Buffalo Development News II

[jmancuso]

continued from old thread.

oh...and

[ECoastTransplant]

Downtown Buffalo Project Summary

RESIDENTIAL

COMPLETED
Development Units Type
Ansonia Center 59 Apartments
Bellasario Apartments 29 Apartments
City Centre 41 Condominium
Elk Terminal Lofts I & II 52 Loft Apartments
Ellicott Lofts 38 Loft Apartments
Holling Press Lofts 82 Apartments
Market Arcade Lofts 10 Apartments
Sidway Building 67 Apartments
Spaulding Building 19 Apartments
St. Mary Square 52 Condominium
The Netherland 6 Apartments
University Club (Bellasara) 14 Apartments
Watkins Apartments 6 Apartments
Total: 478

Under Construction
651-3 Main Street (Pierce) 4 Apartments
844-852 Main Street 29 Apartments
Buehl Bldg. Reno. 6 Apt. or Condo
Ellicott Commons 58 Apartments
Oak School Lofts 29 Loft Apts.
Total: 126

Proposed
112 Genesee Street 2 Apartments
456 Main Street (Bakers) 12 Apartments
504 Washington 6 Condos
537 Main St. (Grever's) na Apartments
Arctic Freezers na unknown
Artspace - 1219 Main 50 Lofts
Ben-Lin Warehouse 30-40 Condo
Elk Terminal Lofts III 12 Lofts
Greystone Hotel 26 Apartments
H.O. Oats na unknown
Hager Mills Lofts (141 Elm) 32 Apartments
Lofts at Elk Terminal 48 Lofts
North St. Y Senior Apts. 65 Sr. Apts.
Saturn Rings Building 20-25 Loft Apartments
Schmidt Lot Condos 36 Condo
Seneca Paper Lofts- 30 Apts.
Vernor Site 100-125 Condo
Waterfront Village 71 Condos/TH
Waterfront Village 50 Apts.
Total: 590-630

OFFICE

Project Developer Sq. Ft. Status
67 W. Chippewa Offices- Sherk/Macaluso 5,000 UC
Niagara Center- Acquest 290,000 DONE
100 Seneca St.- Paladino 76,000 PL
222 Genesee St.- WNY MRI 33,000 PL
285 Delaware Avenue- Uniland 110,000 proposed
361 Delaware (Pleu)- Paladino 30,900 UC
599 Delaware- Scheider 25,000 PL
487 Main Street- Carmina/Wood 14,400 DONE
505 Pearl- Croce 15,000 PL
737 Main Street- Avalon 15,000 UC
844-64 Main Street- First Amherst 4,600 UC
City Centre Annex- CityView 23,000 DONE
Court Street Tower- Paladino 290,000 proposed
Courtyard Mall Offices- Paladino PL
Elk Terminal- First Amherst 25,000 UC
Ellicott Commons- Burke 32,000 DONE
Federal Res. Bldg- Ciminelli 100,000 PL
HealthNow HQs- Duke 452,000 PL
Knights of Columbus Reno.- Jerge 54,000 DONE
Larkin Building- CityView 600,000 DONE
Michigan/S. Division Bldg.- Paladino 45,000 PL
Niagara Mohawk Bldg.- Iskalo 148,000 UC
Trico Renovation- Ciminelli 585,000 PL
Elm/Oak North Block- Uniland 84,093 proposed
Waterfront Village Office Bldg.- DiNapoli 150,000 proposed
Total 3,195,993

