[homestar]

I'm generally an optimist, but i am not getting my hopes up for high speed rail in upstate anytime soon. Either NYS will screw it up, or the Feds will decide other corridors would have a greater impact. The money allocated in the stimulus package will be fought over by every state in the nation.

[sullymon54]

I'm not a negative person in general but this topic isn't even worth bringing up. Even though there may be a need for this in upstate and western new york there is more of a legitimate need in other areas of the country. Basically it will never happen unless a private company does it, government won't and probably shouldn't build anything like that here. It would also never financially break even here which is my understanding of what public transit ideally wants to do. The people who would ride it in this part of the state would never pay the high prices that it would cost in order for the train to do well and be a stable business. If one were to get built it should honestly connect the Boston to Washington areas and possibly from San Francisco to San Diego areas, either of which would generate a lot more riders and be a lot more financially feasible.

[Downtown Bolivar]

^^^There is no such thing as public transit that breaks even, especially in North America. Some systems in Asia and Europe recover their operating costs at the farebox, but as far as capital costs, there's no making money on it. A high speed rail system is an economic development tool, just like an interstate. And just like an interstate it will require lots of taxpayer subsidies no matter where it gets built. As far as being financially feasable, ROW acquisition would be as cheap or cheaper in upstate NY than any place in the country. In dense urban areas, ROW property costs can be among the most expensive pieces of the project. For this we're talking about laying new track in places where ROW or track already exists.

And while I would love to see trains come into central terminal, we really need to go about creating critical mass downtown rather than treat this as an urban renewal project. Let's please not jeapardize this project by over-politicizing it and tying to other major projects any more than we have too. Central Terminal is okay, DL&W terminal is good, but if they're only going to by ROW from CSX, it will probably be someplace else entirely.

[lastcall4am]

With the recent discussion on where the a high speed station should be, I found the map of CSX rails and trackage rights. It runs through both the Central Terminal and DLW terminal, so both appear to be good options. I think the Central Terminal being used as a train station is a little short sighted though. If the Central Terminal was built downtown, it would probably still be in operation to some extent. The reason why the central terminal is not used any more is because it is not convenient and it is essentially in the middle of nowhere. The dlw makes perfect sense. It is near ample parking, in a desirable part of town, connected to local light rail, next to the arena (why drive from rochester when you can take a 20 min train ride), bordering the central business district and the potential canalside development, and bordering the Seneca Casino. I'm not sure what merits the central terminal would have that come close to this, but if you have some than please provide.

https://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=about.map

[westcoastperspective]

With the recent discussion on where the a high speed station should be, I found the map of CSX rails and trackage rights. It runs through both the Central Terminal and DLW terminal, so both appear to be good options. I think the Central Terminal being used as a train station is a little short sighted though. If the Central Terminal was built downtown, it would probably still be in operation to some extent. The reason why the central terminal is not used any more is because it is not convenient and it is essentially in the middle of nowhere. The dlw makes perfect sense. It is near ample parking, in a desirable part of town, connected to local light rail, next to the arena (why drive from rochester when you can take a 20 min train ride), bordering the central business district and the potential canalside development, and bordering the Seneca Casino. I'm not sure what merits the central terminal would have that come close to this, but if you have some than please provide.

https://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=about.map

Central Terminal would allow trains to pass through, not so at DL&W where trains would have to dead-end. So it wouldn't be convenient at DL&W for a NYC-Buffalo-Toronto run. Don't fall into the "everything has to be downtown" trap. DL&W's terminal was demolished years ago- all that would have to be rebuilt. There's no onsite parking, bus staging, waiting areas, etc. All expensive. Central Terminal is sitting and waiting.

[WIGS]

Buffalo State launches $350M project :tup:
http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2009/03/09/story1.html?b=1236571200^1789009

Friday, March 6, 2009
Buffalo State launches $350M project
Business First of Buffalo - by James Fink

Buffalo State College is embarking on a campuswide construction project that could cost more than $350 million.

