thread for yourself. Sheeesh.

:lol: Nearby?!?! .


Per Buffalo News:

Croce currently leases the site, located at the corner of West Mohawk Street and South Elmwood Avenue, and operates it as a surface parking lot.

Per Buffalo News:

Croce currently leases the site, located at the corner of West Mohawk Street and South Elmwood Avenue, and operates it as a surface parking lot.

He operates it for office workers- I bet there are fewer than five cars in the lot at night. So, it is NOT for Croce's restaurants on Franklin north of Chippewa. He has parking lots much closer.

50-plus crowd wants to stay rooted
Business First of Buffalo

A study of nearly 500 Erie County residents aged 50 and older found that an overwhelming number prefer to stay in their current residences rather than move outside the region.

The survey is included in a policy brief, "When I'm 65," compiled by the University at Buffalo Regional Institute.

Of the 480 residents who took part in the survey, 82 percent want to remain where they currently live. Those between 50 and 64 years of age are more likely to anticipate a move.

UB also found that in the period from 1995 to 2000, three-quarters of the 50-plus population that did change addresses remained in the Western New York region.

"Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is not a mass exodus of the region's older residents to the Sunbelt," said Debra Street, UB sociology professor and leader researcher on the report. "Overwhelmingly, their preference is to remain not only in this region, but in their homes."

Respondents voiced familiar concerns about the main issues facing Western New York -- property taxes, the economy and weather, though many said they appreciate the change of seasons.

No surprises here. Of course, its mostly the younger high school & college grads that have been leaving Buffalo Niagara area, while the older, retired population tends to stay put.

retired population tends to stay put.
Um.. no... the retired population also tends to flock to warmer climates as soon as the kids have their own families... hence Florida is full of retired ex-NYers.

But you are right that the younger crowd is also a concern.

He operates it for office workers- I bet there are fewer than five cars in the lot at night. So, it is NOT for Croce's restaurants on Franklin north of Chippewa. He has parking lots much closer.
I would have to agree with this. Croce may very well keep this site as a parking lot, but it has nothing to do with his restaurants. Nobody would park there planning to walk to his restaurants... they are nowhere nearby.

The developers are gun-shy about showing plans without having financing lined up and disappointing the public if it falls apart. We've seen enough of that (City Tower, Elmwood Hotel, Century Lofts....)
I fully support the developers decision NOT to share their plans just yet. We've seen too much over-reaction whenever something new comes out. Better to keep it in their pocket until they're sure about it.

I fully support the developers decision NOT to share their plans just yet. We've seen too much over-reaction whenever something new comes out. Better to keep it in their pocket until they're sure about it.

It is a sweet design- but then again look at what it is replacing; developer says it is 50-50 right now on the financing. Fingers crossed. Three stories, retail plus 12 residential units, covered parking. A known developer.

Yes, known and this developer also has another development just a block N? S? E? W? Any guesses as to who it could be?

But you are right that the younger crowd is also a concern.
Yes they are, but the problem we're experiencing has been shown to be no worse (if even as bad) as what many other cities are facing. Wasn't there that News study that found something like 75% of recent grads were still in the area? The problem isn't so much a "brain drain" but lack of a "brain gain" as has been discussed here before.

You find a solution to the younger crowd leaving their hometowns, and I'm sure there would be a lot of people across the country interested in hearing it. You could probably quit your job and just live off of speaking in forums. For instance when I go to Lowell, I'll usually pick up a Boston paper (the Globe; the Herald sucks) and I can almost always (probably the last 4-5 times now - so 2-3 years) find at least one article that deals in some fashion with the problem. Maybe they seem to think that because they have all those colleges they ought to be retaining more youth, I don't know. But if anything, I get the impression that their problem is worse than ours. They've just been able to offset it with a halfway decent job market for the last 20 years or so (thanks in part to a modestly reformed state government) and attracting a fair amount from other areas to help compensate.

I have an interesting relationship with Massachusetts - I love visiting and feel some sort of connection to the place, yet when I'm there I always run into the meanest people - and worst drivers in the world - and can't wait to get the hell out of there. Then the cycle repeats. Must be another of my self-destructive tendencies.

Speaking of self-destructive tendencies, I just remembered and I thought I should mention it - I had a dream last night, part of which I was walking downtown (no details why or for what of course, you never remember those) but I walked by a tower crane being set up. I don't even remember which street. Seeing as that's the closest to one we've seen, I thought it was a worthy mention.

Any updates on the projects going on?

Countdown to demolition at Bass Pro site
Business First of Buffalo - by Mark Webster Business First

Sitting in a cramped construction trailer on a rainy summer morning, Mark Smith knows what you're probably thinking when it comes to the Aud.

"Tear it down already!" is the common complaint. "What's taking so long?"

As if it were that simple.

But Smith, whose job is to supervise the demolition, knows, perhaps better than anyone, that tearing down a building such as Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium -- or the Donovan State Office Building across the foot of Main Street -- is anything but simple.

As the old saying goes, the devil's in the details.

While red tape and indecision delayed the Old Gray Lady's date with death, hundreds of hours of engineering and prep work have also gone into safely and efficiently gutting the Aud and the Donovan Building before any exterior walls come tumbling down.

And reason No. 1 is asbestos. The one-time fireproofing material of choice, now known as a deadly carcinogen in its friable form, was used extensively throughout both buildings.

"There's about 24 thousand linear feet of asbestos pipe insulation in there," says Smith, gesturing toward the Aud. The director of construction for Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., which is overseeing the deconstruction of both buildings, notes that the Donovan has sizable asbestos issues of its own: 400,000 square feet of sprayed-on asbestos fireproofing sandwiched between its eight floors.

There's also asbestos drywall tape in both buildings, as well as other pockets of the material. Some of it is hard to access, such as the asbestos buried within the Aud's thick concrete floor slab, or other patches high up near its roof.

Before any of it could be touched, both buildings had to be completely sealed with an extensive filtering and containment system to make sure no asbestos escapes into the downtown air. And before work could start in the Aud, an 800-amp power service had to be restored to the disconnected building, which closed in 1996. Add all of that up, and now you begin to get a feel for why they can't just "knock down" the Aud.

A combined crew of more than 100 specially trained workers from two companies has been toiling steadily for a few months in both buildings, methodically scraping away the asbestos, which is then hauled to a hazardous waste facility in Ohio. It's grueling manual labor, and Smith says the crew is only about half done with that phase, which carries a combined price tag of more than $10 million.

It's fair to say that Smith -- who is coordinating the efforts of an alphabet soup of companies such as LiRO, PDG, LVI, JMD, URS, CNS and others -- is orchestrating one of the largest Western New York demolition projects in recent memory. And he says "orchestrating" is an apt verb.

"I'm really a conductor, an orchestra leader," he says. "My job is to make sure everyone's playing the same song every day."

The asbestos movement of the deconstruction symphony should be complete by fall. The final stanza will be taking the buildings down, though Smith says flashier methods, such as wrecking balls and implosion, are out, due to the tight downtown location. Instead, a combination of cranes, high lifts and shears will disassemble the structures one section at a time, with an estimated April 2009 completion date.

Part of the work will involve harvesting recyclable materials.

"There's still copper pipe in there," Smith says." We'll also salvage the structural steel and the concrete, which will be crushed off-site and used for road fill."

Tearing down a Buffalo icon such as the Aud to make way for a Bass Pro outdoor store, begs the question as to whether the job has a sentimental component to Smith, who will wind up devoting more than a year of his life to the effort.

"The Aud isn't really the project," he answers. "The Donovan Building isn't the project. The (Erie Canal) Harbor is the project. Something will be put back in to make it better."

And that will be the sweetest music to Smith's ears, as well as to the impatient audience that has been straining to hear of progress on Buffalo's waterfront.

Toronto next stop for M&T
Business First of Buffalo - by Thomas Hartley Bus

M&T Bank Corp. plans to open a commercial banking office in Toronto, the first commercial office outside the United States in the bank's long history.

The office is expected to open by the end of the year, pending regulatory approvals.

The $66 billion-asset, Buffalo-based bank (NYSE: MTB) operates in seven states and the District of Columbia and is one of 20 largest U.S. commercial banks.

"Canada is a good location to expand our commercial business because we've been headquartered on the border for more than 150 years and we understand the bi-national economy," M&T Bank President Mark Czarnecki said in a prepared statement.

"This office will allow us to provide banking services to the Canadian offices of our U.S. customers. We'll also seek the business of Canadian companies that are expanding into the U.S.," he said.

John MacLeod, a 30-year veteran of the Canadian commercial banking industry, will be in charge of the branch.

Shea's enjoying a 'Wicked' summer
Business First of Buffalo - by James Fink Business First

"Wicked" turned out to be wicked good for the box office at Shea's Performing Arts Center.

The hit Broadway musical, which ended its four-week run at Shea's on July 13, attracted more than 93,000 people and filled the downtown Buffalo theater to about 97 percent capacity.

President Anthony Conte estimated that "Wicked" helped Shea's sell more than 1,000 season-ticket packages for its 2008-2009 Broadway season.

"It was an important booking for us as it brought in a lot of new people to Shea's," Conte said.

"When you sell more than 1,000 extra season tickets, you know the show is having an impact," he said.

Preliminary estimates peg "Wicked's" local economic impact between $20 million and $22 million, with half of that figure coming from patrons who ate in restaurants or stayed overnight in a downtown hotel because of the show.

The other half came from the 115-member cast and crew, some of whom spent six weeks in Buffalo. All were put up in local hotels.

Conte said many shopped along Elmwood Avenue or at the Walden Galleria while others spent time at Niagara-on-the-Lake or the Chautauqua Institution. Niagara Falls was also a popular attraction.

Shea's has an estimated $80 million annual economic impact on the region, including $54 million coming directly from touring Broadway shows.

Yes, known and this developer also has another development just a block N? S? E? W? Any guesses as to who it could be?
Are you implying it's the same people involved in the Utica condo project? BTW, when are is that project supposed to break ground? I don't think they've demo'd the existing houses yet.

Um.. no... the retired population also tends to flock to warmer climates as soon as the kids have their own families... hence Florida is full of retired ex-NYers.

But you are right that the younger crowd is also a concern.

I'm just going off what the survey said, that most of the seniors want to stay in the Buffalo area, & that's great. And that they do seems pretty obvious when you look around Buffalo, that has one of the highest media ages & highest percentages of 65 plus population than any metro, right behind Pittsburgh.

Sure, there are plenty of retired ex-Buffalonians down around Tampa & Charlotte. But you see lots of retired people from everywhere down there. NYC loses a big chunk of its population when they get to 50 or 60 & move to South or Central Florida. LA, Chicago & other big cities lose a lot of their retired population too, but they get replaced by youthful newcomers.

That doesn't seem to be happening around Buffalo.

I'm just going off what the survey said, that most of the seniors want to stay in the Buffalo area, & that's great. And that they do seems pretty obvious when you look around Buffalo, that has one of the highest media ages & highest percentages of 65 plus population than any metro, right behind Pittsburgh.

Sure, there are plenty of retired ex-Buffalonians down around Tampa & Charlotte. But you see lots of retired people from everywhere down there. NYC loses a big chunk of its population when they get to 50 or 60 & move to South or Central Florida. LA, Chicago & other big cities lose a lot of their retired population too, but they get replaced by youthful newcomers.

That doesn't seem to be happening around Buffalo.

Sounds about right

Croce will build something on site he bought from Issa (http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/395677.html)

Croce will build something on site he bought from Issa (http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/395677.html)

He says it won’t be a 40-story office building,but it won’t be just a parking lot, either

By Sharon Linstedt NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 07/20/08 7:11 AM

With a portfolio of successful restaurants and parking lots in hand, Buffalo businessman Mark Croce is moving into the commercial development arena.

He turned heads last week when he bought a prime downtown parcel from cash-strapped British developer Bashar Issa for $2.15 million. The vacant nearly one-acre property at 85 W. Mohawk St. at South Elmwood Avenue is the site where Issa proposed erecting what would have been Buffalo’s tallest building.

“I definitely won’t be building a 40-story tower,” Croce said. “But I will build something that makes sense in the context of the location, something that makes the highest use of the property.”

Best known as a developer of restaurants and nightclubs in downtown’s Chippewa/ Franklin entertainment district, Croce’s diverse entertainment holdings range from the high-end Buffalo Chophouse, to the Irish-themed D’Arcy Mc- Gee’s pub, to the Country-themed Buckin’ Buffalo Saloon.

He also owns several downtown parking lots, and his Skydeck Corp. was hired by Issa in June to run surface parking at the 85 W. Mohawk St. site.

“I was thinking about that property before [Issa] bought it,” Croce said. “It’s in an ideal spot and has tremendous potential.”

Issa purchased the lot in May 2007 for $1 million, a price that doesn’t reflect its true worth, according to its new owner.

“It was part of a package deal he made with Gerry Buchheit when he bought the Statler, so you can’t judge its value from that transaction. I don’t feel I paid too much,” Croce said.

While he declined to get more specific about what he’ll do with the site, he said it won’t remain a parking lot “much longer.”

“I’ve hired an architect and have a bunch of preliminary renderings. I’m at an important juncture moving into development, so I’m going to do it right. I’m not going to waste a prime development site,” Croce said.

While he’s previously said he’d like to develop a boutique hotel downtown, he said that’s not in his plans for the site. And he won’t be putting up a standalone parking deck.

“It will be a building that fills in a lot of gaps and complements the major buildings around it, like City Hall and the new federal courthouse. So it might intergrate parking, Class A office space and some entertainment,” Croce said.

James Militello of JR Militello Real Estate said the Issa-Croce deal was unexpected.

“I think Mr. Croce made a very smart move,” Militello said. “Even if he never uses for anything but a parking lot, it’s a hot buy.”

The commercial real estate veteran said he was less surprised by Croce’s purchase than by Issa’s decision to sell the lot, leaving the Statler with no associated parking.

“Now he’s got an 800,000- square-foot building he’s trying to redevelop and has given up the only parking he controlled. I don’t know how that makes sense,” Militello said.

Buffalo developer Carl P. Paladino also questioned the parking lot sale.

“He’s left himself high and dry. You’ve got to be nuts to sell off an asset like that,” Paladino said.

Issa halted his $100 million makeover of the Statler Towers office building into a hotel/residential/ office complex this spring citing cash-flow problems. The sale of the West Mohawk property is believed to be tied to his efforts to raise capital to restart the work.

Croce said he is “not counting Issa out” when it comes to bringing the historic Statler back to life.

“He’s a nice guy who’s taking a lot of cheap shots because things haven’t played out the way he hoped,” Croce said. “My impression is that he remains committed to the Statler and is working on funding. He’s not walking away.”

Issa could not be reached to discuss his decision to sell the “City Tower” site and how that might impact his Statler plans.

Croce isn't going to develop the Issa site, Jerry Rome says so! :lol:

Honestly, of all the lots that Croce owns, this new site is the one that should get developed first? It is in the middle of $200 million of investment (Courthouse, New Era, Avant), but he also owns lots behind Ellicott Square, behind Sheas, north of Statler, on Franklin, and the 600 block of Main.

"While he declined to get more specific about what he’ll do with the site, he said it won’t remain a parking lot “much longer.” “I’ve hired an architect and have a bunch of preliminary renderings."

OK... is this where WestCoastPerspective posts a zoomed-in thumbnail of a stop sign with a window behind it?

:) :D ;)

"While he declined to get more specific about what he’ll do with the site, he said it won’t remain a parking lot “much longer.” “I’ve hired an architect and have a bunch of preliminary renderings."

OK... is this where WestCoastPerspective posts a zoomed-in thumbnail of a stop sign with a window behind it?

:) :D ;)

I haven't heard anything about his plans for the lot. The purchase was a complete surprise. The only Croce-related rumors I've heard recently are about a hotel on Franklin next to Duo and a purchase offer in on a building behind Shea's.

Construction Watch: Seneca Creek Casino
http://buffalorising.com/img/img_entries/w600/20905.jpg
Today, 12:53am By West Coast Perspective

Think Financial Student Loans
On July 8, US District Court Judge William M. Skretny determined the Seneca Nation of Indians could not legally operate a gambling casino on their nine-acre Michigan Avenue site. “Business as usual,” said Seneca Nation President Maurice A. John, Sr. the day after the decision. Nearly two weeks later, gambling continues in the temporary facility and work on the permanent casino is proceeding.

Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County filed a motion on Tuesday asking Judge Skretny to enforce his decision and order a halt to gambling at the site. Meanwhile, work continues on the $333 million casino complex, the most expensive private-sector real estate development in Buffalo’s history. The project includes a 206-suite, 22-story luxury hotel tower, a 90,000 sq.ft. gaming hall and 2500 space parking facility. Steel work is now underway.

Will they continue to build? Yes, according to one source familiar with the Seneca’s game plan wishing to remain anonymous. “They might be forced to stop gambling for awhile, but they're not going to stop building. They feel they'll ultimately prevail.”

The stakes are high.
http://www.buffalorising.com/upload/2008/07/16744.jpg

Damn that WestCoast!

^^Double personality???

^^Double personality???

:runaway:

Went to the Italian Festival and then downtown yesterday. The Avant is starting to look great and the Courthouse looked to be starting on the third floor steel superstructure. The Casino site was actively under construction at 8:30 pm and the steel is starting to go up. The waterfront condo tower is also looking good though it could certainly use more glass facing downtown.

The only downer of the day was how downright shabby the Hertle Avenue business district looks. The signage on most of them looks like something that would have been done by Jethro Bodine. Most of the buildings in the festival area look very very tattered and run down. I have not been down in that area for a few years and was really shocked at the decline. I hope they turn it around before it is lost like so many other neighborhood business districts. It was good to see that even though they looked like low rent businesses at least most of the storefronts were occupied. We parked on Linden and noticed that quite a few of the houses on our walk to Hertle looked like they had become section 8, i.e. run down needing paint and lawns

Shea's enjoying a 'Wicked' summer
Business First of Buffalo - by James Fink Business First

"Wicked" turned out to be wicked good for the box office at Shea's Performing Arts Center.

The hit Broadway musical, which ended its four-week run at Shea's on July 13, attracted more than 93,000 people and filled the downtown Buffalo theater to about 97 percent capacity.

President Anthony Conte estimated that "Wicked" helped Shea's sell more than 1,000 season-ticket packages for its 2008-2009 Broadway season.

"It was an important booking for us as it brought in a lot of new people to Shea's," Conte said.

"When you sell more than 1,000 extra season tickets, you know the show is having an impact," he said.

Preliminary estimates peg "Wicked's" local economic impact between $20 million and $22 million, with half of that figure coming from patrons who ate in restaurants or stayed overnight in a downtown hotel because of the show.

The other half came from the 115-member cast and crew, some of whom spent six weeks in Buffalo. All were put up in local hotels.

Conte said many shopped along Elmwood Avenue or at the Walden Galleria while others spent time at Niagara-on-the-Lake or the Chautauqua Institution. Niagara Falls was also a popular attraction.

Shea's has an estimated $80 million annual economic impact on the region, including $54 million coming directly from touring Broadway shows.

Sheas was another of those buildings that the demo everything crowd wanted to turn into a parking lot. They said it could not be saved.