PUBLIC/OTHER

Project Status
AM&A's- Burke Purchase Study
Asbury Church- Righteous Babe UC
Augsburger Expansion Done
Auto Museum- Greasing Station UC
Auto Museum- Wright Gas Station UC
Bass Pro Shop (old Aud) PL
Bioinformatics Center UC
Bus Terminal Renovation PL
Children's Museum- 173 Elm Street PL
City Centre Ramp Expansion PL
Corn Exchange--- Ramada Plaza Hotel PL
Donovan Bldg- Transit Hub PL
ECC Dorm Study
ECC Hockey Rink Study
ECC Ramp/Transit Center PL
Erie Canal Harbor Parking Ramp PL
Federal Courthouse PL
Franklin, 204- Boutique Hotel? PL
Franklin, 294- Warehaus Club Done
Franklin, 333 Rehab/Restaurant Done
Genesee, 112 Reno/Apts. PL
Genesee, 85-91- Apts. PL
Genesee, 99-101- Rest/Apts UC
Hauptmann Research Center Done
High Street, 23 Reno. PL
Inner Harbor Excavation UC
Larkin Building Parking Ramp (762) UC
Larking Building Reno. Done
Main Street Retraffic PL
Main Street, 743-47 Reno. PL
Main Street, 888 Reno (restaurant) PL
Niagara Center Ramp UC
Oliver's Waterfront Restaurant PL
Pearl Street, 470 Mixed-Use PL
Public Safety Building Done
Shanghai Reds Done
West Huron Hotel Reno. PL

[BuffCity]

hey so...eastcoast, you wanna plot all of these? lol

[ECoastTransplant]

Originally Posted by BuffCity

hey so...eastcoast, you wanna plot all of these? lol

I could...it would make for a crowded map! I'll work on it!

[BuffCity]

I'm gonna talk to a friend of mine about making an interactive Flash file for this...something we can have instead of having to go on the forums, updates...eh I dunno.

well we now have a part II, not bad...we are talkin it up good on the Buff, I wish the building projects happened to be a quick as our threads.

[steel]

Don't forget the massive outer harbor project. Many think that it is pie in the sky but the developers behind it are pretty big league and since it has been announced we have seen a lot more talk about improving access to the area and removing the skyway which makes me believe that the politicians are getting some pressure applied.

[ILuvNY]

Oliver's (on Delaware) is planning a new waterfont restaurant? Where exactly is it going to be located?

I can't wait for the H.O. Oats conversion to come to fruition. Combined with the new builds @ Elk Terminal, the Ben-Lin Warehouse Condos, and the Bass Pro/transit center project the Cobblestone district will be well on its way to becoming a new hotspot of retail & residential activity.

[BuffCity]

BuffCity's Top 10 signs that Buffalo is back!

1. Atleast 1 or 2 3-4 star hotels will open
2. At some scale a tourism attraction area like (landing JAX, riverwalk SA)
3. Major show playing at shea's
4. A Banana Republic or other high end fashion retailer opens its doors someplace downtown
5. several more coffee shops open doors downtown
6. 24hr restaurant downtown
7. more street vendors
8. Main Place Mall will get a very nice anchor tenant
9. Sales tax will not surpass its current rate!
10. ALL residential units filled with constant demand for more

ways to get there...

1. Merger of city / county
2. main street traffic
3. federal money to revitalize the city
4. ECC Downtown
5. Bass Pro and canal museum completed
6. Waterfront development
7. NO Liberal mayor, we need a business friendly mayor (republican)
8. some buildings downtown need facade alterations
9. Convention Center needs to be more "welcoming"
10. Buffalonians need to keep the drive going!

[sargeantcm]

As for mayor, if I could vote it'd be for Gaughan, because of the whole regionalism thing, and because he's technically not a democrat or a republican - but someone who can think for himself!

[BuffCity]

I have to agree 100% on that, Buffalo would never elect a Republican, and can't afford another democrat...so I see Gaughn as the answer.

[ECoastTransplant]

Originally Posted by ILuvNY

Oliver's (on Delaware) is planning a new waterfont restaurant? Where exactly is it going to be located?

I can't wait for the H.O. Oats conversion to come to fruition. Combined with the new builds @ Elk Terminal, the Ben-Lin Warehouse Condos, and the Bass Pro/transit center project the Cobblestone district will be well on its way to becoming a new hotspot of retail & residential activity.

Not sure if Olivers is still a "go". They were planning on building next to Shanghai Reds on the grassy parcel adjacent to the Waterfront Village Office Buildings (its on the cul-de-sac and on the water). They made their plans known when it was uncertain whether the owners of Crawdaddy's were going to rebuild. They did and Olivers said they were also proceeding, but nothing has happened and there's been nothing in the papers. I expect it to be dead. If that's the case- the city should re-market the property.