First up is a pair of four-story residence halls – a $50 million initiative.

The first part of the two-phase project, tentatively scheduled for next year, also includes:

• New science and math centers, $110 million.

• Technology education center, $40.3 million.

• 4,000-seat open-air sports stadium, $40.3 million.

Also planned is a $5 million face-lift for Rockwell Hall, where space on the third floor once occupied by the Burchfield Penney Art Center will be replaced by an arts and music center, including a small recital hall.

Work on the residence halls plus reconstruction of Rockwell Road will take place this summer. The college’s center academic quad will be renovated over the next two years.

Several buildings will receive new roofs. Other infrastructure work is planned for this year.

In all, Buffalo State will invest approximately $110 million this year on various construction and renovation work, said Stanley Kardonsky, vice president of finance and management.

Adding campus housing is among the most pressing, he said.

Buffalo State has a shortage of campus housing options. It now supplies housing for 1,800 students, but projections show a demand for 2,700 students.

Last year, the college sought housing proposals from private developers. Nine proposals were submitted, but none were accepted, Kardonsky said. Eight of the bids were speculative and the ninth was considered too costly.

During the fall semester, the college housed 209 students in the Adam’s Mark Hotel but was able to move those students back on campus in January. Last year, it placed students in a Holiday Inn on Delaware Avenue and the Adam’s Mark.

In some instances, Buffalo State is housing three students in dorm rooms that were designed for two.

Work on the residence halls will start in May and is scheduled to be completed by September 2010. Each of the four-story structures will house 253 students. The project is set for Parking Lot L at the northeast corner of Letchworth and Grant streets near the western edge of the campus.

Grand Island’s Cannon Design is serving as the project architect. The construction contract will be awarded later this spring.

“The economy is such that I think we will be bidding in a very good climate,” Kardonsky said.

The college is financing the residence hall project through its recently created Buffalo State College Housing Corp., a 501 3-C corporation it created for student housing projects. The dorms are its first projects.

The corporation is similar to one created by the University at Buffalo more than a decade ago.

“It has served as a good model,” Kardonsky said. “That said, we still acknowledge it may be more difficult lining up credit today than it might have been two years ago.”

[WIGS]

with the new dining facilities, Burchfield Penney Art Museum and now these announced improvements, Buff State will be a far improved school.

[steel]

Interesting that almost all of Buffalo's colleges and universities are expanding and investing. That bodes well for the area.

[WIGS]

Steel, isn't Buff State your alma mater as well?
I know westcoastperspective graduated from Buffalo State too.

[Fortunate4Now]

I graduated from Buffalo State in 2005 ;)

Lived in tower 2, tower 4

[westcoastperspective]

Alling & Cory renovation is back on; might be one of the few residential projects to break ground this year.

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1162/dsc0072thumb505xauto147.jpg

Long-idle site eyed for student housing

By Sharon Linstedt NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER

A nearly-century old downtown Buffalo warehouse is being targeted for conversion to a student housing complex.

Developer and architect Jake Schneider has designs on turning the idle Alling & Cory Building, located at 136 N. Division St., just off the Elm- Oak Arterial, into an 88-unit, student-oriented apartment complex.

“This is a wonderful building for adaptive reuse, and the space and location are perfect for student residences,” Schneider said.

While the $15 million project would not have any formal ties with the adjacent Erie Community College City Campus, Schneider anticipates many of the residents will be ECC students.


http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/600084.html

[steel]

Steel, isn't Buff State your alma mater as well?
I know westcoastperspective graduated from Buffalo State too.

Yep I am a buff stater

[Downtown Bolivar]

Central Terminal would allow trains to pass through, not so at DL&W where trains would have to dead-end. So it wouldn't be convenient at DL&W for a NYC-Buffalo-Toronto run. Don't fall into the "everything has to be downtown" trap. DL&W's terminal was demolished years ago- all that would have to be rebuilt. There's no onsite parking, bus staging, waiting areas, etc. All expensive. Central Terminal is sitting and waiting.