Went to the Italian Festival and then downtown yesterday. The Avant is starting to look great and the Courthouse looked to be starting on the third floor steel superstructure. The Casino site was actively under construction at 8:30 pm and the steel is starting to go up. The waterfront condo tower is also looking good though it could certainly use more glass facing downtown.

The only downer of the day was how downright shabby the Hertle Avenue business district looks. The signage on most of them looks like something that would have been done by Jethro Bodine. Most of the buildings in the festival area look very very tattered and run down. I have not been down in that area for a few years and was really shocked at the decline. I hope they turn it around before it is lost like so many other neighborhood business districts. It was good to see that even though they looked like low rent businesses at least most of the storefronts were occupied. We parked on Linden and noticed that quite a few of the houses on our walk to Hertle looked like they had become section 8, i.e. run down needing paint and lawns


Yes Jerome The Hertel neighborhood is in steep decline

:)

I grew up in the neighborhood (on Sterling Avenue) from 1988-1993...my observations are that the businesses & restaurants and general streetscape on Hertel are much better than they were in '93, but the residential sidestreets off of Hertel are worse than they were in '93 IMO.

Hertel is tattered and run down? You must be joking. No I am not joking. The stretch that the Festival was on, from Colvin to Delaware is riddled with run down store fronts. True, most of them had businesses, but just take a good look at them. Look at that ratty hardware store for example, look at the need for paint or brickwork on most of the buildings. Look at the former Temple with the wood church sign just nailed to the front like an emergency enclosure by Macaluso. Take an honest look at all the faded and hand painted signs adorning these structures and tell me that that area looks better now than it did five years ago. I know it doesn't, you know it, and anyone that is honest knows it. Granted it's a sucessful strip by City of Buffalo standards but that is damning it with faint praise. And you will note from my original post that I was referring to the area of Hertel the Festival was in.

I am not saying it's time to throw in the towel on Hertle, what I am saying is that the area is in desperate need of a facade improvement program, now, before it reaches it's tipping point.

As has been pointed out by others on this site, the residential area near Hertel is declining, so the City should not wait until the street goes before doing something. Can't Buffalo be proactive for once in it's existence?

:)Feds and Senecas seek to remove casino case from Skretny
By Gene Warner - News Staff Reporter
Updated: 07/23/08 12:27 PM



The issue of continued gambling at the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino got even more complicated today, when both the United States and the Seneca Nation of Indians filed legal papers asking to have the case transferred to the National Indian Gaming Commission.

This morning, the United States filed a motion in federal court, asking U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to transfer the case to the gaming commission.

At the same time, the Seneca Nation -- which is not technically a party to the original lawsuit -- filed an "amicus brief," supporting the federal government's motion.

That "friend of the court" brief also opposes the casino gambling opponents' bid to enforce Skretny's July 8 decision and put a stop to the slot machines already operating at the temporary site downtown.

The Seneca Nation, in a lengthy press release, stated that the request to transfer the case is based on significant changes in the applicable law, as interpreted by the U.S. Department of Interior.

The case seems to revolve around one major issue -- whether the federal judiciary or the executive branch should be the ultimate arbiter in this case.

"A remand to the NIGC is the only constitutionally appropriate option available in these circumstances," stated Laurence H. Tribe, a Harvard Law School professor serving as chief legal consultant for the Seneca Nation.

It is the executive branch, not the federal judiciary, that is empowered to execute the laws, Tribe added. That includes exercising the law-enforcement discretion that Congress delegated to such executive agencies.

An attorney representing Citizens Against Casino Gambling in Erie County has a different view of where the case should be decided.

"I guess the Senecas and the government can't take no as an answer from Judge Skretny," Cornelius D. Murray said.

Last week, the citizens' group filed a motion asking Skretny to enforce his July 8 order that gambling on the nine-acre site is illegal.

The citizens' group has asked the judge to direct the National Indian Gaming Commission to shut down the existing casino. Citizens Against Casino Gambling also called on the judge to order U.S. marshals to enforce the order if the commission does not.

Tuesday, Skretny scheduled an Aug. 21 hearing on the issue of whether the Seneca Nation can continue to operate its Buffalo Creek Casino operation in downtown Buffalo.

No I am not joking. The stretch that the Festival was on, from Colvin to Delaware is riddled with run down store fronts. True, most of them had businesses, but just take a good look at them. Look at that ratty hardware store for example, look at the need for paint or brickwork on most of the buildings. Look at the former Temple with the wood church sign just nailed to the front like an emergency enclosure by Macaluso. Take an honest look at all the faded and hand painted signs adorning these structures and tell me that that area looks better now than it did five years ago. I know it doesn't, you know it, and anyone that is honest knows it. Granted it's a sucessful strip by City of Buffalo standards but that is damning it with faint praise. And you will note from my original post that I was referring to the area of Hertel the Festival was in.

I am not saying it's time to throw in the towel on Hertle, what I am saying is that the area is in desperate need of a facade improvement program, now, before it reaches it's tipping point.

As has been pointed out by others on this site, the residential area near Hertel is declining, so the City should not wait until the street goes before doing something. Can't Buffalo be proactive for once in it's existence?

:ohno::ohno::ohno:

The only downer of the day was how downright shabby the Hertle Avenue business district looks. The signage on most of them looks like something that would have been done by Jethro Bodine.

While Hertel remains one of the healthiest commercial strips in Buffalo, the commercial signage standards there, as all around the city could stand significant improvement.

GOV. DAVID A. PATERSON: “What I’ve noticed ... is just how much this state wants to ignore our current fiscal problems.”
Governor says state is ignoring grim economic realities (http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/398512.html)
By Robert J. McCarthy - News Political Reporter
Updated: 07/24/08 7:28 AM

To Gov. David A. Paterson, the state’s multibillion-dollar deficits and a faltering economy present monumental problems. But something worries him even more.

Nobody is listening to his warnings.

“What I’ve noticed in those few moments that I get to reflect,” he said during a meeting Wednesday with editors and reporters of The Buffalo News, “is just how much this state wants to ignore our current fiscal problems.”

Paterson told the story of a legislator who had requested $1 million from the administration of Eliot L. Spitzer, Paterson’s predecessor, for a cultural center in his district and then upped the request to $7 million when Paterson took office a couple of months later.

That request was rejected, Paterson said, underscoring his point by noting that the new budget still grew above the rate of inflation.

New attitudes and approaches will be needed, the governor said, in view of a $5 billion deficit projected for next year and $21.5 billion over the next three years.

Because 25 percent of state revenues come from Wall Street, New York is bearing the brunt of the nation’s economic problems, he said.

“In other words, we haven’t really hit our recession,” he said.

During a daylong swing through Buffalo, the governor also:

• Addressed the annual meeting of the National Lieutenant Governors Association in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo, describing his own experience of unexpectedly succeeding Spitzer as governor in March.

• Said he had received assurances from Sen. Barack Obama that, if the Democrat is elected president, he will study adjusting the state’s Medicaid reimbursement formula to substantially increase federal revenues to the state.

• Defended his reorganization of the Empire State Development Corp., explaining that the old setup resulted in duplication and infighting, while the new organization — headed by Robert G. Wilmers, M&T Bank chairman — still will pay ample attention to upstate problems.

• Said he supports independent redistricting for the State Legislature and House of Representatives, hinting that connecting the idea to legislative and judicial pay raises presents possibilities.

• Signed new brownfields legislation during a ceremony in Niagara Square.

• Said he will let the courts resolve the legal battle over the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.

To ensure public safety, he said, the state will continue to maintain a law enforcement presence at the casino as long as it remains open.

Paterson, however, focused on educating New Yorkers about the necessity and inevitability of reducing spending.

The state’s top 20 corporations and banks paid $72 million in taxes for the last quarter of last year, he said, compared with $533 million for the same period the year before.

But the governor said his warnings continue to bring such responses as, “It’s not as bad as you say it is.”

“The fact is, I’m right, and it will probably be worse than we think it is,” he added. “I just don’t understand why we continually forestall the inevitable and pretend . . . that we’re not in the crisis that we’re actually in.”

Paterson said previous generations knew how to make sacrifices in lean times, while still producing canals, railroads and the New York City transit system. He called them “tougher” than today’s leaders, who he said cannot face the same decisions.

“They knew when to make sacrifices,” he said. “We, apparently, do not.”

Still, Paterson said he believes the overall business climate will improve if the state finds a way to reduce the tax burden.

He reiterated his support for a cap on property taxes but acknowledged that Assembly worries about the effects on education may require more discussion.

He also said lowering business taxes will produce results.

“Rather than throwing a billion dollars at some company to come in and create a certain amount of jobs,” he said, “what we have to do is lower the business taxes and create the kind of environment in which business will flourish. And at that point the market will take over.”

Paterson said raising taxes to solve the problems is “theoretically a possibility” but discounted the attitude of some who want to “refinance the account” rather than balance the budget.

“That’s why I would see taxes as a critical last resort to the point I don’t even want to talk about it,” he said.

The governor’s message elicited approval from leaders of public unions to business gurus and legislators, even if all offer different solutions.

Andrew J. Rudnick, president of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, said he agrees “1,000 percent with [Paterson’s] prognosis and his concerns.”

The ebbs and flows of Wall Street, Rudnick said, leave the state without a consistent plan and serious problems are bound to result.

“He sounds like a business economist more than most business economists,” Rudnick said of the governor. “He clearly gets it.”

But Philip Rumore, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, said he thinks the problem could be solved by increasing taxes on the wealthiest.

“One reason we’re in financial straits is that the income tax on the wealthy has decreased in the last 10 years while taxes on the middle class have increased,” he said. “If we get the tax on the wealthy back to where it was, it will generate billions of dollars.”

State Sen. Catharine M. Young, R-Olean, said the state, without doubt, needs to reduce spending.

The Republican-controlled State Senate and Democratic governor, she said, maintain good communications on the issue.

She pointed to a Senate bill that would impose a constitutional cap on spending and said she thinks the concept of property relief and its limit on revenues naturally lead to a limit on spending.

“We’re taking action and would like to see some results in this area,” she said.

The governor also said he could not think of any more important legislation than the brownfields reform law he signed Wednesday in Niagara Square.

The bill increases tax credits for cleaning up such sites but limits credits for redeveloping them.

State aid no longer will cover all redevelopment costs.

Redevelopment tax credit will be limited to $35 million, or three times the cost of cleanup for nonmanufacturing projects, and $45 million, or six times the cost of cleanup, for manufacturing projects, whichever is less.

These amounts generally would be less than developers have been allowed in the past, but Paterson called the approach more fiscally responsible.

“This is the biggest shot in the arm to the area that we can possibly imagine,” he said.

He also said he expected the new bill to be much more effective than a similar bill, passed in 2003, in cleaning up brown-field sites across the state.

“There are many across the state who don’t know what brownfields are but see them every day,” he said. “So many of our great edifices of commerce have become these sites.”

News Staff Reporter Brian Hayden contributed to this report.

rmccarthy@buffnews.com

And all we needed all along was a blind man (one who is technically unelected, no less). FINALLY we know somebody gets it. Took 50+ years to get that far. Another 50 for action, and maybe we'll be set!

^^^^
Now the waiting begins, let's hope something changes

Once again NF is using it's Casino revenues for economic development. let's hope Buffalo does the same in the future.


B]Aid planned to help restore Hotel Niagara[/B]
By Denise Jewell Gee - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
Updated: 07/24/08 6:41 AM


NIAGARA FALLS — A state economic development agency and the city plan to offer a $4 million incentive package to the owners of the faded 12-story Hotel Niagara on Rainbow Boulevard, who plan to restore the building’s prestige.

Amidee Capital Group, a Texas- based real estate firm that bought the hotel in September, plans to completely renovate its 193 rooms, add a rooftop “speakeasy” and open boutique shops and a spa in the building by next spring.

The $15.2 million restoration will bring back some of the original features of the 1920s-era building.

“The intention here is to be the finest hotel in Niagara Falls,” said David Giusiana of Giusiana Architects and Engineer.

Mayor Paul A. Dyster will ask the City Council on Monday to approve giving the project $500,000 of the city’s slots revenue. The state’s USA Niagara Development Corp. has offered an additional $3.5 million “incentive package” toward the restoration, according to a memorandum given to the Council.

“Between the city and the state, we’re trying to fill the gap in the deal that makes it possible for them to move forward with these projects,” Dyster said.

It was unclear Wednesday whether the state’s share would be a loan or a grant. USA Niagara President Christopher J. Schoepflin declined to discuss the details of the project but said he will give a public presentation to the City Council at its Monday meeting.

Amidee Capital Group is owned by James and Judith Cook. They purchased the building last year at auction for $4.9 million.

Giusiana told members of the city’s Planning Board on Wednesday that the owners have applied to add the building to the state and national registers of historic places and plan to use tax credits available to buildings designated as historic.

“The owners are extremely interested in the property’s historic character,” Dyster said. “That’s what drew them to the property in the first place.”

Renovation plans call for replacing 354 aluminum-framed windows in the building with wood-framed windows that reflect the building’s 1920s architecture. The owners also plan to open a “four star” restaurant in the hotel’s mezzanine level, restore its ballroom, add boutique shops and build a spa and fitness center.

Thomas J. DeSantis, the city’s senior planner, said the Hotel Niagara upgrade will help fill a need for high-end hotel rooms that can compete with the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel. “We’ve been working with them for almost a year now to bring this project to fruition,” DeSantis said.

The Hotel Niagara, which has a two-story lobby with a balcony that overlooks its entrance, was sold in a foreclosure auction in 2005 before the Cooks bought it last year.

The building had declined in recent years to a “low budget, limited service” hotel property, according to a project summary by Giusiana.

The Hotel Niagara project is one of three downtown hotels that state and city officials have offered incentive packages.

The city has also been asked by USA Niagara to approve giving a former Four Points by Sheraton on Buffalo Avenue a $500,000 grant toward an expansion project, but that request has not yet been approved. USA Niagara representatives have said the state plans to offer at least $1.5 million toward that project.

From Biz First:

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9012/casalucexv2.jpg

:omg:

From Biz First:

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9012/casalucexv2.jpg

:omg:

Um, is that supposed to be some weird Art Deco style or what?
Where is this located?

I love how they always add on "one of the few remaining parcels" when they talk about Waterfront Village. When I go down there I notice there is more open space and parking than actual building down there.

This is going on the site between Portside and Marina Park. It is 18 units in an eight-story mid-rise 'tower' (is that 8 floors in that render??) plus eight, two-story townhomes. Prices: $275-$800k.

What would you call that style- art deco mates with modern? :ohno:

This is going on the site between Portside and Marina Park. It is 18 units in an eight-story mid-rise 'tower' (is that 8 floors in that render??) plus eight, two-story townhomes. Prices: $275-$800k.

What would you call that style- art deco mates with modern? :ohno:

Is that brick???
Well, at least there won't be anyone stopping this building cause it doesn't "fit in" with the other style of buildings in the city :lol:

This is going on the site between Portside and Marina Park. It is 18 units in an eight-story mid-rise 'tower' (is that 8 floors in that render??) plus eight, two-story townhomes. Prices: $275-$800k.

What would you call that style- art deco mates with modern? :ohno:

can you show us on a map?

Is that brick???
Well, at least there won't be anyone stopping this building cause it doesn't "fit in" with the other style of buildings in the city :lol:


You think the neighbors are going to give this a free pass? I'm sure they aren't happy with anything getting built here- remember they fought a previous proposal for only townhomes. Their plan? A park.

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7562/waterfrontvillage5pn4.jpg

The 'tower' will be built behind the tennis courts- the townhouses along the Portside pond.

Is that Paladino's other new tower? That does not look like 8 stories.

I see 7 stories and maybe an equipment shack penthouse. Unless the eighth is going to be one of those Being John Malkovich type floors.

Otherwise I say not bad. Fill the holes and maybe there will be enough demand at some point to start filling the parking lots.

What would you call that style- art deco mates with modern?
Art Deco meets "vertical" Frank Lloyd Wright meets modern with a sprinkle of brutalist.

You think the neighbors are going to give this a free pass? I'm sure they aren't happy with anything getting built here- remember they fought a previous proposal for only townhomes. Their plan? A park.

.

Ya, that's what this city needs, more parks! :bash:

And whats with that stupid fountain?

You think the neighbors are going to give this a free pass? I'm sure they aren't happy with anything getting built here- remember they fought a previous proposal for only townhomes. Their plan? A park.

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7562/waterfrontvillage5pn4.jpg

The 'tower' will be built behind the tennis courts- the townhouses along the Portside pond.

Don't live in the friggin city if you don't want people near you

What is the population of Waterfront Village?

What is the population of Waterfront Village?

There are 431 existing units down there (counting Waterfront Place's 64).

Even better - how much/often is that "park" actually utilized by the local residents?

Even better - how much/often is that "park" actually utilized by the local residents?

There are too many voices and too many opinions in this city. That's why shit never gets completed.

I can't imagine there being many children that live in this area that would use the park anyways so whats the point.

There are too many voices and too many opinions in this city. That's why shit never gets completed.

I can't imagine there being many children that live in this area that would use the park anyways so whats the point.


Their "park" is 100 yards north- LaSalle Park!

The rendering is really the 'back' of the building- hopefully the facade facing the water has more glass. The architect is going to send me renderings later today. Compared to the other 'towers' down there- at least this building has patios facing the city.

Their "park" is 100 yards north- LaSalle Park!

The rendering is really the 'back' of the building- hopefully the facade facing the water has more glass. The architect is going to send me renderings later today. Compared to the other 'towers' down there- at least this building has patios facing the city.

What, thats crazy! Who would have ever thought to do such a thing?!?:nuts:

Is that Paladino's other new tower? That does not look like 8 stories.

No. His next tower will go up next to the one u/c on the same lot and is said it will be taller than his u/c tower.

The previous rendering is actually the side of the building facing the Portside development (pond is in foreground). Townhouses are going in along Lakefront behind the tennis courts.

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/133/naerial3pw8.jpg

Their "park" is 100 yards north- LaSalle Park!
Ewww, you want them to go to a city park with all 'dem poor "types"?

And the Marina and Commercial Slip are too far away without driving. Therefore this vacant field should remain.

The previous rendering is actually the side of the building facing the Portside development (pond is in foreground). Townhouses are going in along Lakefront behind the tennis courts.

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/133/naerial3pw8.jpg

:ohno:Better than just townhouses I suppose. Too bad they won't put something more in the mode of the defunct Gate Circle condo building down there.

:ohno:Better than just townhouses I suppose. Too bad they won't put something more in the mode of the defunct Gate Circle condo building down there.

hardly defunct, such a Jerome thing to say!

The previous rendering is actually the side of the building facing the Portside development (pond is in foreground). Townhouses are going in along Lakefront behind the tennis courts.

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/133/naerial3pw8.jpg

That looks better

I don't think it is a bad design. Maybe I can't make a decision yet. The second rendering is better.

Is Gates Circle really dead?

I don't think it is a bad design. Maybe I can't make a decision yet. The second rendering is better.

Is Gates Circle really dead?

Where did you hear that? Last I heard they had to wait to start construction because of the price of steel went up big time. There are many others on here that would know a lot more than me though.

hardly defunct, such a Jerome thing to say!