[BuffCity]

I would like to see a Ferry to Cleveland, Erie and Toledo/Detroit someday, that would make the Harbor busier, and we would likely see more development that would be less, residential on the water...like restaurants and other developments for entertainment.

There has been talk about a ferry route several times, I don't think a massive ship like Rochester got stuck with is neccessary, but a smaller lake going vessel would be nice, or perhaps a couple smaller units.

This would be a neat way to help the waterfront, that and considering Buffalo is a 4am drinking city, the ferry boats would look more like liberty boats for the Navy leaving a drinking port...lol

[BuffCity]

Falls casino offers Buffalo answers to many key questions

As the Seneca Nation prepares to select a site here, city officials can't ignore the lessons learned

By GAIL NORHEIM
NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
8/16/2005

In only a few weeks, the Seneca Nation of Indians is expected to announce where it plans to open a casino in Buffalo, but the debate over the value of such a gambling operation will continue for years after it opens.
Niagara Falls can attest to that.

Although the Cataract City's status as a world tourist attraction colors the comparisons between the two cities, many of the key questions being asked in Buffalo these days are being lived out 15 miles downriver.

Such questions as:

How much public good comes from the use of a large tract of nontaxable land in the heart of the city?

How serious is the threat of eminent domain to neighbors of a Seneca casino?

Do state-negotiated casino revenues equal new municipal costs?

How does a casino affect neighboring businesses?

Answers to those questions have begun to emerge in Niagara Falls but continue to be argued 21/2 years after the Seneca Niagara Casino opened in the old Niagara Falls Convention Center on New Year's Eve 2002.

Several property owners in the shadow of the casino continue to face the loss of land to growing casino development. Local governments are fighting for a share of casino revenues. And many nearby business owners have yet to see any benefit from Seneca gambling.

All that hasn't tempered hopes for brighter economic days - or taken away the reality that the Senecas will employ 3,000 people in the Falls by the time it opens its new spa hotel late this year.

"It's small thinking to be opposed to the casino," said David Fleck, who owns the Howard Johnson hotel on nearby Main Street in Niagara Falls and has been in the local hotel business for 35 years. "Overall, it is going to be the driver for our economic recovery here. On the Canadian side, it didn't take three years (to see success). It took five years.

"You've got to kind of crawl before you walk, and maybe we're just starting to crawl."

Casino just a part

Niagara Falls development officials emphasize that the casino is only part of what Niagara Falls needs: a business-friendly atmosphere that will grow through a mix of development and residents who understand that lasting, positive economic change is built with persistence, over time.

It's an understanding also advocated by those looking to remake the Buffalo waterfront and downtown.

Three major issues involving casino development in Niagara Falls are worth watching in Erie County - because all three may well be played out in the region's largest city:

Eminent domain. Under their compact with New York State, the Senecas have rights to develop a 52-acre "footprint" around the Falls casino. The state is currently moving to seize 26 acres of that land from private property owners.

Buffalo Mayor Anthony M. Masiello advocates using eminent domain, if necessary, as a tool to help the Senecas develop their casino property in his city.

Local share of casino slots revenue. Under their compact, the Senecas, as a sovereign nation, are not required to pay property, sales or bed taxes but must provide 18 percent of slots revenues to state and local government in the first four years of operation of casinos they open, including one in Buffalo. That figure will rise to 25 percent by the eighth year of the 14-year agreement. The state gets three-quarters of that money; the "host community," one-quarter.

Niagara County and the City of Niagara Falls currently are embroiled in a lawsuit over which one is the host community and how the $11.2 million in revenues from last year gets split.

Is the same sort of legal fight inevitable between cash-starved Erie County and the City of Buffalo? Masiello said if a casino is wholly located within the bounds of a city, the compensating slots revenues should go to that municipality.

"I believe that's the intent of the compact," he said. "I was very, very involved in this whole process from the beginning, and I believe we're the ones who would be providing the majority of the services. The city should receive a full appropriation."