A few responses--and I like this because we finally have something to be passionate about that has upside either way. First, The ROW that would be used to connect the DL&W used to be wye junction--trains can come from east, pull in to the station and then pull out again and head west toward NF and Toronto. Although all the tracks are gone, it's a very short stretch and the land is still open--it might even still be owned by NS, CSX, or the NFTA. Secontly, there is ample parking right across the street in the form the massive cobblestone disctrict lots. Building a parking garage with attached Busway, waiting areas, ticket hall, retail can all be done across the street. And it can all be connected together with a pedway, which would simplify security and provide a way the NFTA can totally segregate the light rail shops down below from the passenger platforms above. It can also probably be done far cheaper for brand new than retrofitting the Central Terminal. I think the Central Terminal would make great upstate offices, maintenance shops and staging for HSR, so it still can be used for trains--I just don't think it's the best place to drop off passengers--Hoboken Terminal Vs Penn Station.

[sullymon54]

Theoretical trip from Boston to New York and back April 9th,2009 - April 16th, 2009:

Jetblue: cost - $128
Total travel time - 2 hours and 26 min

Acela (Amtrak high speed rail): Cost: $158
Total travel time - 7 hours 17 min

Tell me again why we need to spend billions of dollars on building high speed rail service through upstate new york when its more expensive and takes 3.5 times as long as a flight. I understand why one would upgrade freight train rails because its much more economical, fuel efficient and better for the environment to ship things via rail than put everything on a truck or plane but it doesn't make the same sense with people.

It's 2009 not 1909, the sooner upstate new yorkers stop focusing on the past and past technologies the better off everyone will be.

[westcoastperspective]

Pulling into a station and then backing out...that makes no sense. The engineer has to run to the other end of the train to back out, then run back to the front to move on to NF/Toronto? I thought this was high speed rail?

If Buffalo was the terminus, then DL&W area would work. I think this is the chance to get the Central Terminal rehabbed, lets not blow it. The airport was in the middle of nowhere at one time, HSR could turn around that entire neighborhood.

[Downtown Bolivar]

^^^No it's as simple as putting a locomotive or at least a cab car on either end, like Acela, or most commuter lines, subways, light rail vehicles, or even that SuperSteel trainset sitting in the Rensselaer yard that Amtrak ran upstate years ago. This is done frequently in Europe and it's not a big deal. It means there is no front or back and with a wye no backing in or out--it just means a short back track to the main line which is only a few blocks away. Making the comparison to the airport and central terminal is apples and oranges. As a central station it was failure 80 years ago and that has not changed since that time.

While I'm enjoying our debate, it's probably moot, given the development history of Buffalo and NYS. Probably neither site will be used and something else will probably get knocked down in the name of progress. My best guess is that they will probably build a station underneath 190 somewhere near the current Exchange Street Station since that is the line they will continue to utilize for passenger rail.

[westcoastperspective]

New plan for A&C:

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/9504/allingcoryrender.jpg

Floorplans here:

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/03/ac-lofts-revealed.html

I figured the windows would be an issue- here's the answer:

Since the rehab is expected to take advantage of Federal Historic Tax Credits, there are restrictions on the changes that can be made to the building's exterior. "The State Historic Preservation Office will review the project in an advisory role," says Nick Kraus, a preservation tax credit consultant. "The existing fenestration would likely need to be retained unless there is evidence showing a previous condition such as larger windows."

"There's really not a lot we can do to the entire building," says Schneider. "The window restoration has to be historically preserved all around, but especially on the entrance elevation on N. Division, and all of Elm. Those especially have to be restored to the historic date of significance which is 1926."

[Bison716]

:tup: Seen this article in the Buffalo News on Sunday:

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/600897.html

What do you guys make of it? I personally think that this is a great idea with tremendous potential, not just for our city but for our entire region!

[sullymon54]

Bad idea, poorly thought out and realistically useless.