Where are the Park Lane condos being advertised, I might have missed it? I went by the site last weekend, I do not see that demolition on the Park Lane or any other site preparation is even close to starting. Is there any basis to think it is alive? All I have seen on it in the last year is that the developer was having second thoughts? That might sound promissing to you but not to me.

Just think; since Gates Circle was first announced - the Seneca's picked a site and started construction, Paladino announced and started construction on waterfront condos and the Dulski Building was sold, stripped, and reskinned. We'll see Bass Pro finished before anything happens on Gates Circle, so why not use a similar design on the waterfront. It would be an easier sell anyhow since the waterfront is not five blocks from the Ghetto like Gates Circle is.

Last I heard they had to wait to start construction because of the price of steel went up big time.
Do you think the price of steel is going to go down in the future to make the numbers work for Gates? Especially with a big hulking closed hospital across the street. What lender would make a loan for that? Clearly the window of opportunity for Gates has closed for the foreseeable future. My guess is that you will see no movement on Gates until the fate of the Millard Fillmore complex is determined.

There's still a pending appeal against Gates Tower. Maybe that explains the delay? :bash:

There's still a pending appeal against Gates Tower. Maybe that explains the delay? :bash:

I do not believe that is true, please provide a link. The developer mentioned no lawsuit to ch 2 when they put the project on inactive.

Don't misunderstand me, I am all for Gates Circle, I wish it was real, but right now it appears to be a real longshot. My point however was that I wish something of that caliber was going up on the waterfront, where it would add to the overall skyline much like the Casino Hotel is going to do.

If I were the Gates Circle developers, I might consider that tower for the waterfront. It seems like that is where it is all happening these days. There is space for a much taller building down there. Someone mentioned Paladino's next tower there was going to be taller, maybe he is thinking the same? I see tall condos like that going up on the waterfront in San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle, why not Buffalo?

I do not believe that is true, please provide a link. The developer mentioned no lawsuit to ch 2 when they put the project on inactive.

Don't misunderstand me, I am all for Gates Circle, I wish it was real, but right now it appears to be a real longshot. My point however was that I wish something of that caliber was going up on the waterfront, where it would add to the overall skyline much like the Casino Hotel is going to do.

You of all people calling for a link! :lol:
I talked to Uniland directly the last week in June. Here's what they told Biz First. Search NYS courts for the case.

Uniland is also working on building a 23-story, 68-unit condo project overlooking Gates Circle. The project sits where the former Park Lane Restaurant once operated.

Montante admitted the development cost of that project is also rising because of oil and steel prices, but he remains committed to the condo tower.

"We are not stopping our plans," he said.

Where are the Park Lane condos being advertised, I might have missed it? I went by the site last weekend, I do not see that demolition on the Park Lane or any other site preparation is even close to starting. Is there any basis to think it is alive? All I have seen on it in the last year is that the developer was having second thoughts? That might sound promissing to you but not to me.

Just think; since Gates Circle was first announced - the Seneca's picked a site and started construction, Paladino announced and started construction on waterfront condos and the Dulski Building was sold, stripped, and reskinned. We'll see Bass Pro finished before anything happens on Gates Circle, so why not use a similar design on the waterfront. It would be an easier sell anyhow since the waterfront is not five blocks from the Ghetto like Gates Circle is.

If you read, you would see that they said they originally intended construction THIS FALL. They might delay for a little but are STILL COMMITTED TO THE PROJECT.

You of all people calling for a link! :lol:
I talked to Uniland directly the last week in June. Here's what they told Biz First. Search NYS courts for the case.

Uniland is also working on building a 23-story, 68-unit condo project overlooking Gates Circle. The project sits where the former Park Lane Restaurant once operated.

Montante admitted the development cost of that project is also rising because of oil and steel prices, but he remains committed to the condo tower.

"We are not stopping our plans," he said.
no need for you to be a jerk, I still don't see him mentioning a lawsuit, and since you cannot provide a link for one I don't think that is a factor. While they sit at a dead end their potential customers are going to the waterfront.

BTW Issa is also still comitted to the Statler renovation. Hey, if they can build Gates Circle, I think it would be great. Just don't see it happening within at least the next 5 years, not until the MF Gates fate is decided. No one will lend them money in that area now.

^^Why?

Why? Because a loan for a first of a kind project across from a massive closed hospital only a few blocks from a rough neighborhood is simply not going to happen in this age of bank melt downs. Why would a bank take that risk? They would rather finance something in a proven area like the waterfront. Gates is a risky project for a lender. It's taller and more expensive than what Buffalo has already proven it can support, banks are especially risk adverse right now. This project was at the upper end of what the market could bear before the cost escalation, now it is likely above what the market can handle. Too high a price point + neighborhood uncertainy + waterfront competition already under construction = no bridge loans and no project at this time (i.e. "we are re-evaluating")

The timing just is not right. The lawuit failed but in the end it still caused the effect they were looking for.

There are no bad guys here, the developer tried, but the reality is that things changed in the economy since the project was first announced. Now it will be back to the drawing board or land bnk for a few years and see what happens. No shame in that, far better to be cautious than bankrupt.

wny - what is your issue? You demand other people post details and links, and yet you have not backed up any of your claims with details or links. You tell other people not to be 'jerks' and yet that's exactly how you are coming across.

You've stated your opinion on Gates. Move on, and stop attacking everyone else for defending it. Unless you can PROVE (with a link!) that Gates is dead, then your opinion is no more valid that anyone elses.

wny, in an area least affected in the mortgage meltdown, banks are afraid to finance a project being done by a company with plenty of assets to take if they can't afford the loan?

So while they are financing shopping plazas, they can't finance a condo tower that has interest in it.

The hospital isn't empty yet. They are making sure they have a use for it before the close it. There is interest in the hospital too.

As for Gates Tower downtown... sure we all want a modern condo tower downtown, especially a 23 floor one. But the Gates Tower was never about downtown, or being in the middle of "everything". It's goal was to be high class, wealthy, and in the best neighborhood of Buffalo. Chapin and Delaware fits that bill. The fact that the hospital might close could benefit Gates Tower if more condo development is a possibility. More people would want to live across from other condos instead of across from a hospital.

Why? Because a loan for a first of a kind project across from a massive closed hospital only a few blocks from a rough neighborhood is simply not going to happen in this age of bank melt downs. Why would a bank take that risk? They would rather finance something in a proven area like the waterfront. Gates is a risky project for a lender. It's taller and more expensive than what Buffalo has already proven it can support, banks are especially risk adverse right now. This project was at the upper end of what the market could bear before the cost escalation, now it is likely above what the market can handle. Too high a price point + neighborhood uncertainy + waterfront competition already under construction = no bridge loans and no project at this time (i.e. "we are re-evaluating")

The timing just is not right. The lawuit failed but in the end it still caused the effect they were looking for.

There are no bad guys here, the developer tried, but the reality is that things changed in the economy since the project was first announced. Now it will be back to the drawing board or land bnk for a few years and see what happens. No shame in that, far better to be cautious than bankrupt.

You are showing your ignorance about the city by saying that this is not a proven area.

The reason they are not marketing or saying anything about gates is that they do not want to compete with themselves. They are close to selling out Dulski at high prices. They will use that project to hype Gates and get quick sales.

Whatever guys, my original point was that it's too bad the condo building on the waterfront is not as cool as the one that was proposed for Gates Circle. If you want to believe that the Gates project will happen more power to y'all. I prefer to live with reality. If it happens at all it will be 3-5 years out and probably downsized. If you think an area 5 blocks from Jefferson across from a soon to be empty hospital complex is as attractive to lenders as waterfront condos or suburban plazas in this economic environment go ahead and believe it. No skin off of my nose and I hope you're right.

So at least now we know why the Wendt Foundation financed the lawsuit against the Seneca's - they did not want any competition that could hurt their Casino Stock Portfolio. It's ok to go to their Casino's in Vegas and AC but you better not gamble in Buffalo. Hypocrites!!! Especially interesting is the excerpt from the NY Times about how the Seneca's were once negotiating to have Harrahs' run their casinos. Funny too, how a Harrh's stockholder finances a lawsuit against the Seneca's AFTER the Seneca's decide not to go with Harrahs as a management company.

Read the full sordid story http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/archives/6773

So at least now we know why the Wendt Foundation financed the lawsuit against the Seneca's - they did not want any competition that could hurt their Casino Stock Portfolio. It's ok to go to their Casino's in Vegas and AC but you better not gamble in Buffalo. Hypocrites!!!

Read the full sordid story http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/archives/6773

:lol:

:lol:

Aren't you the clever one!

I prefer to live with reality. If it happens at all it will be 3-5 years out and probably downsized. If you think an area 5 blocks from Jefferson across from a soon to be empty hospital complex is as attractive to lenders as waterfront condos or suburban plazas in this economic environment go ahead and believe it.
You keep referring to it's proximity to the east side. You DO realize that anywhere you go downtown is also just as close to the East Side... don't you?

Downsizing is ok with me.. and I've always expected them to. I believe I posted when they first announced it that the height would probably be reduced. Who knows. But like I said before, if you don't have any proof to back up your statements, then you can't demand others to either.

Uhh Jerome, Gates Circle is directly adjacent to Million $$ mansions in Buffalo's hottest neighborhood.

Stick to Lockport.

Aren't you the clever one!

:lol: :lol:

Uhh Jerome, Gates Circle is directly adjacent to Million $$ mansions in Buffalo's hottest neighborhood.

Stick to Lockport.

I have no connection to Lockport never did. Live in Amherst work in the City. I thought the moderator already cleared up that I am not Jerome or Sabertooth or BJFAN or anyone else.

While the area to the west of Gates is indeed a healthy area, the area to the immediate East is Ghetto. Perhaps the next time you and your buddy Westcoast perspective are actually in Buffalo you can walk from Gates Circle down Delavan to Canisius and you can photograpgh all of the upscale section 8 apartments along your route. It's a short walk about 5 blocks with at least 6 or 7 abandoned homes along the way. Then try to walk to the same sort of slums near the waterfront condos in the same 5 minutes and you can't. That is why the Gates funding will not happen even though loans are being made in other parts of town - it;s just too risky. If Gates was such a sure sell it would already be under construction. Avant is great but it is would not have happened without corporate welfare.

Gates Circle was a grand idea that did not pan out - no shame in trying. Now perhaps they should use the concept in another part of town where it could be brought to fruition. It seems like the waterfront is where the upscale condo's are going to end up. Why not go to where the action is.

Why is that such a problem to you? The waterfont is as much a part of the City as the Delaware Delavan area,

I have no connection to Lockport never did. Live in Amherst work in the City. I thought the moderator already cleared up that I am not Jerome or Sabertooth or BJFAN or anyone else.

While the area to the west of Gates is indeed a healthy area, the area to the immediate East is Ghetto. Perhaps the next time you and your buddy Westcoast perspective are actually in Buffalo you can walk from Gates Circle down Delavan to Canisius and you can photograpgh all of the upscale section 8 apartments along your route. It's a short walk about 5 blocks with at least 6 or 7 abandoned homes along the way. Then try to walk to the same sort of slums near the waterfront condos in the same 5 minutes and you can't. That is why the Gates funding will not happen even though loans are being made in other parts of town - it;s just too risky. If Gates was such a sure sell it would already be under construction. Avant is great but it is would not have happened without corporate welfare.

Gates Circle was a grand idea that did not pan out - no shame in trying. Now perhaps they should use the concept in another part of town where it could be brought to fruition. It seems like the waterfront is where the upscale condo's are going to end up. Why not go to where the action is.

Why is that such a problem to you? The waterfont is as much a part of the City as the Delaware Delavan area,

Link please.

I have no connection to Lockport never did. Live in Amherst work in the City. I thought the moderator already cleared up that I am not Jerome or Sabertooth or BJFAN or anyone else.

While the area to the west of Gates is indeed a healthy area, the area to the immediate East is Ghetto. Perhaps the next time you and your buddy Westcoast perspective are actually in Buffalo you can walk from Gates Circle down Delavan to Canisius and you can photograpgh all of the upscale section 8 apartments along your route. It's a short walk about 5 blocks with at least 6 or 7 abandoned homes along the way. Then try to walk to the same sort of slums near the waterfront condos in the same 5 minutes and you can't. That is why the Gates funding will not happen even though loans are being made in other parts of town - it;s just too risky. If Gates was such a sure sell it would already be under construction. Avant is great but it is would not have happened without corporate welfare.

Gates Circle was a grand idea that did not pan out - no shame in trying. Now perhaps they should use the concept in another part of town where it could be brought to fruition. It seems like the waterfront is where the upscale condo's are going to end up. Why not go to where the action is.

Why is that such a problem to you? The waterfont is as much a part of the City as the Delaware Delavan area,

But you are Jerome

I guess the people buying houses in the Elmwood Village are funding their big mortgages out of pocket since the banks will not lend money so close to the Ghetto. Though, isn't this the same neighborhood with greater appreciation in property value than anyplace in Amherst? Yes Yes I believe it is. Isn't this the same neighborhood that sells every available NEW unit before construction is complete? Yes...yes it is. Odd that banks will not lend to developers seeking to build in the most desirable neighborhood in WNY

But you are Jerome

I guess the people buying houses in the Elmwood Village are funding their big mortgages out of pocket since the banks will not lend money so close to the Ghetto. Though, isn't this the same neighborhood with greater appreciation in property value than anyplace in Amherst? Yes Yes I believe it is. Isn't this the same neighborhood that sells every available NEW unit before construction is complete? Yes...yes it is. Odd that banks will not lend to developers seeking to build in the most desirable neighborhood in WNY

finance ain't you bag is it? Huuuuuge difference between a working guy getting a mortgage for a house appraised above the mortgage amount and a developer looking for mega millions to build a speculative project across from a soon to be deserted hospital a 5 minute walk from the ghetto.
The difference is that the former is feasible for a lender and the latter is not.

finance ain't you bag is it? Huuuuuge difference between a working guy getting a mortgage for a house appraised above the mortgage amount and a developer looking for mega millions to build a speculative project across from a soon to be deserted hospital a 5 minute walk from the ghetto.
The difference is that the former is feasible for a lender and the latter is not.

All those Elmwood Village and Delaware District homes are bought with cash. WNY is correct Steel. Banks have redlined the whole city. That's what I've been told. And property values are down in every neighborhood.

So at least now we know why the Wendt Foundation financed the lawsuit against the Seneca's - they did not want any competition that could hurt their Casino Stock Portfolio. It's ok to go to their Casino's in Vegas and AC but you better not gamble in Buffalo. Hypocrites!!! Especially interesting is the excerpt from the NY Times about how the Seneca's were once negotiating to have Harrahs' run their casinos. Funny too, how a Harrh's stockholder finances a lawsuit against the Seneca's AFTER the Seneca's decide not to go with Harrahs as a management company.

Read the full sordid story http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/blogs/archives/6773

I find it facinating that people are panning the Wendt Foundation for this while siding with the group who will make millions on the casino. What exactly does the Wendt Foundation get for fighting a casino that a clear majority wants in the city?

Maybe they are not ANTI-GAMBLING, and honestly don't believe the casino will economically make sense here. I'm still not convinced the numbers work, but I can't quantify it because I don't know a great many things:


How many spin off jobs will there be?
How many people gamble away from buffalo?
How will local businesses be effected?
What is the cost for gambling addition treatment?


And I want finanical numbers, or a way to get them, not some sob story arguing one way or the other. I truly could care less about the 'evils of gambling'. But I'll be dammed if I'm going to PAY for their issues without a return on the investment, or watch local businesses FAIL so some casino can build a 22 story tower. I'm against the casino becasue my gut is telling me the numbers don't work out in the cities favor.

And I really believe this last one is going to be an issue. Taxpayers around here will foot the bill for MANY people who are too stupid to take care of themselves. It's like paying for food stamps for students who can't pay for food AND their cell-phone bill (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25851896/). Seriously...I want to kick the shit out of Deirdre Wilson. How the hell can you complain that you HAD to go on food stamps because you couldn't pay for food AND your cell phone? My tax dollars at work.....

Brilliant.

So according to WNY / Jerome / Jerry Rome. The Elmwood Village is the least desirable place to live and no one wants to live there because It is too close to the bad places.

Except for one thing. THe Elmwood village is a wildly popular place to live with rising home values.

...Entire post...
Amen, brother.

:master:

And I really believe this last one is going to be an issue. Taxpayers around here will foot the bill for MANY people who are too stupid to take care of themselves. It's like paying for food stamps for students who can't pay for food AND their cell-phone bill (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25851896/). Seriously...I want to kick the shit out of Deirdre Wilson. How the hell can you complain that you HAD to go on food stamps because you couldn't pay for food AND your cell phone? My tax dollars at work.....

Brilliant.
It's pretty well known that the US, and NYS in particular, is a welfare state and is become moreso by the minute. If it's not personal welfare, it's oodles of corporate welfare (which I find even more offensive). And now in NYS (among others, plenty of blame to go around but our state's situation has always been more dire thanks to ineptitude and Wall Street's mood swings), we're introducing another form of welfare: I'll call it bureaucratic welfare. Let's subsidize casinos so that governments, primarily the state, can avoid kicking their crack err spending addictions. On top of what is essentially corporate welfare being paid to the Senecas, so that some Perry Project residents can allegedly receive more personal welfare.

That's not brilliant. It's a heinous rip-off of the taxpayer and what's worse, they've managed to dupe most of them. B-E-A-Utiful!

BTW, I hate how cell phones have become so "necessary". I haven't had one for 6 years. I could get one for $10 on a family plan; I don't want one. I may pay for On Star and the phone in the car out of convenience, but that's it. I don't want to be able to be contacted at every waking moment. Besides, I hate when people say they're "cheaper". B.S. I have unlimited local and long distance with my land line (along with all the add'l features) and thanks to bundling it's only costing me $29.99/mo + fees. Find me a cell phone that does that for less than twice the cost.

Buffalo Designated As A Preserve America Community
http://buffalorising.com/img/img_entries/w600/21019.jpg
Yesterday, 1:25pm By queenseyes

In a year surrounded by preservation controversy, Buffalo has received national* recognition for its preservation efforts. Of course we should be celebrating tremendous preservation advances thanks to developers like Obletz, Savarino/Jacobs, Termini, Trettel and Schneider, but maybe this designation will be ultimately be (another) wake-up call to those who feel that our built history is disposable. Over the last three years we have covered many successful restoration efforts... at the same time we still can't manage to come to grips with property owners who prefer to follow the demolition by neglect model.

More and more Buffalonians are recognizing that it will be a combination of preservation efforts as well as thoughtful infill builds that will eventually lead to a win-win scenario. Already the past efforts have led to a host of designation benefits that we can finally wrap our arms around:

*Benefits include eligibility for Preserve America Grants (matching), notification to state tourism offices and a directory listing that showcases Buffalo’s preservation efforts and heritage tourism destinations. Preserve America Communities are also featured in National Register Travel Itineraries and in “Teaching With Historic Places” materials created by the National Park Service.

Unprecedented amounts of moneys are being offered to communities with the above-mentioned designation. The moneys will be given to efforts that will help to "develop sustainable management strategies and business practices for the preservation and use of their heritage assets". It is at this point that we need to remember why our city has been chosen to host the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Conference in 2011. Securing that conference (see announcement) was a huge score for Buffalo... that's why it hurts so much whenever we lose a building to demolition by neglect.