Economic impact. Critics say the Seneca Niagara Casino is operating like an economic nation unto itself and has had little spillover economic impact in the Falls. The Senecas and state and local development officials point out that the casino has created 2,400 jobs with 1,000 more expected by year's end to staff the new Seneca hotel.

Studying the impact

The Center for Governmental Research was hired by USA Niagara Development Corp., the state's development arm in the Falls, to study Seneca Niagara's impact during 2003 and 2004.

The 100-page document explains that restaurants and hotels haven't experienced an expected boost from casino patrons: "The casino attracts principally "day trippers,' and . . . these visitors patronize businesses outside the casino only infrequently."

While some restaurant owners say they believe the casino has hurt business, project director Kent Gardner said he didn't encounter that during his interviews. "No one said they lost business," he said. "They just didn't gain any."

Ernest Sternberg, a professor in the University at Buffalo's department of urban and regional planning, sees the large former convention center that houses the Falls casino as an isolated building. He said he wants a Buffalo casino to be different.

Sternberg, who has written several papers on local tourism planning, said he thinks many small "boutique" casinos along the Chippewa and Theater districts would encourage people to visit other businesses as well.

"I'm just offering some way to make it unique," Sternberg said.

Hope for change

Many hope the lack of spin-off in Niagara Falls will change with the opening of the spa hotel.

"One of the things we would recommend is there be a little more joint marketing, so when they come to the casino they can see what else there is to do," Gardner said. "There are a lot of bodies who are coming into Niagara Falls who weren't coming in before."

Business owners along Third Street in the Falls, which faces the casino and is currently undergoing a $3 million state streetscape program, would like just a few casino patrons to try out city restaurants and bars. Meanwhile, the city, county and school district all want something, too - a share of slots revenues.

With the condemnation of 26 acres for the Senecas, $1.5 million in property taxes will be eliminated from the tax rolls.

Niagara Falls city officials say slots revenue will help them cover related costs of losing part of their tax base, but not if they have to share a great deal of that money.

Still, that's exactly what Niagara County lawmakers want. They've sued in State Supreme Court, seeking three-quarters of the local share. They've complained they were left out of negotiations and not given any of the first year's revenues, and lawyers have argued in court that county government has felt the crunch on its deputy and jail services.

Recently, the Niagara Falls City School District was added to the county's lawsuit.

It's ultimately up to state lawmakers to decide how the money is appropriated, and little progress between key players has been announced in recent months.

When it does come, slots revenues is to be used to make up for added costs for police, water, sewer and street construction, economic development and job-creation projects and to fund a gambling addiction help center.

Masiello said he is not ready yet to think about whether Erie County will launch a similar revenue chase. Meanwhile, the mayor has raised the possibility of eminent domain in Buffalo, calling it a last resort.

Masiello said he hasn't offered eminent domain to the Senecas and hasn't even had discussions during the last few weeks with nation officials on where a casino may be located.

"I hope we can all come to a consensus and that it can be done without a . . . costly eminent domain procedure," he said.

e-mail: gnorheim@buffnews.com

[jmancuso]

none of y'all took notice of my bills' logo? i feel so unwanted.

[sargeantcm]

Originally Posted by jmancuso

none of y'all took notice of my bills' logo? i feel so unwanted.

No, the act of homage to the NFL's best team (you might not have heard it because it's not out yet) has not gone unnoticed.

Go Bills!

[ILuvNY]

New Era Cap Co. will consider moving HQ to downtown area

By JONATHAN RIVOLI
News Business Reporter
8/16/2005

Derby-based New Era Cap Co. announced Monday that it is looking for a new home and will strongly consider moving its headquarters to downtown Buffalo by the end of 2007.

John DeWaal, New Era's vice president of marketing, said the 85-year-old baseball cap maker has experienced strong sales growth over the last few years and needs to expand its manufacturing and administration facilities to keep up.

"We've pretty much just outgrown our four walls here," DeWaal said.