The idea that people will walk up a flight of stairs 110 feet into the air to walk down a mile highway (even if plants and other stuff is put up there) is ridiculous. If an elevator were to be built and maintained it would most likely be at great expense because it would need to be very large in the hopes of bringing large groups up and very sturdy to stay outside year round.This is not even to mention the reason the skyway is shutdown for long periods now that being high winds. If a car or truck can get blown off the road how well does this guy think people are going to do?

Then he says we're going to cover it and make it into a building...all funding by public means correct? How does this save the tax payer money in the long run compared with tearing it down? The Skyway "has been time-tested to withstand over 50 years of harsh winds and weather of a Great Lake’s port city,” yes with massive expenditures in public funds to maintain its outdated design. It didn't do it because it was so well constructed it could withstand all types of weather forever without any maintenance.

Lastly But Webber’s vision is hinged on his belief that the Skyway will "become recognized for its own historical significance." That's one hell of a hinge. I'm all for protecting important urban and architectural structures but there is a limit to what should be save. The only historic significance this thing has is to remind everyone what was destroyed to build it as the empty space under it is filled in by the canal side project. Maybe for the time being people can use it to blot out the sun if they are allergic as they shop or enjoy the restored harbor or it can be used as a road block to constructing a logical extension of main street that would provide access to the outer harbor.

[homestar]

I think he just posed it as a concept for thought... to consider alternative uses instead of tearing it down. This is exactly the time for these ideas to be heard and debated and, if impractical, then discarded. Discussions like this should be required long before major demolition happens.

[steel]

I thought I would collect up all the recent project renderings. A few of these may be iffy projects most are either supposedly imminent or are already under construction. I put the Court Street Tower in the Issa category of "never gunna happen" so it is not included.

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/5246/wingateredothumb505x275.jpg

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/2915/federalcourthouse.jpg

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6434/courthouse2pi5.png

http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/8316/waterfrontplacerenderin.jpg

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/3928/21442.jpg

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7452/right2.jpg

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/4333/ub1nc7.png

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6660/vascinstthumb505xauto51.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4084/16289b.jpg

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/2821/wingate3yg0.jpg

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7065/ub2tg5.png

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/6263/501mainwz4.png

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3704/17374.jpg

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1865/chsfieldhouse590.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/930/thecooperagebuffalonylo.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2041/tech2.png

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/431/sattlerbuildinghp8.jpg

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/3595/mstwothumb505xauto1552.png

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/5254/msthree.png

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/4962/msone.png

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3339/casa3.jpg

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3715/casa2b.jpg

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/133/naerial3pw8.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3650/mercyed.jpg

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2071/illinois2hn2.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7555/gennyelevation.png

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2936/forestprojectnj6.jpg

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7905/elmwdschemec3d69d.jpg

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/3750/basspro2hs8.jpg

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5123/cnl5gi4.png

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/8899/dormitoryyazdanicannonm.jpg

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/8899/dormitoryyazdanicannonm.jpg

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/8899/dormitoryyazdanicannonm.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8899/dormitoryyazdanicannonm.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/6633/bsdorm4.png

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2809/acexteriorthumb505xauto.jpg

[lastcall4am]

Thanks for putting it all together for us(missing Buffalo Creek Casino) It's good to see so many things happening despite the national economy. I hope private construction picks up even more when the economy turns around.

[westcoastperspective]

Avant condo interior renderings:

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/1173/avantn1.jpg

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6452/avantnw.jpg

Most expensive unit w/3800 sq.ft:

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6556/avantse.jpg
:tup:

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/03/sweet-suites-at-avant.html

[StevenW]

that's a lot of projects!!

[westcoastperspective]

"Revised" Pitts hotel vs Ciminelli:

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/5246/wingateredothumb505x275.jpg

:yuck:

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/2186/ciminelliproject2buffal.jpg

:tup:


http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/03/waterfront-hotel-meeting-pitts-vs-ciminelli.html

[steel]

I can't figure out how a hotel room layout fits with that window pattern. I alos can't figure out how the cheap Wingate brand pays for this much much much much more expensive exterior.