The fact that the community recently fought a major battle to save the Jersey Livery says something about the change in attitude. We've finally begun to collectively cherish what few cities could ever dream of having. To see old photographs of Buffalo can be heartbreaking... we have lost so much. We must continue to maintain what we still have. Hopefully these types of designations will help us to understand even better what it is that we actually deserve to have here in Buffalo.

*Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Preserve America

Any proposals on the horizon or rumored yet for the Schmidt lot or the Vernor lot?

Any proposals on the horizon or rumored yet for the Schmidt lot or the Vernor lot?

I haven't heard anything.

All is really quiet on the downtown residential scene- BUT- the AM&As warehouses could be the next project. A developer has a "pre-purchase agreement" on them, allowing the company to perform due-diligence before entering into a sales contract. Someone put it in a comment on BRO and it has been confirmed by a neighboring property owner and a commercial realtor.

"due diligence" stage...sounds a lot like what I was hearing and seeing first hand with the Arctic Freezer/Coffee Rich building when I left in late May.

:)

The potential developer of the warehouses is.....Signature Development.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/7828/dsc0455zm0.jpg

I want to see a swank open glassy restaurant in those great first floor storefront spaces

Speaking of Washington Street- I hear that Eran Epstein's 504 Washington project has started up again.

Speaking of Washington Street- I hear that Eran Epstein's 504 Washington project has started up again.

What is that?

finance ain't you bag is it? Huuuuuge difference between a working guy getting a mortgage for a house appraised above the mortgage amount and a developer looking for mega millions to build a speculative project across from a soon to be deserted hospital a 5 minute walk from the ghetto.
The difference is that the former is feasible for a lender and the latter is not.

I know the East Side looks pretty ugly, & the median incomes of its residents are among the lowest in the nation. But while they may not have many great jobs, a lot of East Side residents get up very early in the morning, often commuting by bus to suburban jobs, working very hard at lots of minumum wage jobs.

I've never understood why people who are just trying to hold their head above water look down on the people who are already underwater. It's not like there are are lots of affluent neighborhoods or even many affluent suburbs around Buffalo, the whole area have been downwardly mobile for decades.

Amen, brother.

:master:


It's pretty well known that the US, and NYS in particular, is a welfare state and is become moreso by the minute. If it's not personal welfare, it's oodles of corporate welfare (which I find even more offensive). And now in NYS (among others, plenty of blame to go around but our state's situation has always been more dire thanks to ineptitude and Wall Street's mood swings), we're introducing another form of welfare: I'll call it bureaucratic welfare. Let's subsidize casinos so that governments, primarily the state, can avoid kicking their crack err spending addictions. On top of what is essentially corporate welfare being paid to the Senecas, so that some Perry Project residents can allegedly receive more personal welfare.

That's not brilliant. It's a heinous rip-off of the taxpayer and what's worse, they've managed to dupe most of them. B-E-A-Utiful!

BTW, I hate how cell phones have become so "necessary". I haven't had one for 6 years. I could get one for $10 on a family plan; I don't want one. I may pay for On Star and the phone in the car out of convenience, but that's it. I don't want to be able to be contacted at every waking moment. Besides, I hate when people say they're "cheaper". B.S. I have unlimited local and long distance with my land line (along with all the add'l features) and thanks to bundling it's only costing me $29.99/mo + fees. Find me a cell phone that does that for less than twice the cost.

All very good points!

What is that?


The six-unit townhome/condo project here-

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/9272/dsc0170sm6.jpg

Wish someone would take on the taller building on the right (510 Washington)- it is for sale....

The six-unit townhome/condo project here-

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/9272/dsc0170sm6.jpg

Wish someone would take on the taller building on the right (510 Washington)- it is for sale....
Go for it!:)

The six-unit townhome/condo project here-

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/9272/dsc0170sm6.jpg

Wish someone would take on the taller building on the right (510 Washington)- it is for sale....

Word:cheers:

In case everyone hasen't herd yet!:cry:

CITY TOWER IS DEAD!
A well known PARKING LOT Developer is poised to do his thing!:ohno:

http://www.buffalorising.com/story/city_tower_site_sold

In other pending construction news- Kissling is about to start work at 430 Virginia- Allentown Lofts. Should be underway in three weeks they say.

Main Street traffic thing of future
Business First of Buffalo - by James Fink Business First

The first visible step in returning vehicular traffic to downtown Buffalo's Main Street spine should take place by the end of summer.

Buffalo Place Inc. officials confirmed that construction to transform the 700 block of Main between Tupper and Goodell streets will start within the next three weeks.

Most of the construction work should be completed by late fall, meaning two-way traffic could be back on that block for the first time since the early 1980s. That section has been limited to one-way, southbound traffic since the construction of the Buffalo Place pedestrian mall.

Landscaping and planting will take place next spring, said Debra Chernoff, Buffalo Place director of planning.

Several other steps are also being taken as part of the "Cars Sharing Main Street" initiative that will return one lane of northbound and southbound vehicular traffic to downtown Buffalo in the next few years.

In conjunction with the 700 block work, crews will be preparing Tupper Street for two-way traffic. Tupper is currently one-way, eastbound, between Franklin Street and the Kensington Expressway.

Chernoff said the street will be re-striped and new traffic signals will be installed. Two-way traffic along Tupper between Franklin and Ellicott streets should return by late fall or early spring.

In addition, Sen. Charles Schumer has secured a $1 million grant to help finance traffic design work along Main Street's 500 block between Chippewa and Mohawk streets including Fountain Plaza. Design work will take place next year and construction could start as early as 2010.

Vehicular design work is also underway for downtown's 600 block of Main Street between Tupper and Chippewa streets and around Lower Terrace Street near Memorial Auditorium. The south end work is part of the Canal Side/Buffalo Inner Harbor project.

WNY construction jumps 77%
Business First of Buffalo

The construction boom continues in Western New York, according to a report issued Tuesday morning by McGraw-Hill Inc.

Contracts for future construction in Erie and Niagara counties totaled $157.95 million in June, running 77 percent ahead of $89.29 million in the same month a year ago.

The increase was driven by the nonresidential sector, which registered a gain of 204 percent between June 2007 and June 2008. Nonresidential projects include shopping plazas, industrial plants, office buildings, schools and churches.

Residential construction dropped 22 percent during the same one-year period.

The sharp overall increase in June was the latest in a series of upbeat months for Western New York's construction industry.

A total of $766.28 million of contracts were signed in the first six months of this year in Erie and Niagara counties, up 77 percent from $433.53 million in the first half of 2007.

That's a marked contrast with the results a year ago. Local contractors generally found 2007 to be disappointing, as evidenced by last year's 9 percent decline in local construction activity.

^^It was mentioned in the past pages.

Main Street traffic thing of future
Business First of Buffalo - by James Fink Business First

The first visible step in returning vehicular traffic to downtown Buffalo's Main Street spine should take place by the end of summer.

Buffalo Place Inc. officials confirmed that construction to transform the 700 block of Main between Tupper and Goodell streets will start within the next three weeks.

Most of the construction work should be completed by late fall, meaning two-way traffic could be back on that block for the first time since the early 1980s. That section has been limited to one-way, southbound traffic since the construction of the Buffalo Place pedestrian mall.

Landscaping and planting will take place next spring, said Debra Chernoff, Buffalo Place director of planning.

Several other steps are also being taken as part of the "Cars Sharing Main Street" initiative that will return one lane of northbound and southbound vehicular traffic to downtown Buffalo in the next few years.

In conjunction with the 700 block work, crews will be preparing Tupper Street for two-way traffic. Tupper is currently one-way, eastbound, between Franklin Street and the Kensington Expressway.

Chernoff said the street will be re-striped and new traffic signals will be installed. Two-way traffic along Tupper between Franklin and Ellicott streets should return by late fall or early spring.

In addition, Sen. Charles Schumer has secured a $1 million grant to help finance traffic design work along Main Street's 500 block between Chippewa and Mohawk streets including Fountain Plaza. Design work will take place next year and construction could start as early as 2010.

Vehicular design work is also underway for downtown's 600 block of Main Street between Tupper and Chippewa streets and around Lower Terrace Street near Memorial Auditorium. The south end work is part of the Canal Side/Buffalo Inner Harbor project.

Holy sh*t, took long enough. How long will it take for the entire stretch of Main to be back open to cars? Lets take bets:

Cars on main Vs Bass Pro Vs Peace Bridge :lol:

Some city supes in San Francisco would like to shut Market Street (the equivalent of Main St. in Buffalo) down to car traffic. I think they need to talk to people in Buffalo.

I hate to be nit-picky with the Main St article, but in case this effects anyone's life, the 700 block is one-way northbound not "southbound."

Main Street traffic thing of future
Business First of Buffalo - by James Fink Business First

The first visible step in returning vehicular traffic to downtown Buffalo's Main Street spine should take place by the end of summer.

Buffalo Place Inc. officials confirmed that construction to transform the 700 block of Main between Tupper and Goodell streets will start within the next three weeks.

Most of the construction work should be completed by late fall, meaning two-way traffic could be back on that block for the first time since the early 1980s. That section has been limited to one-way, southbound traffic since the construction of the Buffalo Place pedestrian mall.

Landscaping and planting will take place next spring, said Debra Chernoff, Buffalo Place director of planning.

Several other steps are also being taken as part of the "Cars Sharing Main Street" initiative that will return one lane of northbound and southbound vehicular traffic to downtown Buffalo in the next few years.

In conjunction with the 700 block work, crews will be preparing Tupper Street for two-way traffic. Tupper is currently one-way, eastbound, between Franklin Street and the Kensington Expressway.

Chernoff said the street will be re-striped and new traffic signals will be installed. Two-way traffic along Tupper between Franklin and Ellicott streets should return by late fall or early spring.

In addition, Sen. Charles Schumer has secured a $1 million grant to help finance traffic design work along Main Street's 500 block between Chippewa and Mohawk streets including Fountain Plaza. Design work will take place next year and construction could start as early as 2010.

Vehicular design work is also underway for downtown's 600 block of Main Street between Tupper and Chippewa streets and around Lower Terrace Street near Memorial Auditorium. The south end work is part of the Canal Side/Buffalo Inner Harbor project.


The last time that Main St. was open to traffic it wasn't exactly bustling. So It'll be interesting to see if bringing cars back will revitalize Main St.

Some city supes in San Francisco would like to shut Market Street (the equivalent of Main St. in Buffalo) down to car traffic. I think they need to talk to people in Buffalo.

Agree. Not only Buffalo, but also to Chicago, Toronto, & other cities that have tried pedestrian malls.

Burlington, VT's ped mall seems pretty successful.

Actually most of main street was bustling at that time. The mall was packed with 2 levels of stores most of them national chains. There were 5 or 6 departments stores and several specialty stores as well as many smaller infill stores

Burlington, VT's ped mall seems pretty successful.

Isn't the University of Vermont located relatively close to their pedestrian mall?

Sonwil acquires 51 acres at Lakeside
Business First of Buffalo - by James Fink Business First

Just weeks before its warehouse is due to open, Sonwil Distribution has officially acquired 51 acres in the Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park.

According to documents filed in the Erie County Clerk's office, 315 Ship Canal Parkway LLC - a Sonwil affiliate - has purchased 51 acres in the industrial park from the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. The deal has been in the works for more than one year. The closing was a formality in the development process,

Sonwil is a key anchor in the park, which is built around the former Union Ship Canal and is bringing new commerce to several hundred acres of brownfields near the Buffalo-Lackawanna border.

Cheektowaga-based Sonwil plans to build two warehouse-distribution centers totaling more than 600,000 square feet in Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park. The first building, with 308,000 square feet is nearly completed. That building carried a $13.2 million development price tag.

Sonwil received an incentive package to help finance the project including an abatement package approved last December by the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.

Tenants in the building include Tyson Foods and General Mills.

Sonwil provides warehouse and third party logistical operations for a wide variety of clients at its facilities in Buffalo and Cheektowaga.

"We're very excited to have a third party logistics user in the park," said David Stebbins, Buffalo Urban Development Corp. vice president. "Closing on the real estate is another milestone in moving Buffalo Lakeside forward."

Sonwil officials said no time frame has been set for the construction of the second building.

Besides Sonwil, tenants in Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park include CertainTeed and Cobey Inc.

Jobs report good news for WNY
Business First of Buffalo - by G. Scott Thomas Business First

Western New York finds itself in an unaccustomed position in the latest national job rankings. It's among the leaders.

The Buffalo labor market, which includes Erie and Niagara counties, added 3,800 jobs between the midpoints of 2007 and 2008, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That earns Buffalo 32nd place in the midyear job-growth rankings of America's 310 labor markets, putting it in the top 11 percent of the overall standings.

Buffalo's employment gains have been unspectacular, but steady, since mid-2007, equaling an additional 320 jobs per month.

That's nowhere near the pace set by the nation's hottest markets, Dallas and Houston, which both added more than 50,000 jobs during the past year, translating to more than 4,000 a month.

But it's exceptional when compared to several large markets that have been struggling in the wake of the nation's mortgage meltdown. Los Angeles, Detroit, Phoenix and Tampa all lost more than 20,000 jobs between June 2007 and the same month this year.

Gainers outnumber losers in the job-growth rankings. Fifty-six percent of the nation's labor markets - a total of 174 - added jobs during the one-year period. Nine were unchanged, and the other 127 suffered losses.

The split in New York is slanted more toward the negative. Buffalo and four other state markets added jobs from June 2007 to June 2008, led by New York City's increase of 19,000.

Then comes Buffalo's increase of 3,800 and small gains in Syracuse (up 600 jobs), Ithaca (up 200) and Albany (up 100).

But six labor markets in New York saw their employment bases shrink during the past year. The worst decline occurred in Rochester, which lost 3,100 jobs.

The overall national standings have a decidedly Texan flavor at the very top. The two largest markets in Texas easily outdistance the other 308 markets in the field. Dallas gained 57,800 jobs since mid-2007, and Houston picked up 54,100.

Seattle is third nationally with an increase of 25,700 jobs, followed by Washington with 25,300 and Boston with 19,200.

Sixth through 10th places are held by New York City, Atlanta, Charlotte, San Antonio and Austin, respectively.

The biggest loser nationwide is Los Angeles, which saw 48,900 jobs slip away during the past year, the equivalent of 4,075 every month or 940 every week.

Detroit is the runner-up among the nation's unfortunate labor markets, with a 12-month decline of 34,800 jobs. Rounding out the bottom five are Phoenix (down 25,900 jobs), Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. (down 25,800), and Tampa-St. Petersburg (down 23,100).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
whats happening with Rochester??? Wasn't it gaining jobs before??? Is it because of Chase and Kodak???

We've once again been hit pretty hard with the economic downturn. I think in the next couple of months however that the number of job losses will return to negligible, and we'll be in the positive by years end.

I'm one of those 50,000 jobs in Houston.

Actually most of main street was bustling at that time. The mall was packed with 2 levels of stores most of them national chains. There were 5 or 6 departments stores and several specialty stores as well as many smaller infill stores

Sure, Main Street was bustling in comparison with what it is now. But not in comparison to other similarly-sized cities. That was probably because the neighborhood shopping districts were very strong then. Broadway-Filmore was almst a second downtown.

The only times that Main St really bustled was on the last week of the Holiday shopping rush & on the annual free bus ride to downtown day. That's probably the day they took those old pictures of the crowded sidewalks.

Yes, Main Place was bustling, especially during the first decade or so after in opened. But malls need to be remodeled, rebuilt, & eventually replaced.

Walden Galeria has done wonders for Cheektowaga. First-class retail, that's the biggest missing real key to remaking downtown Buffalo an attraction destination. A bigger & better downtown mall anchored by Macys, Nordstroms, Bloomingdale's or other top-notch dept retailers.

We've once again been hit pretty hard with the economic downturn. I think in the next couple of months however that the number of job losses will return to negligible, and we'll be in the positive by years end.
How about NYC's 19,000!!! Wow, considering it's how much bigger than Buffalo. There goes the state's economic engine (as I've predicted how many times, not that it wasn't obvious).

I actually feel sorry for Governor Paterson because you know he's not going to be allowed to fix anything. That picture of him sitting alone at the desk during his televised speech - very symbolic because he is in fact sitting alone. Very lonely position, to be a reformer in New York State.

We've once again been hit pretty hard with the economic downturn. I think in the next couple of months however that the number of job losses will return to negligible, and we'll be in the positive by years end.
Rochester seems to me to be the only city in Upstate which has even the slightest tendency to follow national trends. Maybe because it was the only one which had an economy which allowed it to weather the aforementioned environment in this state. Not that it hasn't taken on some serious broadsides in the process, but it's still managing to follow along.

Also, I don't dislike Mayor Brown, but at least you have a mayor who doesn't seem to think he's working in the Kremlin or something. I'm getting sick of the secrecy and implicit ulterior motives and I don't even live in the city.

The only times that Main St really bustled was on the last week of the Holiday shopping rush & on the annual free bus ride to downtown day. That's probably the day they took those old pictures of the crowded sidewalks.

.


This is actually untrue. I am not saying that Main Street was healthy but until the local companies were bought out MAin Street was busy. My Sister worked in MAin Place in the eighties and it was very crowded back then. I think that up to the early eighties it had the highest per sf sales in the metro area.

As far as those crowded sidewalks. I had experienced them on many occasions

Also, I don't dislike Mayor Brown, but at least you have a mayor who doesn't seem to think he's working in the Kremlin or something. I'm getting sick of the secrecy and implicit ulterior motives and I don't even live in the city.

Yea I'm a big Mayor Duffy believer. He is a big part of planning for the long term, and at one point stated that he was willing to give up his job if consolidation of the City/County ever became a reality. With all that he is doing currently for Downtown Rochester I think that the best days are ahead of us, although it will be tough in the meantime, it will get better.

It'd be nice if the City of Buffalo could have a mayor that has some kind of planning background or some competence in the area of urban planning. I think that man is Kevin Gaughan.

Hamister proposes hotel on waterfront
Joins Ciminelli bid near Shanghai Red’s
By Sharon Linstedt NEWS STAFF REPORTER

A Buffalo-area company with a fast-growing, out-of-town hotel portfolio is looking to stake its first local claim along Erie Basin Marina.

The Williamsville-based Hamister Group has signed on as the hotel partner of Ciminelli Development Co. of Amherst for proposed hotel/office/retail project to be located next to Shanghai Red’s restaurant. Ciminelli is vying with J. W. Pitts Properties and Development of Buffalo to be named “designated developer” for the 1.5 acre city-owned parcel.

Ciminelli, J. W. Pitts and Tampa, Fla.-based Birchwood Properties Corp. submitted plans for the site last November, but Birchwood has bowed out of the selection process. The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency is expected to select a developer by the end of September. :ohno:

Hamister Group Chief Executive Mark A. Hamister confirmed he’s signed a memorandum of understanding with Ciminelli to deliver as many as 140 Hilton Hotels Corp.- brand rooms to the project.

The Ciminelli/Hamister proposal calls for a mid-rise tower that incorporates as many as 10 floors of hotel and office space, with first-floor retail and an interior parking ramp. J. W. Pitts, which is partnering with Shanghai Red’s owner Specialty Restaurant Corp., proposes a four-story, 100 room

Wingate Hotel, with physical connections to the restaurant.