The company's plan involves moving its headquarters, which occupies about 30 percent of the 100,000-square-foot Derby facility, to a place that will give it twice as much room. DeWaal said New Era has some specific downtown Buffalo sites in mind, but he declined to identify them.

By moving its headquarters, New Era will open up space to add manufacturing capacity in its Derby facility, about 20 minutes south of Buffalo. DeWaal said the company will be adding jobs, but it is too early to know when or how many.

New Era, the official supplier of on-field caps for Major League Baseball, sells over 2.5 million hats per year to customers as far away as Europe, Japan and China. It employs 1,500 people worldwide, including 500 in Western New York.

"We have built this local company into a brand benefiting from national and international visibility, making it logical to relocate its corporate headquarters to downtown Buffalo," New Era CEO Christopher H. Koch said in a press release.

New Era has been working with Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, a regional economic development cooperative, to obtain incentives from state and local government agencies, BNE president Tom Kucharski said. Both he and DeWaal declined to elaborate on what incentives New Era is seeking.

And despite its interest in downtown Buffalo, New Era is also looking outside the Western New York region. Kucharski said the company is looking at numerous southeastern states including Alabama, where New Era employs about 750 people at three manufacturing and distribution facilities.

But DeWaal insists the baseball cap maker is just covering its bases. "Our preference is to stay in town, but we're not going to totally close ourselves off to other outside possibilities," he said.

In 2004, New Era closed a 340-employee factory in Buffalo's Warehouse District, citing a lack of efficiency at the aging facility. A year earlier, an 11-month strike at the Derby facility crippled production. And like many apparel makers, New Era has expanded its production in China, where it works with contractors. But DeWaal said expansion at U.S. manufacturing operations such as its plant in Derby is crucial to meeting increasing demand because domestic facilities are much better at filling custom orders. Clients' orders can be placed and executed quicker, and transportation time is lower, DeWaal said.

[ILuvNY]

The BNE needs to do everything in their power to get New Era to move its HQ's to downtown Buffalo. Any comments on where you'd like to see this 60,000 sq.ft building located if it comes to fruition?

[BuffCity]

The idea to move these guys downtown would be great...These are great hats and the thing about custom orders and domestic production being good for the company gives us more hope than none.

60,000 sq ft? even if they took this office space downtown, it would be great, a local private company downtown, adding to the tax revenue and utilizing all of downtowns assets...perhaps they could top off one of the half vacant towers or even put a neon sign up someplace to add some lights.

Will they move downtown? I dunno if the city can beat out the suburbs as far as incentives...who knows.


btw...I see the parking lot across from the Hyatt (old parking garage site) is about ready to take some blacktop and become Buffalo's newest most elegant parking lot...Wonderful huh!

[ECoastTransplant]

My bet is they'll take existing space, not a new-build, and my guess is the Larkin Bldg. They used to have a manufacturing facility in the Exchange Street corridor, so they're familiar with the neighborhood. And for some reason I don't see them taking prime Class-A space along Main Street. Maybe the Trico Bldg. or Federal Reserve Bldg.

If they go for new- Court Street Tower or Uniland's Elm/Oak north block site.

[BuffCity]

They might go downtown, Larkin is a very intelligent idea, Trico as well.

The Fed Reserve is "taken" from what I hear...but who knows.

I doubt Paladino is going to rely on New Era to build his Maguire building, thats gonna take a big tenant.

Here are some local (regional) companies who I have yet to see in downtown Buffalo with expanded space...

Citibank, Chase, Morgan Stanley, State Farm, Crown Plaza, Hilton, Clarion, McDonalds, Nordstrom, subway or a Ruby Tuesdays.

What we do have...
M&T Bank, First Niagara, HSBC, small Citibank, Sprint PCS, Radio Shack, KeyBank, Jamestown savings bank, Bank of America, TGI Fridays, Starbucks, Spot Coffee, Pearl Street Grille, Buffalo Savings Bank, Hyatt Regency, Hampton inn, Adams Mark Hotel...

there are more, but I would like to see some of this retail space take it up a knotch and become a little more high-end.