Also The worst thing about the former motel proposal was its site plane. where is a site plan in this proposal?

[Ran Webber]

Dear Sullymon54, see:his comments/remarks on page 96, message #1902.

I'm sorry if I offend you Sullymon54 but, I find naive, uninformed rebuttals useless, silly and not worth your time to write them or my time to read them- shame on you. I will however, consider hearing from you again once you have actually read my proposal and can then make informed and useful remarks. I am interested and open to constructive criticism and could even use your help to improve my concept if you can come out from behind the curtain O' Mighty Oz. Of course, you may have to reframe from shallow sniping. Can you except the challenge?

My concept proposal can be viewed at www.ranwebber.com or you can email me directly at ran@ranwebber.com, or you can call me at 885-5835. As you may already know the Buffalo News article titled "An innovative use of the Skyway" can be seen at http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/600897.html

Sullymon54: I have photo examples to open your eyes (answer all of your fears and apprehensions about stairs, ramps, wind and whatever). I will easily put up the effort if, in exchange for converting you to a "True Believer", you will then join the band wagon and carry a trumpet to blow the good word forth.

Respectfully,
Ran Webber

[Fortunate4Now]

in exchange for converting you to a "True Believer", you will then join the band wagon and carry a trumpet to blow the good word forth.


I'll carry and blow the trumpet when an important building like the statler receives the investment it deserves, a “buffalo city tower” gets built, or buffalo is able to reverse its population loss.

[Ran Webber]

To “Fortyunate4Now” & Sullymon54. Silly, silly, silly drivel! Published prove that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, and apparently the time that it takes to waste it as well.

If any of you obviously challenged Brainiacs are courageous enough to actually read and learn something before you naively and foolishly sound off then please read Ran Webber's(my) "Skyway to the Future" Proposal, watch the 31 supporting videos or the Quicktime slideshow presentation. It can be found at www.ranwebber.com

This is the proposal of a guy(me) who's spent the past a half century in engineering and architectural design rooms and who has a professional reputation for thinking outside the box. Employed by Bell Aerospace/Textron he worked on many highly creative and technical contracts for NASA and the US military. He's not some guy who fell off a bar stool uttering uninformed critiques and opinions about things he knew vaguely about. This is a serious proposal.

This proposal is offered for the consideration of Buffalo's citizens and leaders of Buffalo who may not know that American buildings are responsible for 40% of world's greenhouse gas emissions. It also offers a plan to: significantly reduce a new buildings greenhouse gas emissions, create 1/2 million square feet of new multi-use floor space, save $100 million tax dollars for demolition costs, create a energy self-sufficient prototype building that would showcase at least two dozen new and emerging Green technologies, serve as a signature example of what could be creatively done with our nation's aging infrastructure and create a environmental technology and manufacturing center that could serve as a focal point for a new era of Green Commerce for Buffalo and WNY. From Grain to Green, from Past to Future should be the rallying call.

Throughout Europe one who travels can still find many of the aqueducts built during the times of the ancient Roman Empire. Buffalo has a unique and notable "Autoduct"(my word) that was created during the post WWII Cold War Era. It is a notable example of highway engineering designed to move large numbers of people out of and around the city in case of nuclear attack. With its Art Deco/International Style structural supports(Bents) and its mile long serpentine curve, it has for a half -century been the signature structure of the skyline and silhouette of Buffalo. Should we shortsightedly take it down, like Frank Lloyd Wright's Larkin Building, only to be realized by a future generation that we acted without thinking creatively. The Buffalo Skyway does not separate the Inner and Outer waterfronts - It is Buffalo's waterfront. Let's save it, creatively and sensibly re-engineer and develope it and move on to the really big issues of saving the country and the globe from environmental and economic disaster! Do we really think the world needs yet another landfill - filled with Buffalo Skyway debris? Saving Buffalo's Canal Era historical heritage has its place but it's really time we face and look towards the future. Every new building in Buffalo as well as our vehicles from now on needs to be as environmentally efficient as Green Technology will allow. I don't believe that there's a choice any longer - I believe it is imperative!!! - watch the 31 videos, then go back to your bar stool and you'll have something to really think or drink about!