The Florida firm, which withdrew its plans, wanted to construct a two-story office building.

In June, Hamister confirmed he’s interested in developing a luxury hotel on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor as part of the Queen City Landing project. Phase One of that project, led by local businessmen Gerald Buchheit and Jon Williams, proposes turning the idle Freezer Queen food plant into condominiums.

“The Outer Harbor hotel is at least three to five years off and will play to a different market, so there’s no conflict with what we hope to do with Ciminelli at the Erie Basin Marina site,” Hamister said.

http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/406120.html

It would be nice if it were around 25 floors but I will take 10 floors over a 1 story office building.

Good thing it is taking less than a full year to make a selection. My God WTF! It should be under construction by now.

From All Things Buffalo

http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/2292/wfvillage1rf9.jpg
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/9284/wfvillage2fo6.jpg
http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/1096/wfvillage3db9.jpg
**Second tower is in the works**

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7425/courthousejulyks8.jpg
http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/8692/courhouse1fz2.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/8974/avantjulyvw8.jpg
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/8933/avant1hs8.jpg

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7204/casinojulyzz5.jpg
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/6013/casinorampva3.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9134/cobblestonealiveaj3.jpg
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9456/cobblestone2fo1.jpg

Good thing it is taking less than a full year to make a selection. My God WTF! It should be under construction by now.

Ten months is quick (City Hall time)!! :bash:

Under construction? Could have been open by now.

This is actually untrue. I am not saying that Main Street was healthy but until the local companies were bought out MAin Street was busy. My Sister worked in MAin Place in the eighties and it was very crowded back then. I think that up to the early eighties it had the highest per sf sales in the metro area.

As far as those crowded sidewalks. I had experienced them on many occasions

Agree 100% about Main Place, that was very successful, very vibrant at least for the first two decades, they just let it go down in the 90s.

It helped that there was a selection of dept stores nearby, AM & As being the biggest, but also Kleinhan's, Bergers, Hens & Kellys, etc.

But rarely did Main St seem very crowded, either with pedestrians or traffic. Maybe just because it was so wide.

Compared to corporate cities, even when it was much bigger, Buffalo just never had a really strong downtown. Buffalo was more of private, blue-collar city where people tended to stay & often shopped in their own neighborhoods shopping strips.

And there more than a half dozen very vibrant neighborhood shopping districts as compared with Elmwood & Hertel today.

The bottom line though is that attracting first-class retail is one of the missing keys to revitalizing downtown Buffalo.

For some reason, I just think that if Buffalo had a women mayor or female planning director, by now they would have brought some first-class national retail chains to downtown!

^^ Maybe if Buffalo had any mayor (read: leadership) for the last how-long, we'd have something better. You have to go back to Griffin to see any real results, the problem being his personality flaws (not that I'm going to criticize someone who speaks their mind, in fact we need more of that IMHO) stunting the potential of what he may have otherwise been able to accomplish. Masiello was utterly forgettable (perfect complement to Pataki), and Brown seems nothing more than a well-intentioned male cheerleader in a business suit. I don't think he's acted on one thing yet on his own - he'll usually (see my previous comment) jump all over something once someone else brings it up (which is great), but that's not leadership. Even with something as small as finally putting mops and buckets to use in City Hall. If that was his idea, then he's just a victim of very poor timing, after about 10 letters into the paper criticizing its disgusting state.

So I take it this Hamister-Ciminelli thing is the highly billed "redefinition of the term shortlist" that we were supposed to see last December. Seems pretty run-of-the-mill as far as a shortlist is concerned, at least as I'm familiar with the word.

Certainly not setting any records in the department of culling down the shortlist, that's for sure.

Sure, Main Street was bustling in comparison with what it is now. But not in comparison to other similarly-sized cities. That was probably because the neighborhood shopping districts were very strong then. Broadway-Filmore was almst a second downtown.

I don't want to sound like an old fart, but even in the mid-1970s, the following department stores were located in the city limits.

Downtown:
* AM&As
* Hengerer's
* L.L. Berger
* Hens and Kelly
* Kobackers / Sattlers (Main Place Mall)
* Neisner's (junior)
* Kleinhan's (junior)
* W.T. Grant (junior/discount)
* Woolworth's (junior/discount)
* Gutman's (junior)

Broadway-Fillmore:
* Sattler's (don't say the words "nine nine eight" to those over 50, or they'll start bawling like a sick baby.)
* Kobacker’s
(There used to be a large Sears store in B/F before my time.)

Uptown (for lack of a better designation):
* Sears

North Buffalo
* Sample

A few years before my time, South Buffalo used to have a Sears, and Riverside had a Kobacker's.

Many cities had large department stores outside of downtown, but Buffalo was unusual -- not unique, but unusual -- for being a mid-sized city with several large department stores in the central city but outside of downtown. Kansas City has the Country Club Plaza area; that's about all I can think of for mid-sized cities of the era.

It'd be nice if the City of Buffalo could have a mayor that has some kind of planning background or some competence in the area of urban planning. I think that man is Kevin Gaughan.

It will never happen, because it makes perfect sense.

^ somebody like Fmr. Mayor John Norquist of Milwaukee, I've become a close colleague with him through his involvement with CNU. The guy is just passionate about good urban planning.

He never calls me back

Paladino files suit against Hotung (http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/407448.html)
Case is ‘nonsense,’ Main Place owner says
By Sharon Linstedt NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 08/05/08 6:47 AM

Buffalo developer Carl P. Paladino is suing the owner of Main Place Mall and the Liberty Building for $7.8 million in what’s become a high-profile game of legal ping-pong.

Paladino claims Violet Realty and its general manager Patrick Hotung, purposely caused costly delays in the redevelopment of 50 Court St. Paladino charges a series of lawsuits filed by Hotung’s group blocked construction of a $45 million, 11-story office building at the downtown site.

The developer said the delays cost him valuable time, tenants and sullied his development reputation.

“He never had a valid reason to sue over the project. His only objective was to hurt me and hurt my company, and guess what — I’m not going to let him get away with it. What goes around, comes around,” Paladino said.

Hotung and the the Main Place-Liberty Group sued the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. in 2006 challenging its selection of Paladino as developer of the city-owned property at 50 Court St. Hotung’s suit claimed the city wrongly negotiated a $700,000 sale price with Paladino, ignoring a $1.27 million offer from Violet.

Hotung’s suit ended unsuccessfully this April after exhausting all possible appeals avenues. Paladino claims he was forced to put the project on hold until the suit ran its full course.

The developer claims delays in the project cost him lucrative, long-term leases with two major Buffalo law firms, Damon & Morey and Cellino & Barnes. Damon & Morey recently signed on for space in Avant, the former Dulski Federal Office Building. Cellino & Barnes is moving into Main Place Tower, Hotung’s building.

The $7.8 million lawsuit lists five causes of actions for while Paladino seeks to collect $1.5 million apiece. He is also attempting to recoup more than $230,000 in legal fees spent to battle Hotung’s litigation.

Hotung, whose attorney is still reviewing the court papers, called the suit “typical Paladino nonsense.”

“On first look there’s nothing in there he didn’t counterclaim as part of our legal action. If he can’t get this built, it’s not our fault,” said Hotung.

The Main Place-Liberty Building executive said if Paladino can’t go through with his plans, Violet Realty is prepared to take over the prime site to build a parking ramp to serve its office tenants.

“We’re rested, ready and well-financed,” Hotung said.

He also noted Paladino has proposed a variety of projects for the site dating back to 1989, but has yet to turn a shovel at the site.

slinstedt@buffnews.com
Oooh yay! Violet Realty is prepared to take over the prime site to build a parking ramp for its tenants! Sounds like a great use of a prime site if I've ever heard one! Maybe he should've done business in NYC instead, he could have proposed a parking lot on the WTC site for his tenants (exaggeration I know, not to trivialize the WTC).


I also liked this...

TOWN OF LANCASTER
Development effect called ‘unbearable’ (http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/easternsuburbs/story/407542.html)
By Irene Liguori NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 08/05/08 6:57 AM

First, it was wood chips blowing into his pool and dust coating his home’s windows that bothered Joe Oddo.

Now the steady grinding of a Lancaster subdivision developer’s equipment is driving him crazy.

“The last two weeks, it’s been unbearable,” Oddo, a 78-year-old cancer patient...

OK, to this point I figured he might have a ligitimate complaint. Just like when the DOT's contractor is out working on Southwestern Boulevard without dust control (which is legally required) and you can literally see the abutting houses enveloped in it. But it continues...

...who lives in Lancaster’s Windsor Ridge subdivision, told Supervisor Robert H. Giza and members of the Town Board on Monday.

Alright, you lost me. You move into (on the edge of, no less) what was and must have been known as an early phase of a new incomplete development and now you're going to complain about construction.

It goes on, but besides a resident's concern about stockpiled pipes blocking fire hydrants, it's really quite inconsequential. Does make me wonder what kind of half-assed chipping they're doing if the pieces are flying that far, though.

If the suit had no merit the courts would not have accepted it. Sound kind of silly to me.


As for the parking ramp the city has already stated that they will not accept a structure whose primary use is parking on this site.

Now the price of steel is way up so it the delay really did cost a good deal of money.

http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/408207.html

Ex-Forge site picked for redevelopment

Remediated parcel is ‘shovel ready’

By Sharon Linstedt NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 08/06/08 6:50 AM

http://media.buffalonews.com/smedia/2008/08/06/06/55-bn-20080806-B007-exforgesitepick-210100-MI0001.standalone.prod_affiliate.50.jpg
Derek Gee/Buffalo News
The city will acquire the former Buffalo Forge site at Broadway and Mortimer Street for development as a commercial campus.

A site on the East Side of Buffalo whose industrial roots date back to 1877 will get a new life as a high-tech commercial campus.

The Buffalo Urban Development Corp. voted Tuesday to acquire the former Buffalo Forge plant property at 490 Broadway as a “shovel ready” development venue.

“It has tremendous potential as a higher-end commercial site,” said BUDC Vice Chairman Dennis Penman. “It’s in a excellent location, with strong infrastructure, to support high-tech or bio-medical uses.”

The site, which was cleared and underwent environmental remediation in 2006 and 2007, has long been eyed for reuse. Idle since late 1993, reuse proposals included an ambitious plan to rehabilitate the sprawling industrial structure — which covered eight acres of the site — into an incubator for eco-friendly companies.

By 2006, the structure was deemed too far gone to save, and current owners, British fan-maker Howden Group, opted to demolish the building, leaving the site completely vacant.

“It’s basically shovel-ready, and we’re hoping for fairly quick redevelopment,” said Penman.

No specific end-users have been identified for the site, but it could provide space for firms from the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus — approximately 1.5 miles away — to develop manufacturing space.

Buffalo Forge was considered one of the nation’s “big three” blacksmith equipment manufacturers. Over the years, it evolved into a maker of air-handling gear.

Ampco-Pittsburgh Co. bought the business in 1981, selling to Howden in 1993.

Redevelopment of brownfield sites was a theme for the Buffalo development agency Tuesday. The board also received an update of the comprehensive South Buffalo Brownfield Opportunity Area Study. The area consists of nearly 800 properties stretching from South Park to the city’s Outer Harbor and Buffalo River, and north toward the central business district.

The idle and underutilized properties, comprising some 1,900 acres, are being analyzed as part of a master plan to create a future mix of commercial, light industrial, residential and recreational space.

The planning area includes the Lakeside Commerce Park and the emerging Riverbend Commerce Park, on the former Republic Steel property.

Mark Reid, a partner with Urban Strategies Inc., a Toronto- based development firm leading the study, described the diverse range of properties as an “economic development lab” for Buffalo’s future.

“You’ve got a really remarkable site and can yield tremendous short-term, mid-term and long-term benefits. This is Buffalo’s engine for growth,” Reed said.

The study, which has concentrated on site inventory and a cataloging of resources to date, will continue toward a master plan to be unveiled in January.

slinstedt@buffnews.com

I hope things turn around...

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/473082
http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/08/04/economy-ohio-michigan-biz_cx_jz_0805dying.html

Buffalo among 'fastest dying' U.S. cities
DAVID COOPER / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
Buffalo has suffered a population decline and stagnating economy since the 1960s.

Aug 06, 2008 09:25 AM
Be the first to comment on this article...
The Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Buffalo has made Forbes magazine's list of what it calls the 10 fastest-dying cities in the United States.

According to an article in Forbes' new issue, New York state's second largest city qualifies for the publication's list because of its declining population and slow economic growth. The article says old manufacturing cities such as Buffalo are in rougher shape than ever and still looking for something to replace their factories and mills.

Buffalo is the only city in New York to make the list. Ohio leads the way with four – Youngstown, Dayton, Canton and Cleveland – followed by Michigan with two, Detroit and Flint.

Also making the list are Charleston, W.Va.; Springfield, Mass., and Scranton, Pa.

The cities were listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Springfield and to a lesser extent Scranton surprise me being on that list.

It's actually a pretty lame list though, when you read through the descriptions and it seems to think that the 3 or 4 large corporations in each city are "failing to save them". This "bigger is better" philosophy aimed at keeping or trying to attract large employers at the expense of the littler ones is part of the reason these cities are where they are. The fact that I couldn't stop the slideshow and view it at my own pace kind of pissed me off, too.

In the picture viewer, they're in the order Canton, Youngstown, Flint, Scranton, Dayton, Cleveland, Springfield, Buffalo, Detroit, Charleston. Whether that's supposed to be indicative of a ranking (best to worst or worst to best) I have no idea.

South Park Revitalization a Go
http://buffalorising.com/img/img_entries/w600/21187.jpg
Today, 9:30am By Elena Cala Buscarino

Erie County Legislator Tim Kennedy, Assemblyman Mark Schroeder, Senator Bill Stachowski, Mayor Byron Brown and Congressman Brian Higgins joined together yesterday to announce a major overhaul of South Park Avenue.

The $2.3 million South Park Avenue Revitalization Project, spearheaded by Kennedy, will stretch 2 miles, from the city line at Lackawanna to Bailey Avenue, and includes repaving streets, new street lights and sidewalks, enhanced brick crosswalks, landscaping, and pedestrian signal improvements.

"This major investment will benefit the community and business owners," Kennedy said. "We haven't focused just on the dollars, but on the next steps. This is a home run for this neighborhood and community. It hasn't been easy--there's been road blocks along the way, but with Schroeder, Stachowski, Higgins, Mayor Brown, our leaders in state government have ensured that the state would make this project a reality."

http://www.buffalorising.com/upload/2008/08/kennedy%20brown%20stachowski%20buffalo.jpg

Mayor Brown added that along with investments made on Seneca Street, the federal dollars for the project authorized through the State of New York, will "provide the same type of improvements that will strengthen South Park Avenue's infrastructure and enhance business activity along this important commercial strip in South Buffalo." He added that a security camera would go up on the corner of South Park and Woodside.

Schroeder gave a nod to the past as well as the future when he said, "If not for the farmers back in the Olmsted days who gave up this land for what is now South Park, this wouldn't be here." He concluded by saying that through his hard work in moving this project to fruition, "Today should be Tim Kennedy Day."

Stachowski said that in large part, this is part of the "Shop in your own neighborhood mindset of Schroeder, who is opposed to big-box retailers that can't have community impact."

Higgins corroborated that thought by stating, "Improving our declining and aging infrastructure not only provides for safe and efficient travel for residents, it opens up new doors of opportunity for economic development."

Kennedy concluded, saying that this was a team effort. "All partners working together made the state focus toward the positive for this location," he said. he commended The South Park Avenue Renaissance Committee and South Buffalo Alive, non-profit groups that "work hard every single day". He pointed to their work with the Olmsted Circles, enormous award-winning flowerpots that line the avenue, and their Tim Russert's Children's Gardens.

The roadwork will also encompass portions of South Park North and Smith Street, with preliminary design work taking place in early 2009 and construction beginning in the fall of 2009.

Weren't those population figures deemed inaccurate?

I'd put more stock in the coal industry's environmental claims than I would in a mid-term census estimate. Not saying that I fully disagree with the assertion that Buffalo is losing people because I believe it still is and will continue to do so for at least 4-5 more years even if things were cleaned up today. Things don't happen overnight.

At least we had the best GDP growth of any city on the list!

City Sees Jobs Not Houses at Forge Site
http://buffalorising.com/img/img_entries/w600/21189.jpg
Today, 12:01am By West Coast Perspective

Reuse plans for the Buffalo Forge site at 490 Broadway are shifting. In March, Temple Community Development Corporation (TCDC), a subsidiary of Pentecostal Temple COGIC, was designated developer for the 12.5-acre site that the City intends to purchase later this year for $246,000. The Buffalo Urban Development Corporation is now expected to offer the site to other developers and uses which may or may not include a residential component.

Economic development officials cite a need for large development-ready commercial sites close to downtown and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. It is unknown if Temple Community Development Corporation is still interested in pursuing its development plans for a “mixed-use urban village” at the site.

Covering the full-block of Broadway, Sycamore, Spring and Mortimer streets, current property owner, Howden Buffalo, applied for and received permission to demolish the building due to unsafe conditions and structural problems in 2006. The factory had been vacant since 1994. Howden also completed an evironmental cleanup of the property.

History was made at the site in July 1902 when engineer Willis Carrier invented air conditioning when he was tasked to improve air quality at the Sackett-Wilhelms printing plant in Brooklyn. Willis and six other engineers formed the Carrier Engineering Corporation in 1915 that moved to Syracuse in the 1930is. Carrier today is headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, USA, with approximately 45,000 employees in 172 countries.

:)

Buffalo has a lower unemployment rate that Charlotte

Charlotte actually ranked on a survey not too long ago (maybe late winter/early spring) as one of America's Top 10 "Gloomiest" Cities, in terms of outlook (not weather). Don't remember where it placed, for some reason #4 sticks out in my mind. I think it was one of those CNN Money ones (basically the same BS, different source).

I don't remember now all of who else was on it (Buffalo was not), the only other ones I can remember with certainty were Detroit (#1) and Stockton (#2 I think). I'm sure it's still around, I just don't feel like looking for it.

That list sucks. People can use statistics to prove any lousy point- 65% of people know that.

Springfield and to a lesser extent Scranton surprise me being on that list.

It's actually a pretty lame list though, when you read through the descriptions and it seems to think that the 3 or 4 large corporations in each city are "failing to save them". This "bigger is better" philosophy aimed at keeping or trying to attract large employers at the expense of the littler ones is part of the reason these cities are where they are. The fact that I couldn't stop the slideshow and view it at my own pace kind of pissed me off, too.

In the picture viewer, they're in the order Canton, Youngstown, Flint, Scranton, Dayton, Cleveland, Springfield, Buffalo, Detroit, Charleston. Whether that's supposed to be indicative of a ranking (best to worst or worst to best) I have no idea.

Sure, Buffalo being on that list may hurt, but it's the truth, not just the city, but the overall metro has been dying for decades. The city's lost more than half its peak population & the metro just one of two in the million-plus category that have been steadily declining.

There are things that Buffalo can to to halt the decline. Most notably following the example of other upstate cities like Schenectady (one of the few upstate cities that has started regrowing) or other long-declining cities like Pittsburgh (which might otherwise have been on this list) & start attracting a decent flow of immigrants. Otherwise, with deaths now about equal to birth, its just going to keep going downhill.

On the other hand, Youngstown has officially embraced shrinkage, becoming basically a retirement city for it's many ex-steelworkers, etc. So maybe that another option for Buffalo.

^^ I wasn't saying I didn't think it belonged on that list. But I do think in maybe 5-10 years time it (along with a few of the other ones) may not be. Key word may. And you always have the factor of who is the favorite punching bag for these types of surveys, it's always someone different so that diminishes the credibility of these things further (for instance truth may be truth, but Detroit comes in for alot of crap it probably doesn't deserve). I did think Pittsburgh's absence was notable as well. Obviously different people say different things, but one of my girlfriend's uncles in NH used to do work out here and in Pittsburgh, and from his knowledge of recent visits, he thought they were far worse looking for wear. I haven't spent enough time there to judge, only to gawk at the skyline briefly. Maybe in place of Springfield, which besides knowing it's a bit of a crime-infested hole, I didn't think it was all-in-all that badly off. Learn something new every day. Or Charleston - unless WV is annexed by another state, Charleston is always going to have a legitimate reason to exist (maybe they could follow the Albany model of cannibalizing the rest of the state for self-sustenance).

The Youngstown model is definitely interesting, especially to those who say you don't need to "grow to greatness". And I definitely think they have a point. What I'm wondering is, how does Buffalo's ex-manufacturing population (or steel specifically) match up with that of Youngstown, as a percentage of total population, etc. (obviously Buffalo being a significantly larger city/metro might skew things a bit). Or even Detroit, with the auto industry? Is/was Detroit more dependent on automotive even now than both Buffalo and Youngstown were to steel? Surely Flint is, if there's a city that ought to follow the "Youngstown model" it's Flint, or maybe they should've pioneered it first. I remember in SimCity 2000, there was actually a scenario inspired by Flint pre-packaged with the game - it was pretty much a post-apocalyptic abandoned factory town with rioting, fires, etc. Surely more extreme than the real thing, but inspired by it nonetheless.

Besides which, even Youngstown will one day again resume growing. Especially with all the focus on quality of life issues and in today's era of telecommuting (which should only grow, what with energy prices becoming what they are) and general shifting of preferences back inwards.

http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/trends/2008/0208/01regact-5.gif

http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/trends/2008/0208/01regact-7.gif

http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/trends/2008/0208/01regact-8.gif

Dont flame me if its been posted.. for those who dont check out non dev thread..

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insideusa/2008/06/2008619125017458567.html

:)

:)

^^ I wasn't saying I didn't think it belonged on that list. But I do think in maybe 5-10 years time it (along with a few of the other ones) may not be. Key word may. And you always have the factor of who is the favorite punching bag for these types of surveys, it's always someone different so that diminishes the credibility of these things further (for instance truth may be truth, but Detroit comes in for alot of crap it probably doesn't deserve). I did think Pittsburgh's absence was notable as well. Obviously different people say different things, but one of my girlfriend's uncles in NH used to do work out here and in Pittsburgh, and from his knowledge of recent visits, he thought they were far worse looking for wear. I haven't spent enough time there to judge, only to gawk at the skyline briefly. Maybe in place of Springfield, which besides knowing it's a bit of a crime-infested hole, I didn't think it was all-in-all that badly off. Learn something new every day. Or Charleston - unless WV is annexed by another state, Charleston is always going to have a legitimate reason to exist (maybe they could follow the Albany model of cannibalizing the rest of the state for self-sustenance).

The Youngstown model is definitely interesting, especially to those who say you don't need to "grow to greatness". And I definitely think they have a point. What I'm wondering is, how does Buffalo's ex-manufacturing population (or steel specifically) match up with that of Youngstown, as a percentage of total population, etc. (obviously Buffalo being a significantly larger city/metro might skew things a bit). Or even Detroit, with the auto industry? Is/was Detroit more dependent on automotive even now than both Buffalo and Youngstown were to steel? Surely Flint is, if there's a city that ought to follow the "Youngstown model" it's Flint, or maybe they should've pioneered it first. I remember in SimCity 2000, there was actually a scenario inspired by Flint pre-packaged with the game - it was pretty much a post-apocalyptic abandoned factory town with rioting, fires, etc. Surely more extreme than the real thing, but inspired by it nonetheless.

Besides which, even Youngstown will one day again resume growing. Especially with all the focus on quality of life issues and in today's era of telecommuting (which should only grow, what with energy prices becoming what they are) and general shifting of preferences back inwards.

Youngstown was very much dependent upon steel, with at least a half dozen steel mills, if not more. They all closed in the late seventies. Lordstown, a new auto plant was built near Youngstown in the sixties, but it was closed too. From what I understand, several prisons have taken over some of the slack, but even some of them have closed. The city's actually not unattractive with nice housing & several river valleys & ravines.

Flint still has, I think, significant GM employment. But given the condition of the US automakers it's not in much better shape than Youngstown. I think one of the points of Mike Moore's "Roger & Me" (his films are great!) was to show the futility of trying to revive a city like Flint by by building a Niagara Falls NY-style downtown urban renewal project complete with hotels! Really, how many tourists are coming to Flint?

In terms of their long-term prospects, Youngstown & Flint appear more in the minor league of declining places like Gary, Indiana, E St. Louis, or Niagara Falls NY (without the natural beauty & tourism potential). Detroit & Cleveland (which had boomlets in the '90s, followed by busts since) play in the major league of declining metros, that often includes Pittsburgh. Detroit has lots of auto-related corporations, but most have been (& will be) paying the price for churning out SUVs & other bad products. And cities like Buffalo Toledo, Dayton, Akron, & Erie (small city but with decent industrial base & even a couple of corp HQs) are lie in between the majors & the minors.

Japan & Germany, largely homogenous countries that have been cool towards immigration also are going to have a lot of shrinking cities. Berlin is a prime example example of city that has been shrinking for decades without losing its allure for culture or tourism.

But I wouldn't count on a steadily shrinking Buffalo becoming another Berlin!

Lordstown, a new auto plant was built near Youngstown in the sixties, but it was closed too.

Just a correction: Lordstown is still a functioning GM auto plant. Small cars (Cobalt, etc) roll off the lines at Lordstown, and it's doing quite well in this age of $4 gas.

GM just announced a few hundred new positions at the Lordstown plant.

I'm surprised nobody comment on the economic comparison of Lake Erie metros... I found it interesting.

I'm surprised nobody comment on the economic comparison of Lake Erie metros... I found it interesting.

Well, based on the Ohio cities performance I would say that it serves them right for voting Bush in.

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/511/dsc0091fj9.jpg

Waterfront Village project being reshaped
Business First of Buffalo - by James Fink Business First

A slowdown in the upper-end residential market is prompting one developer to adjust his plans for a Waterfront Village townhouse and condominium project.

Carl Paladino said the next phase of his waterfront townhouse development will have revamped units with a slightly reduced price tag. At the same time, he is going to ask the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency to extend his development rights for a condominium tower he wants to build as part of the same complex. The agency is expected to consider the request within a few weeks.

Paladino pledged that the townhouses and condo tower will be built, as planned, but on an extended development schedule.

"It's time to do a new market study," he said.

The culprit is this: a sluggish local economy and the potential of 454 upscale condominiums, townhouses and apartments coming on the downtown market within a few years.

"I want to determine the market conditions and see how the high-end market has changed," Paladino said.

Still, he said he remains committed to finishing the 16-unit townhouse complex and building the still-to-be determined condo tower. The tower will be named the Antonio, after his uncle, and will serve as a companion to a 47-unit tower named the Pasquale that Paladino expects to complete this fall. Thirty-two of the units are under contract, he said.
"It's not a question of if, but when," he said. "The Antonio likely won't go to design until we're a little further along with the Pasquale."

At the same time, Paladino is considering lowering the cost of the units in the next phase of his townhouse project from about $495,000 to the "lower" $400,000s, he said. The newer units will be a couple hundred square feet smaller than the first units, but still in the 2,000-square-foot range.

Amenities will include large, bay windows and a different roof line.

Of the first four townhouse units built by Paladino, three are sold and the fourth is in the final stages of contract talks. He plans four more units in the second phase.

http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/08/04/daily43.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Issa seeking partners on Statler revival in downtown Buffalo
Erie, Pa.-based firm approached by BSC
By Sharon LinstedtNEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 08/08/08 9:11 AM

Developer Bashar Issa has been negotiating to bring a Historic brand hotel to the Statler building.

Cash-strapped British developer Bashar Issa might be taking on U. S. partners to jump-start conversion of Buffalo’s Statler Towers to a mixed use complex featuring a Wyndham Historic hotel.

Issa’s representatives have reached out to Erie, Pa.-based Scott Enterprises, a family-run hospitality company, regarding a partnership with Issa’s BSC Development Buffalo. The deal under discussion would see Scott become the hands-on operator of a proposed 346- room Wyndham hotel.

Scott would oversee extensive renovations at the building, as well as future operation of the planned rooms, suites and related meeting space.

Scott, best known for its Splash Lagoon Indoor Waterpark Resort in Erie, owns and operates several hotels and restaurants in its hometown. The privately- held company is about to enter the Buffalo market with a Staybridge Suites hotel on Sheridan Drive and a Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant on Transit Road, both in Clarence.

Neither Scott representatives nor Issa could be reached to comment Thursday. However, Williamsville businessman Richard Sterben, who is acting as Issa’s liaison with the Wyndham Hotel Group, confirmed talks with Scott.

“If you can bring an experienced operator like Scott to the table, Wyndham would look very favorably on that,” Sterben said.

Issa has been negotiating with Wyndham Hotel Group to locate one of its Historic brand hotels in the 85-year-old building, which began its life as Ellsworth Statler’s flagship hotel. Wyndham currently operates just eight of the unique properties, all of which are located in landmark buildings.

Issa halted Statler renovations in early April citing cash-flow problems. Issa’s money woes have also stopped work on three projects on his home turf in Manchester, England.

Sterben said talks with Scott Enterprises do not involve an investment in the building’s renovation.

Sterben declined to put a timetable on Issa’s Statler efforts, but sources familiar with the situation said key decisions about the fate of project will be made by the end of August.

Issa has told the British press he is negotiating with Gresham Ltd., a London-based lender on a $240 million (U. S.) loan. He has also filed an application with New York State for $20 million in Historic Tax Credits.

While current talks with Scott would see Issa’s firm retain ownership of the 800,000- square-foot Statler complex, sources said there are signs the British developer might be willing to sever his ties with the property.

Issa paid $3.5 million for the property in August 2006. During his ownership, he has updated the building’s main elevators and installed new marble tile in the lobby.

However, progress on a complete overhaul has not progressed beyond demolition of a few floors of the building’s original hotel rooms.

The Buffalo News has also confirmed that Toronto developer and entrepreneur Howard Hurst met with Issa in London last month to discuss how the project might be salvaged. Hurst served as an advisor to Buffalo’s Savarino Cos. in 2005 when it considered acquiring and rehabilitating the Statler.

Hurst declined to comment on any direct role he might play involving the Statler.

Rudnick rejects finding of Buffalo as a dying city
By David Robinson NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 08/08/08 6:49 AM

Buffalo Niagara Partnership President Andrew J. Rudnick has a message for the folks at Forbes magazine who ranked Buffalo among America’s Top 10 “Fastest Dying Cities.”

“I strongly beg to differ,” Rudnick said Thursday in the Partnership’s official response to the rankings.

“Yes, there is a lot of ‘stuff’ to fix,” he said. “In fact, in the midst of the many challenges . . . our region is poised for growth, especially in five key industries for which the Buffalo Niagara region is a particularly strong-suited location.”

Those areas include advanced manufacturing, agri-business and food processing, back office operations and financial services, along with life sciences and logistics.

“That’s precisely why it is so critical we continue to work together to fight for what we know is in the best interest of our region’s economy,” he said.

Rudnick noted the region’s significant investments and growth in those industries since the mid-1990s and said they offer a region to be optimistic about Buffalo Niagara’s future.

He also noted that job growth here during June, while sluggish, was faster than it was in any of the state’s 13 major metropolitan areas — the first time that has happened in decades, according to local economists.

What’s more, the region’s job growth, which has been tepid since the last recession ended almost eight years ago, has held up unusually well during the current economic slowdown, outpacing even the national growth rate in June. And while the nation has lost jobs for seven straight months, the Buffalo Niagara region has added jobs for six consecutive months, according to data from the U.

S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Forbes created its list of cities facing rapid declines through an analysis of census, unemployment and annualized gross domestic product data.

Buffalo’s unflattering statistics included a population loss of nearly 42,000 since 2000, an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent (compared to a national average of 4.3 percent) and a gross domestic product of 1.9 percent.

can somebody give some examples of Buffalo-Niagara's growth in back office operations?

Paladino asking for an extention? Imagine that.

can somebody give some examples of Buffalo-Niagara's growth in back office operations?

Geico, Citibank, Bank of America, the local banks, the healthcare company in Ciminelli's Tonawanda Bus. Park (name escapes me), numerous call centers/collection agencies

Buffalo gets thrown on lists like that because it is an easy target. It's the same way when they talk about NFL franchise relocation. Buffalo is easy to pick on and nobody questions the validity of the city's presence on these lists. If anything it makes these lists seem more credible to an outsider because they've heard it is a rundown place and dying and snowy so good things cannot possibly be happening there. What is the truth? Somewhere in between, of course. But everytime Buffalo shows up on these lists, it makes people think twice about moving there, relocating or expanding a business there or holding a convention there. Slowly the perception will become a reality. When you get people to actually step foot in the city and see what is going on, I think it is an eye opener for them because they don't see what they have been told to expect. Certainly all is not rosy. But calling it a dying city is a stretch. People don't build million dollar condos on the waterfront in dying cities. But they also don't have to demolish large swaths of decaying houses. I'd say Buffalo is ailing, but not dying and the problems are finally being dealt with by the community at large. We don't need Forbes or anyone else calling us out.

If the only criteria was population decline they might have a point but the other stats they listed in the story meant to prove their point actually disprove it. for example job growth in Buffalo is in the top 11% of all American metros. Unemployment is very average and is substantially lower than many cities including Charlotte. Real estate prices are rising, etc etc.

If you point out these FACTS you get accused of boosterism. If you point out these FACTS you are blamed for ignoring real problems in the area. Fact is, in a complex world you CAN appreciate the good in Buffalo without ignoring that there are problems that need to be fixed. The simple minded way of looking at this says that you can not say anything good about Buffalo even if in fact there are good things happening.

The fact is that the stats listed in the Forbes story do not support their thesis. I don't think it is blind boosterism to point that out.

Steel- agreed 100%. If population trends were the main factor then Las Vegas would be the greatest city in America. And my guess is that the author or authors of this list have never stepped foot in Buffalo or Dayton or many of these cities listed for that matter. When someone does- like the NY times photographer that came to town last year (I think many of us recall his nice article about the city)- you get positive press.

The Buffalo - St. Catharines bi-national metro is 1.57 million people

And I believe that the Bi-national population of the metro is growing

I always thought the Buffalo got short changed when they look at population in the MSA yet don't count the Candian side. Granted it is another country, but there are a good portion of the people on the Canadian side that watch Buffalo TV, shop in Buffalo and go to restuarants and bars there. But they don't pay taxes there (not directly at least) so technically, it does not count. I think it counts just as San Francisco-San Jose and Oakland are all part of the same MSA. Maybe not quite at that level, but it counts as a market a as a whole. That article says Buffalo does not take advantage of the proximity to Canada. Well then, dig deeper and see how those Canadians- some that live less than a mile away impact Buffalo.

Oh that's good about Lordstown still going strong,
the Youngstown & Mahoning Valley area can use those well-paying jobs!

I always thought the Buffalo got short changed when they look at population in the MSA yet don't count the Candian side. Granted it is another country, but there are a good portion of the people on the Canadian side that watch Buffalo TV, shop in Buffalo and go to restuarants and bars there. But they don't pay taxes there (not directly at least) so technically, it does not count. I think it counts just as San Francisco-San Jose and Oakland are all part of the same MSA. Maybe not quite at that level, but it counts as a market a as a whole. That article says Buffalo does not take advantage of the proximity to Canada. Well then, dig deeper and see how those Canadians- some that live less than a mile away impact Buffalo.

Where Buffalo gets short-changed in metro population are the western NY counties that are attached to metro Rochester, notably Orleans & Genesse. But that's a function of Rochester's planning & transportation agencies having pulled them in under their umbrella in the 1960s plus commute patterns heading toward Rochester. That was another one of Buffalo's missed opportunities.

If Buffalo picked up those two counties plus Chautaqua that would help up its metro population total, but Rochester probably woudn't give those up. Buffalo-Niagara-Chautaqua, that sounds good. Buffalo's added Cattaragus Co, but that's still very rural.

Maybe long-term Buffalo & Rochester will merge as a single consolidated metro like Washington & Baltimore.

Of course, all US, Canadian, & Mexican metros are statistically seperated, so Buffalo won't be picking up anything across the border. As it stands, (although its not apparent by looking at skyline of the Canada side of the Falls!) the Niagara Penisula has been one of the slowest growing areas of Canada. St Catherines & Welland have been relatively (by Ontario standards) depressed.

Toronto has been expanding southwest toward Hamilton, Kitchenor & London, not southeast toward the Niagara Penisula & Buffalo.

Rudnick rejects finding of Buffalo as a dying city
By David Robinson NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 08/08/08 6:49 AM

Buffalo Niagara Partnership President Andrew J. Rudnick has a message for the folks at Forbes magazine who ranked Buffalo among America’s Top 10 “Fastest Dying Cities.”

“I strongly beg to differ,” Rudnick said Thursday in the Partnership’s official response to the rankings.

“Yes, there is a lot of ‘stuff’ to fix,” he said. “In fact, in the midst of the many challenges . . . our region is poised for growth, especially in five key industries for which the Buffalo Niagara region is a particularly strong-suited location.”

Those areas include advanced manufacturing, agri-business and food processing, back office operations and financial services, along with life sciences and logistics.

“That’s precisely why it is so critical we continue to work together to fight for what we know is in the best interest of our region’s economy,” he said.

Rudnick noted the region’s significant investments and growth in those industries since the mid-1990s and said they offer a region to be optimistic about Buffalo Niagara’s future.

He also noted that job growth here during June, while sluggish, was faster than it was in any of the state’s 13 major metropolitan areas — the first time that has happened in decades, according to local economists.

What’s more, the region’s job growth, which has been tepid since the last recession ended almost eight years ago, has held up unusually well during the current economic slowdown, outpacing even the national growth rate in June. And while the nation has lost jobs for seven straight months, the Buffalo Niagara region has added jobs for six consecutive months, according to data from the U.

S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Forbes created its list of cities facing rapid declines through an analysis of census, unemployment and annualized gross domestic product data.

Buffalo’s unflattering statistics included a population loss of nearly 42,000 since 2000, an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent (compared to a national average of 4.3 percent) and a gross domestic product of 1.9 percent.

Well of course, what would one expect from someone whose been drawing a fat paycheck for being the economic development "guru" of Buffalo-Niagara for eeons.

The truth?!

...the Niagara Penisula has been one of the slowest growing areas of Canada. St Catherines & Welland have been relatively (by Ontario standards) depressed.
I've kind of thought that myself. We used to go up to Port Dalhousie and the canal (Lock 3) sometimes several times a summer in the 80s and early 90s. And it always looked the same. In fact, besides the new Welland Canal Centre at Lock 3 (I remember when that was just a flat field with picnic tables and you used to be able to walk literally right up to the ships), nothing has really changed to this day besides the token suburban development. For instance Glendale Avenue between the QEW and the GM plant/canal looks nothing like it used to - even though when you look at just a map it still looks like there's nothing there.

They always had the feel of being just another Buffalo suburb, say Tonawanda. Just with the odd "these people actually in a foreign country!" thing going on. And the different road signs and those interesting flashing green traffic signals. And the ugly skinny construction barrels! (Why would you use a non-reflective color on construction barrels?) I always thought they looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Some of things are good in that they haven't changed though. Like Port Dalhousie. They've done some significant work making the beach more "park-like" (used to be the parking lot, a strip of grass, and then the sand), and continued rehab on the old 5¢ carousel. Of course I'd heard recently some asses want to tear the whole place down and replace it with condo towers. Typical "we have money so let's have this for ourselves" mentality. To lose that village would be a travesty.

I don't want to sound like an old fart, but even in the mid-1970s, the following department stores were located in the city limits.

Downtown:
* AM&As
* Hengerer's
* L.L. Berger
* Hens and Kelly
* Kobackers / Sattlers (Main Place Mall)
* Neisner's (junior)
* Kleinhan's (junior)
* W.T. Grant (junior/discount)
* Woolworth's (junior/discount)
* Gutman's (junior)

Broadway-Fillmore:
* Sattler's (don't say the words "nine nine eight" to those over 50, or they'll start bawling like a sick baby.)
* Kobacker’s
(There used to be a large Sears store in B/F before my time.)

Uptown (for lack of a better designation):
* Sears

North Buffalo
* Sample

A few years before my time, South Buffalo used to have a Sears, and Riverside had a Kobacker's.

Many cities had large department stores outside of downtown, but Buffalo was unusual -- not unique, but unusual -- for being a mid-sized city with several large department stores in the central city but outside of downtown. Kansas City has the Country Club Plaza area; that's about all I can think of for mid-sized cities of the era.

That's a very comprehensive list! I had forgotten the names of some of those stores. The only ones that aren't listed is H.Seaburgs, a small dept store on Genessee near Michigan where a lot of us used to pick up the latest in ghetto fads, but it might have closed earlier. Also Riverside Men's Store was big in Northwest Buffalo, albeit not a large dept store. Riverside was another vibrant neighborhood strip.

Broadway-Filmore was busy all year-round like it is around Easter when Sattlers & Kobackers were there & there were lots of vendors at the Broadway Market. But of course it declined along with it's mostly Polish- & German-American customer base. I'd guess Cleveland's West Side Market is doing a bit better, as much of its customer base (older ethnics & newer immigrants) are still nearby in the districts along Lorain Ave & West 25th sts, etc.

Sears added a lot of vitality to the Main-Jefferson-Delevan Triangle. Their was a Kauffman's there, best bakery in town, & if you wanted to see fresh donuts being made, Freddy's was just a few block downs at Main & Michigan.

Sample on Hertel was the best of the neighborhood dept stores. Even without any dept stores, Bailey from Kensington up to the UB was one of the more vibrant neighborhood commercial strips in the city. Had UB been expanded within the city, building up & around the old campus like so many other universities have done, that district along with North Main would be a very vibrant real "University District" today. It would have spilled over into southwest Amherst too. But of course a different path was taken & so its not.

AM&As was the biggest dept store downtown. Kleinhan's had the best men's selection & Henegers, LL Berger & Hens & Kelly were decent places too.

Of course, a shrinking city couldn't support all these dept stores, especially when the suburban malls started opoening up. Blvd Mall that was the big enclosed mall to open in the early sixties. Eastern Hills in Clarence was the second. When Walden Galleria opened in the early nineties, that killed off most of what was left of the downtown retail.

Most of these places were gone by the mid-1990s. Of course some of these places didn't adopt to changing tastes (Woolworths, etc.) & went the way of the diansoars. Others (like Sears) had nationwide policies of moving to the suburbs, so they'dve left the city anyway.

Since most of these stores were gone by the mid-1990s, Jimmy Griffin, who's idea of leisure time was kicking back with a sixpack & watching the Bills lose seems to have dropped most of the ball in terms of losing all this retail. But Mayor Brown could make a priority of rebuilding downtown Buffalo as the region's retail center. That would do a whole lot more for downtown than a glorified fishing & hunting store or a gaming casino!

Bringing cars back alone won't return Main Street into a vibrant place. There has to be some first-class retail downtown to lure people back. In a city with a winter climate like Buffalo you need to have enclosed shopping. Either in a mall (as in Main Place, but bigger & better) elevated walkways (like in the Twin Cities) or underground concourse (as in Toronto & Montreal). Link that up with the light rail, hopefully eventually a downtown subway.

Building a new downtown shopping center, anchored by first-class retailers (Nordstrom, Macy, Bloomingdales, etc.), now that would be a great vision. The Providence Mall, opened about a decade ago, that played a key role in the revitalization of RI's capital city & something like that would go a long way for downtown Buffalo.

Issa was definitely shady and couldn't make his projects happen, its too bad, he seemed so excited and upbeat about them happening when I ran into him at the Galleria last year...oh wait, I forgot, according to DT, the Buffalo projects didn't happen because there was quote "no demand" for hotels or residential developments in Buffalo. lol :crazy:


by James Fink Business First

Two projects in Britain that are being developed by British investor Bashar Issa, who also owns the Statler Towers in downtown Buffalo, have been put into administration - the British version of receivership.

The receivership move is the latest in a series of issues connected to Issa's Manchester developments and whose ripple effects could be felt in Buffalo.

Crain's Manchester Business has reported that the BSC Group - the development company Issa operates - has seen two of its projects turned over to David Costley-Wood of the Manchester office of KPMG. The projects include the Sarah Tower, a proposed downtown Manchester tower that was supposed to house a hotel and after attempts to sell 130 apartments fell well short of its goal, and the partially-completed Sarah Point that would have included 140 apartments plus a health clinic and retail component.

Yorkshire Bank had underwritten the $67.2 million loan for the Sarah Point project.

KPMG, in May, put other BSC projects in Manchester into receivership after BS Construction Ltd. continues to owe Barclays Bank nearly $22.1 million on its Issa Quay Apartments development. Unsecured creditors are owed another $3.84 million on the project, Crain's reported.

With Costley-Wood named receiver - or administrator, in British legal terms - all four of Issa's Manchester project are now controlled by court-appointed interests and not the BSC Group.

Knight Frank, a leading British real estate firm, has been retained to find a buyer for the Sarah Point project.

The move by KMPG are the latest in a series of issues facing Issa with his Manchester projects. Last summer, a construction worker was killed on the site of one his developments in Manchester and the investigation into the accident continues.

In Buffalo, the fate of the historic Statler project remains in doubt.

The promised $110 million worth of renovations pledged by Issa have all but stopped. Issa has not been in Buffalo in nearly one year and the future of his project remain vague including reports that Wyndham Hotels might still be interested in operating a hotel on some the building's floors.

Speculation about the Statler remains rampant and has become something of a local parlor game in real estate and economic development circles.

Last month, a development group headed by businessman and restaurateur Mark Croce acquired a parcel Issa bought two years ago at the corner of West Mohawk Street and Elmwood Avenue for $2.15 million. Issa had wanted to build a 40-story tower on the site, but has scrapped those plans.

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/08/11/daily9.html?ana=from_rss

^^ Wasn't there someone who seemed interested in partnering on the Statler project? The guy that owns the Splash Lagoon water park in Erie.

Whether I'd call him "shady" or not, I don't know. One thing is for sure, he certainly bit off more than he could chew and at the worst possible time. Like a big chunk of hamburger during a beef recall.

That's a very comprehensive list! I had forgotten the names of some of those stores.
Elmwood should rename his handle "Encyclopedia Buffalonia". No piece of Buffalo miscellanea is forgotten! He ought to be the city historian...

Rumors of a pending Statler sale have been circulating for a few weeks. Then the Bflo. News says he is talking to the Erie, PA waterpark owner about running the Statler Wyndham- so who knows what to believe. :nuts:

ECT...maybe we'll just have to accept that Jerry Rome was right a couple years ago when he said that George Hamburger figured these projects would never happen...even if he didn't know the company George worked for.

Right, yet also wrong at the same time.

Or maybe it was just a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I am sorry to hear about Issas troubles. I was really rooting for him to come through. I think his ideas are great and someone should still try to see them through. Hopefully the Statler does come to fruition. I think there is a marke for a new class A skyscraper downtown and it doesn't have to be 40 stories or mix use.
If nothing else, Mr. Issa got people thinking.

ECT...maybe we'll just have to accept that Jerry Rome was right a couple years ago when he said that George Hamburger figured these projects would never happen...even if he didn't know the company George worked for.

I still don't believe him...If he figured they wouldn't happen, why did he take the listings for the both Statler and CityTower? Its easy to predict failure, JRome pulled one out of his arse.

I still don't believe him...If he figured they wouldn't happen, why did he take the listings for the both Statler and CityTower? Its easy to predict failure, JRome pulled one out of his arse.


lol, I know, he accidently predicted its failure with no real indication of how things would eventually play out. It's like adding the wrong numbers and accidently getting the right answer.

And everyone on here said they would believe it when they see it. JRome also thinks Lockport is a more hoppin place than Buffalo

Renovation to begin on vacant ‘eyesore’ (http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/412621.html)
Genesee St. buildings to be refurbished within 12-15 months
By Melissa Repko NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 08/12/08 7:33 AM

transformation of the long-vacant red brick buildings on Genesee Street into a unified commercial complex should be under way in the next 30 days.

The $12 million restoration and renovation project between Oak and Ellicott streets is expected to be complete in 12 to 15 months. The project got a boost Monday, when the Erie County Industrial Development Agency approved the tax exemptions for the building.

Gateway Genesee LLC, a consortium headed by Buffalo’s CityView development, would save approximately $315,000 in sales tax, up to $120,000 in mortgage recording tax and will be exempt from real estate tax because of its location in the Empire Zone.

The project is also supported by the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, which has helped back several renovation projects in the city.

At the meeting, Mayor Byron W. Brown commended the project for its plan to restore the current “eyesore.” He deemed the building especially significant because “it’s the gateway to downtown Buffalo.” The building is visible by motorists exiting Route 33 onto Oak Street.

Joseph Petrella, principal at City- View Properties, said the board’s approval will keep the construction from being tripped up by paperwork.

The building will be a four-story commercial property measuring 60,000 square feet. Possible occupants include professional firms like law firms and advertising agencies. The first floor will have retail space for a restaurant or coffee shop.

The properties to the west from Oak Street and adjacent to Eddie Brady’s bar were acquired by Genesee Gateway LLC from owner Willard Genrich in the fall of 2007. Eddie Brady’s, located at 97 Genesee, will not be impacted.

In the next 30 to 45 days, Petrella said they hope to close the deal on the properties to the west of Eddie Brady’s. The plan and cost of the western properties’ development is not yet determined, but it will likely be for commercial use, he said.

For the Gateway Genesee complex, demolition of a small portion may begin as early as next week, Petrella said.

The buildings, empty for more than 25 years, were constructed between 1845 and 1915. With its aging facade, it has been a bad first impression for those who enter the city, Petrella said.

“It’s probably as good of an example of slum and blight that we have,” he said. “It’s passed by thousands of commuters each day. . . . It’s a very important streetscape to maintain. It’s historical and its very visible. It needs to be cleaned up and put back to use.”

In other action, the ECIDA board also approved property incentives for a new Leisure Living facility in the City of Tonawanda. It will save about $177,000 in sales taxes, $1.1 million in property taxes and $45,000 in mortgage recording taxes. The project has a collateral mortgage of $4.5 million.

Leisure Living, a pool and spa products distributor, needs additional space in part because of a June fire that burned down its warehouse on Niagara Street in Buffalo. The company is expected to bring money to the area since 99 percent of its sales are to customers outside of Erie County.

mrepko@buffnews.com

I've often wondered about this building (and its neighbors). Everything else within several blocks is seeing some decent investment, but this particular area might as well be a black hole.
Croce seeks historic status to help renovation of 204 Franklin St. (http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/412630.html)
By Sharon Linstedt NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 08/12/08 7:00 AM

Buffalo restaurateur and developer Mark Croce is seeking historic designation for a vacant downtown office building as he plots the structure’s future.

Croce has applied to have the 95-year-old, six-story building at the corner of Franklin and West Huron streets put on the state and federal Registers of Historic Places. Croce, who has converted a string of older buildings along Franklin Street into restaurants and night clubs, said the historic designation will help him fund a future renovation of 204 Franklin St.

“If you look past the ugly first floor, the facade is really beautiful,” Croce said. “It’s glazed terra cotta with great ornamental friezes and other decorative elements.”

Croce purchased the idle building, whose first-floor facade was altered to eliminate original windows and entry-ways, in mid-2002 for potential conversion to a small hotel.

“We still don’t have a solid plan for it,” Croce said. “It could be anything from a small hotel to some neat office space.”

The owner said the only things he knows for certain is that any project will require a “complete interior gut down” and “lots of exterior restoration.”

Inclusion on the state and federal historic registries will open the door to historic tax credit applications to potentially recoup some of the costs of future renovations.

“It’s not going to be cheap or easy, so the historic credits will be a help to defray some of the expense of rehabilitating it,” Croce said.

He also said he’s ruled out tying its overhaul to any future conversion of the Huron Parking Garage, an historic former livery stable, located directly west of the building on West Huron Street.

Croce, who co-owns the 116- year-old red brick garage with Orchard Park developer James Jerge, said while the two structures are located inches apart, disparities in floor levels and architectural styles would make them difficult to combine into a single complex.

Originally known as the Harlow C. Curtiss Building, the 51,000-square-foot structure at 204 Franklin St. is considered an intact example of a “Chicagostyle” metal frame commercial building. Designed by Buffalo architect Paul F. Mann, it was built for prominent Buffalo attorney and real estate executive Harlow C. Curtiss.

The owner later commissioned a second self-titled building at the northeast corner of Delaware Avenue and Tupper Street. That circa-1924, Renaissance Revival-style structure is more commonly known as the Pleu Building.

The Curtiss family is associated with several other historic structures in the city, including former residences in Buffalo’s Delaware District that are now home to the International Institute and the Ronald McDonald House.

Other Curtiss-linked homes include a residence at 100 Lincoln Parkway and a row house in the 400-block of Delaware Avenue.

The Croce-owned Franklin Street building has had several identities over the years, including the King & Eisele Building and the Hoelscher Building. Empty for over a decade, its past tenants include Catholic Charities of Buffalo and the New York State Workers Compensation Board.

A successful restaurant and night club owner, Croce’s portfolio includes Buffalo Chophouse, D’Arcy McGee’s, Duo, Laughlin’s and the Buckin’ Buffalo Saloon, as well as several downtown parking lots and small apartment buildings.

He turned heads last month when he bought the property where British developer Bashar Issa proposed to construct Buffalo’s tallest building. Croce, who is considering a mixed use complex for the West Mohawk Street site, paid $2.15 million for the parcel, which is currently home to a surface parking lot.

slinstedt@buffnews.com

And everyone on here said they would believe it when they see it. JRome also thinks Lockport is a more hoppin place than Buffalo

It's because of that new 1,500 square foot Family Video store.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3172/2752170008_18da2fe6fe_b.jpg


http://flickr.com/photos/24086609@N05/2721803999/


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2720507186_58fbeb9d65_b.jpg

Wow, that first one has to be like the best picture ever.

It's because of that new 1,500 square foot Family Video store.

:lol: Hey, I like Family Video. They have great deals

I'm outraged at the amount of public money which is being spent on further refining the design of a dead project...
Bass Pro site will include a canal (http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/413434.html)
Details emerging on ‘Aud Block’ plans
By Sharon Linstedt NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 08/13/08 7:37 AM

Planners confirmed Tuesday that they are tweaking a final design for the five-acre “Aud Block” that will see a canal wind past a Bass Pro Shops store, museum, various retail shops and a public green.

“The canal is going to play a big role in defining this site,” said Larry Quinn, vice chairman of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. “Not only will it be a major physical element, it will also be an attraction that will draw people to the site.”

While the new waterway has always been contemplated as part of the $500 million Canal Side waterfront redevelopment project, planners will now focus on its precise location, depth and function.

“Will it be navigable? Could you skate on it during the winter? Will there be fish in it? We need to go from conceptual planning to how it fits, physically and programatically,” Quinn said.

Planners will also consider whether there could be underground pathways that would take pedestrians beneath the canal. They will also confer with Bass Pro designers on potentially joining the outdoor waterway with the store’s indoor water features.

Answers to these and other final design questions are expected to be made public by late September, when a master plan for the Aud site and the remaining 15-acres that comprise the Canal Side footprint are unveiled.

To that end, the harbor board Tuesday approved a $65,000 contract enhancement for New York City-based Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn, the firm in charge of urban design and strategic planning for the Canal Side effort. The design firm’s original contract was for $605,000.

“These funds will help us put some finishing touches on the Canal Side design, and are earmarked specifically for modeling and 3-D imaging of the proposed site plan,” said Harbor board president Jordan A. Levy.

The plans and models, along with Bass Pro’s store renderings, and Benderson Development’s blueprints for a mix of retail, entertainment, hotel, residential and office space, will all be all be submitted for a required state environmental impact review this fall.

Levy called for a design update session with all the parties “as soon as possible” to keep the master planning effort moving.

Harbor board members also received an update on the ongoing asbestos abatement work in the Aud and adjacent Donovan State Office Building. Remediation of asbestos and other hazardous materials inside the Aud is now 70 percent complete and on schedule for a late September wrap-up.

A request for bids to demolish the dormant sports arena will go out before the end of the month, with a goal of selecting a contractor in September. Razing of the structure should begin in October and be completed by next spring.

The Donovan building is approximately 40 percent cleared of asbestos and other dangerous substances. It is also on track for its planned December completion, with demolition to follow.

Under the current Canal Side timetable, construction of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store will get under way by next summer with an expected spring 2010 debut.

slinstedt@buffnews.com

Evidently WNY/Jerome hasn't notified the ECHDC that Bass Pro and Benderson have decided against pursuing the project. :ohno:

Don't forget Jerry Rome and his probable Rochesterian alter ego Susie.

I'm outraged at the amount of public money which is being spent on further refining the design of a dead project...

Agree, (& while I've said it many times before) Bass Pro is one smelly dead fish of a project that just needs to be allowed to sink to the bottom, so that the city can focus on projects that will really revitalize downtown!

I don't know if you're serious or if that's tongue-in-cheek?

I support the project from the standpoint that it puts something on the waterfront, much less something that supposedly is a draw to other retailers to create the so-called "critical mass". Assuming that it does so, whether it can do that remains to be seen. But I feel pretty sure to say it'll spawn more development than the casino will. Heck, even a near-vacant Commercial Slip seems to have substantial drawing power, based on what I've read and actually seen myself.

I would actually think placing emphasis on the waterfront should be a priority over downtown itself, at the moment. I think once you get the waterfront right, and capitalize on that resource, all the other stuff will fall into place. Then with a healthy core, sustainable redevelopment can radiate outwards from a focal point as opposed to scattershot revitalization which quickly enough just becomes what it was intended to replace. I know before I had said start with downtown, and I still do. I just think the catalyst for downtown lies on the waterfront. Not to mention the fact that this project, if pulled off successfully, would effectively "bring" downtown to the waterfront. Just maybe we have to rob Peter to pay Paul and put what we do have together in one place (at the temporary expense of some others) just to pool it together so it can actually mean something and grow.

As far as the public money, that's always touchy. But maybe it's not so bad in light of what Mesa, AZ (in a healthy metro, unsustainability aside) plunked down for one. It'll prove to be less seed money spent in that regard than what will go to Albany from the casino, never to be seen again (at least the money lost to the Senecas will stay reasonably "local"). The sad fact is that government always wastes money no matter what, so as long as you're stuck with the lemon, might as well make some lemonade. And keep waiting for reform.

I don't know if you're serious or if that's tongue-in-cheek?



The overall Canal Project that's fine. But I think its going to take a lot more than a Bass Pro to make it a success. That's why I'd like to see some real retail downtown & or along the waterfront. It would be nice if the city officials spent as much time trying to bring first-class retail as they have with this fish & bait store.

Well, it is Larry Quinn we're talking about. Not exactly the be-all and end-all of planning officials, more like an AMC Gremlin to another city's Cadillac or Lexus. Would've been nice to have even gotten a Hyundai, but what are you gonna do. At least he's not a Chery.

And Benderson hasn't exactly been innovative around here, either. This is actually quite a departure for them, so I suggest we just let them be. It must've been difficult enough as it was.

Ideally, the return of large-scale retail to downtown would be taking place in the 400-500 blocks of Main Street. Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to get the catalyst department store or high profile retailer into those blocks to kick it off and attract others anytime soon.

Bass Pro has proven to be a regional draw- Benderson thinks it has the drawing power to bring shoppers downtown to support a couple hundred thousand sq.ft. of retail space- let's hope they're right. Benderson is also getting money to lure secondary anchors to the project which IIRC have to be new to WNY to be eligible (hello Crate & Barrel, H&M, Ruths Chris, Lucky Strike, West Elm, ESPN Zone).

Now, what are city officials going to do to lure shoppers from the foot of Main north into downtown? The free train is there- what's the draw? If Canalside leases quickly and is a run-away success, perhaps other retailers would venture north. Is Main Place Mall ready? :lol:

Well, it is Larry Quinn we're talking about. Not exactly the be-all and end-all of planning officials, more like an AMC Gremlin to another city's Cadillac or Lexus. Would've been nice to have even gotten a Hyundai, but what are you gonna do. At least he's not a Chery.

And Benderson hasn't exactly been innovative around here, either. This is actually quite a departure for them, so I suggest we just let them be. It must've been difficult enough as it was.

Whatever they do, they MUST have have a practical plan for the winters.

One of the most interesting & unique projects that was proposed for downtown Buffalo in the 1970s was to have Main St enclosed by a clear covering (probably plastic) so it would usable year-round, while the rail would've been in subway. By the time the funding came thru, in addition to the downtown rail being placed on the surface, the enclosed mall was scrapped in favor of the open mall.
You can see the results!

Any project that doesn't take into account the wind & snow blowing in off Lake Erie is doomed to turn out like the largely pedestrianless mall!

Covering the whole street doesn't sound practical at all, I don't want to think of what state of disrepair that would be in now. Doesn't seem very feasible anyways even by today's standards. Rather I think the better idea would be some sort of underground passageway network or a Minneapolis-esque skybridge system. I don't know if it's windier there (probably not) but it's most certainly colder and it seems to do well enough.

Covering the whole street doesn't sound practical at all, I don't want to think of what state of disrepair that would be in now. Doesn't seem very feasible anyways even by today's standards. Rather I think the better idea would be some sort of underground passageway network or a Minneapolis-esque skybridge system. I don't know if it's windier there (probably not) but it's most certainly colder and it seems to do well enough.

Covering the downtown portion of Main Street would have been I think an urban first. Although the rationale for not following thru on that I think had to do with lack of funding, rather than feasibility. But yes, given the city's incompetency, it might have become an operations & mainteneance headache. Skywalks, underground concourses, or enclosed spaces, that would be better alternative.

Long-term though, putting the downtown portion of the light rail in subway that should be a priority. It doesn't make much sense to have the stations with the heaviest potential ridership above ground, exposed to the elements, & while the less busy stations are in subway, that's ass backwards.

what were the original design reasons for bringing the subway to the surface downtown? Was the original plan supposed to be all above ground or all below ground?

Didn't part of the reason have something to do with University Heights/North Buffalo residents not wanting an elevated rail?

Either way it doesn't make much sense. Not sure how feasible it would be to reverse the thing (or at least just bury the downtown segment) seeing how much the cost overruns were when the thing was initially built. I think we're pretty much stuck with that, for better or for worse. I think the stronger argument can be made for expanding the system out to the suburbs than for reconfiguring what already exists. Some clever adaptations of what is there to whatever other modes are added (skywalks or whatever) would probably be the most cost-effective way to go.

what were the original design reasons for bringing the subway to the surface downtown? Was the original plan supposed to be all above ground or all below ground?

Well, that's a long story & I sure hate to explain it or in any way rationalize the NFTA planning process it, because it made no sense.

But the original alignment was heavy rail (like Toronto's subway) & went from downtown to the new UB south campus in Amherst, downtown in subway, elevated along Main & then along Kensington & then along RR RW to the UB South Campus, & then elevated to the new campus. That was scrapt after neighborhood opposition (understandable) from the Kensinghtan area.

The next alignment, that wouuld have been the best, was mostly (if not all) subway straight down Main & then thru Amherst to the UB North campus. But the cost exceeded the available funding.

So Buffalo ended up with some poor trade-offs, what you see, changing to light rail & what must be the worlds only subway that runs on surface downtown (where it should have been in subway) only to travel the rest of the way thru in subway (where it would probably have had a better neighborhood revitalization impact had it been visible on the surface).

Still, I hate it when people call it "the subway from nowhere to nowhere", or even talk about closing it. Really Buffalo is lucky to have it, not many cities the size of Buffalo have a subway. There's still the option of undergrounding the downtown portion of the subway. Although that should have been studied as part of the re-opening of Main St. to cars, that's the best time to do it. And there's the option of extending it, to the UB North Campus, if Amherst would buy-in.

In the meantime, filling the Main Street corrider with high-density transit-oriented residential, commercial & instiutional uses would make even the existing line more viable.

So, with good planning, Buffalo could end up with subway that connects & travels thru somewheres!

Well, that's a long story & I sure hate to explain it or in any way rationalize the NFTA planning process it, because it made no sense.
Few of their planning processes make much sense today.

What do you want - government agency with no accountability, no real shareholders of any kind to appease with good decisions and planning to make maximum use of their resources. Why waste any effort when there's no need to. Case in point - their (and their predecessors') ownership of waterfront parcels by legislative fluke for the past 50 years. On top of the question - what region's residents don't consistently complain about the local transit authority? Probably the same number who speak glowingly of the local water supply.

The above ground portion came about because it is the left overs of an uber-grand scheme for a subway and covered street in that section. Funds never materialized for that so they built the transit mall. At the time they built the transit mall this was still a favored and popular planning scheme promoted by Victor Gruen and mad to seem feasible by the success of pedestrian malls in europe. Those malls were built in urban situations which were 100% different than most American cities but the planners and architects of the time were to stupid to notice.

The Amherst section was also dropped for lack of funds but also because there was no support from the area. Some say because of racism and the fear that it would make it too easy for black people to travel out to the burbs. There was also an undercurrent of desire to keep the Amherst campus isolated. Part of the reason for the Amherst campus (maybe the main reason) was to prevent the type of hippie riots that happened in the 60's on the Main Street campus. The campus was made isolated for that reason

The Amherst section was also dropped for lack of funds but also because there was no support from the area. Some say because of racism and the fear that it would make it too easy for black people to travel out to the burbs. There was also an undercurrent of desire to keep the Amherst campus isolated. Part of the reason for the Amherst campus (maybe the main reason) was to prevent the type of hippie riots that happened in the 60's on the Main Street campus. The campus was made isolated for that reason

It's true that a lot of the locals weren't very comfortable about the large number of downstate students & other "outsiders" at UB. The decision to relocate the UB campus to Amherst, one of the biggest policy blunders, was made in 1967, a couple of years before the biggest campus protests & confrontations at UB.

Of course, ending the rail line at the old campus rather than at the new campus is another shortcoming of the light rail line. I'm not sure, but I think that the second rail proposal, the best, might have been deep tunnel bored thru Amherst, which would have entailed little disruption to that town. Had that been funded, than Buffalo today would have a heavy rail line from downtown to Amherst.

But the cost estimate exceeded the budget. The shorter light rail line that was built ended up costing two-thirds of a billion, two-thirds federal & most of the rest from a NY state transportation bond package. The city of Buffalo only put up about $25 million or so, I think mostly connected with the transit mall. Of course, when you get a largely free ride, you don't get a first-class ticket!

Yes, those fears of Amherst residents all factored in, & still may. I think though that the biggest fear preventing an extension are those about construction diusruptions of the type that occured during the building of the original subway along Main St. in the 1980s.

Most importantly, at this point I don't see any local funding match for the cost of extension to the North UB campus. The Feds don't get very excited about funding new transit in declining areas with little match, when there's a a big backlog of transit proposals from growing metros who can put up large local matches.

However, longer-term, if the Buffalo area moves forward on the types of initiatives that have been presented & discussed here in these forums to rebuild its population, economic & financial bases, extending the light rail line to Amherst, & even undergrounding the downtown portion into subway, could once again re-emerge as a viable option.

But I'm not holding my breath!

Most importantly, at this point I don't see any local funding match for the cost of extension to the North UB campus. The Feds don't get very excited about funding new transit in declining areas with little match, when there's a a big backlog of transit proposals from growing metros who can put up large local matches.

However, longer-term, if the Buffalo area moves forward on the types of initiatives that have been presented & discussed here in these forums to rebuild its population, economic & financial bases, extending the light rail line to Amherst, & even undergrounding the downtown portion into subway, could once again re-emerge as a viable option.

But I'm not holding my breath!

One thing I've been following extremely closely since coming to Washington is what will be in the next re-authorization of SAFETEA-LU (in 2009 or 2010). Right now, all indications are that there will be significantly more funding for transit in every part of America even supposedly "declining" places like Buffalo. Quite literally, IMO, the fate of our nation depends on whether the congress/president can really embrace transit/alternatives (bus, light rail, heavy rail, walking, biking) and better land use development policies. Each Federal Transportation Bill starting with ISTEA in 1991 then TEA-21 in 1998 and now SAFETEA-LU in 2005 have progressively moved our national policy in that direction and I expect big things from the next bill. If big bucks for those big transit/alternatives goals can get passed and Buffalo still can't get more metro-rail lines or extensions (either by local matching through proper channels or pork barrel/earmark!) with a fairly powerful congressman on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (Higgins) then WNY might as well just close up shop and go out of business. The cities that embrace a carless lifestyle (or atleast provide some alternatives) are the ones that are going to be most successful in the 21st century.

One thing I've been following extremely closely since coming to Washington is what will be in the next re-authorization of SAFETEA-LU (in 2009 or 2010). Right now, all indications are that there will be significantly more funding for transit in every part of America even supposedly "declining" places like Buffalo. Quite literally, IMO, the fate of our nation depends on whether the congress/president can really embrace transit/alternatives (bus, light rail, heavy rail, walking, biking) and better land use development policies. Each Federal Transportation Bill starting with ISTEA in 1991 then TEA-21 in 1998 and now SAFETEA-LU in 2005 have progressively moved our national policy in that direction and I expect big things from the next bill. If big bucks for those big transit/alternatives goals can get passed and Buffalo still can't get more metro-rail lines or extensions (either by local matching through proper channels or pork barrel/earmark!) with a fairly powerful congressman on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (Higgins) then WNY might as well just close up shop and go out of business. The cities that embrace a carless lifestyle (or atleast provide some alternatives) are the ones that are going to be most successful in the 21st century.

Agree about the need for more public transportation funding, particularly as transit ridership is surging, while transit agencies are in many cases prevented from expanding service by rising fuel prices from increasing services.

Undergrounding the downtown portion of Buffalo's light rail, that requires support from downtown business, etc.

Extending the light rail to the North UB campus, probably the only viable extension in terms of a large number of new passengers, requires strong support from Amherst town.

Extending light rail eastward to Cheektowaga that would require that town to buy-off. But a much more cost-effective eastward approach is simply adding more bus service, at the most, maybe bus rapid transit along Broadway or Genessee.

Yea, it always helps to have well connected politicos like Higgins. Still, any of those has to have strong local suppport & significant local funding to clear the Federal hurdles.

bayviews,
Metro Rail is above ground in the CBD because the water table is too high.
and yes Buffalo is lucky to have it and the ridership numbers (per capita) show how successful the LRRT could be if extended.

bayviews,
Metro Rail is above ground in the CBD because the water table is too high.
and yes Buffalo is lucky to have it and the ridership numbers (per capita) show how successful the LRRT could be if extended.
What does that matter? I could see how it might matter, but when you think NYC's subway is probably below sea level! And we've got bedrock relatively close to the surface whereas I'd venture a guess most of Manhattan is alluvial fill shit (not as bad as New Orleans but still...) that isn't very good for building things in and of itself - for instance look at the "bathtub" at the WTC site. Besides, I've never heard opposition to tunneling the Skyway in the form of water table issues. Usually every other excuse in the book (some of which I will admit to agreeing with).

Of course a prominent water table design failure I can think of it Boston's Big Dig. But that's been about as much of an all-around failure (besides what it actually has accomplished in reducing congestion when it's fully open) as Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Speaking of things which I'm mildly surprised weren't built here...we would have ended up with MLB's most pathetic team after all.

Extending the light rail to the North UB campus, probably the only viable extension in terms of a large number of new passengers, requires strong support from Amherst town.

...

Extending light rail eastward to Cheektowaga that would require that town to buy-off. But a much more cost-effective eastward approach is simply adding more bus service, at the most, maybe bus rapid transit along Broadway or Genessee.
If we wanted it and then if the NFTA had positive leadership, many of these expansions would be feasible and probably not cost-prohibitive, either. Let's not forget that Buffalo is gifted (as much as an urban planning bane it may have one time been) with what is probably as much railbed (active and abandoned) per capita as any decent size municipality in the country. Probably outside of whatever town UP has it's massive switching yard in Nebraska!

There are rail lines radiating out in all directions, particularly to the east and south, the gauge is the same, and all it would take to connect to it are relatively short new-build sections through Sarajevo-esque neighborhoods. Not to say those people are easy to "railroad", but let's face it, they've historically tended to be so everywhere. After that, the cost essentially becomes that for the right-of-way (assuming the state and/or city doesn't already own a bunch of it), and/or the trackage rights. Maybe a few bypass sections to eliminate potential bottlenecks so we don't have a mini-Amtrak clone. And if people are going to complain about above-ground train traffic coursing through their neighborhood, let's ask them why it suddenly became a problem now, after it has already been there for the last 150 years.

The will is simply not there, painful as it is. All that gets passed around is that useless Cobblestone loop. Why a neighborhood with that population density needs that heavy a concentration of trackage puzzles me. I could see that being put in as a permanent end forever cancelling any ideas to expand it further south, too.

bayviews,
Metro Rail is above ground in the CBD because the water table is too high.
and yes Buffalo is lucky to have it and the ridership numbers (per capita) show how successful the LRRT could be if extended.

A high water table south of the Thruway, or north of it too?

I'm just curious because the first 2 rail proposals (heavy rail) had the downtown portion in subway, at least north of the Thruway. It might have surfaced & gone aerial for the last stretch south of the Aud. So it seemed technically feasible. It seemed like the downtown portion was put above ground to save bucks.

If its just the water table south of the Thruway, that's not a big deal, as the part that would be best undergrounded would be north of it, in what's left of the business, retail, etc. district.

Really, when I see a subway that surfaces at the busiest, but most weather-exposed portion, it makes one wonder if any of the leading officials ride it regularly?

As I said though, I'd be very pleasantly surprised (& much more importantly I think, many, many cold, wet & windswept waiting passengers) if the downtown portion of Buffalo's light rail ever was undergrounded!

Really, when there's a subway that surfaces just in time for its smallest but busiest & most bad weather-exposed portion, it makes one wonder how many of those who planned it, or current officials, ever ride it?

The Feds don't get very excited about funding new transit in declining areas with little match, when there's a a big backlog of transit proposals from growing metros who can put up large local matches.
The Feds don't get excited about anything proactive lately. Unless it comes in the form of advancing the rate of decline in both the natural and built environment, then they're all over it.

Besides which, judging by what I've seen, there aren't a whole lot of growing metros which are flush with cash right now. Or there is outright stronger opposition (these are some cities which are far more car dependent and entrenched than even Buffalo). I think that's a non-factor. Didn't Raleigh kill a proposal recently? If any metro fit the "growing and flush with cash" description, I'd think it'd probably be them. I'd say the southwest "cities" (in air quotes with a lowercase 'c') too, if their housing values weren't plunging.

I still believe the best solution for funding is to tap the Seneca Casino money if that project moves forward. To be honest, it's the only positive I see coming out of that thing. ;-)

A 1995 study pegged the Airport Corridor at $262 million (http://www.fortunecity.com/oasis/acapulco/897/airport.html). Lets say that is now $400 million due to inflation and some other minor factors. Here is where it gets interesting:

Ask for the Fed to provide 50%, or $200 million. That is not unrealistic, considering that NYC got 425 million for capital improvement projects this past year (http://www.fta.dot.gov/funding/apportionments/grants_financing_88.html). In the New Starts Program (the one we would probably use), NYS recieved 378 million for 2 projects, both in the NYC area. That is over 800 million in ONE YEAR. Know how much we got in those two areas...$1.6 million. WHAT THE HELL ARE OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS DOING!!!!!!! HELLO, UPSTATE GETTING THE SHAFT!!!!

Ask the state to provide 25%, or $100 million. Cite the figures above and bitch to no end. Attack Albany. We're the 2nd poorest city in the country with one of the highest gasoline costs...we need to argue our case. If we lobby, we should get it.

Local provides 25%, or $100 million. We get that directly from leveraging the casino money directly on the project. I know it ties up the money for quite a while, but it's a good long term investment, and one which creates long term benefits for the community. Besides, we might make more at that casino if we can get people from the airport directly TO it via rail. ;-)

Once you get the loan paid off, use the casino money to build a trust fund for future infrastructure use. Cap the trust @ $100 million so you can eventually get 7 million from your casino and another 5 from the trust. Every couple of years, inflation adjust the trust and you'll have $12 million 'forever dollars' a year to devote specifically to capital infrastructure improvements.

Maybe I'm aiming high, or don't understand economics, but this seems like one way we could actually recieve a decient return on the casino. If we can leverage it to pull in outside federal dollars it instantly becomes profitable and I love it. Otherwise, I think it's a dollar-loss overall for the community.