[westcoastperspective]

Sorry, but the Skyway is an eyesore, it's in the way, and it should be removed completely. You have an interesting concept, but in a community with scarce resources, spending it on preserving something that has outlived its purpose and welcome, seems like a waste. It should never have been built on the waterfront and it is time for it to go. Not reused. Removed. Just my two cents.

[Fortunate4Now]

To “Fortyunate4Now” & Sullymon54. Silly, silly, silly drivel! Published prove that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, and apparently the time that it takes to waste it as well.


You misspelled my user name and I think you meant "proof" which very ironic given your statement about my "mind".

I took my time, watched your video, and read your proposal. I still feel the same. But hey, good luck. You can stop the pissing match and insults. This isn’t a tupperware party, it's a city forum. You don't have to sell anything to us.

[WIGS]

Sorry, but the Skyway is an eyesore, it's in the way, and it should be removed completely. You have an interesting concept, but in a community with scarce resources, spending it on preserving something that has outlived its purpose and welcome, seems like a waste. It should never have been built on the waterfront and it is time for it to go. Not reused. Removed. Just my two cents.

I agree completely. :tup:
The Skyway will never be seen in the same light as a Frank Lloyd Wright building. Elevated expressways are the result of (as we now see) flawed transportation planning policies. This one is wasting valuable waterfront property and should be torn down ASAP.

I give you credit on your interesting concept though.

[Austinlee]

Great list of renderings Steel. Thanks! I'm loving the Avant condo. It looks like the most expensive units have a base price of $1,730,000. 8 units out of 27 over 1 million? That's pretty good for us in the great lakes cities. Hope they sell well!

[Bison716]

I have a question regarding Mr. Webber's Skyway proposal and those against it; Let's say we do take it down "which in reality will NEVER happen"... (and that's the truth by the way), what do you vision being built in that long narrow strip of freed up land?

[sullymon54]

Mr. Webber, I apologize if I offended you in anyway. I can see how my comments could be construed as cutting and mean spirited, I never meant for them to be taken in that context. In the future I will have to take pause in the way I word things and tone in which they are written. What I was trying to do was write a clear, to the point response to your proposal. Also, this is just my opinion, its not meant to be any kind of declaration, I have no power or clout behind what I say to change peoples minds.

That being said I do think you have great vision and it is one of the more creative ideas I've seen in quite some time. The "green aspects" of the proposal are especially interesting to me as that was the center of my master's project work. Upon your response to my post I went back and re-investigating your work and I would like to slightly modify my previous statement. For the most part however, I still agree with WCP, the Skyway is too far out of date, too large, too expensive to maintain and in too crucial a location to be preserved in its entirety. Also, I don't know how much would be going to a land fill, last time I had heard a large portion of the steel from the Aud is going to china for a good price because they can't find good structural steel over there. Either way, I believe it has to be totally removed south and west of the foot of Main Street and all associated ramps and connections to Downtown and 190 removed. Building down to the ground on the outer as you have proposed would make create more of a barrier (essentially a wall) than what is already there and it would not allow for the construction of a bridge putting main street, at grade across to the outer harbor which I would argue is a better move. In response to Bison 716, Every effort should be made to construct a true parkway on the Outer Harbor with multiple connections to the city. These could include the Erie Basin Marina, Main Street, Michigan Avenue, Chicago Street, and Louisiana Street, the more the better. The vacant, on both sides of the Buffalo River would then be accessible and their for valuable to someone, I'm sure wouldn't have too much trouble finding a developer for it.

In an effort to bridge the divide between totally tearing it down and reusing all of it how about only reusing the final three segments of it starting from the foot of main street heading north. This would be done using all the aspects that are outlined in your proposal and I think would work relatively well. It fits in the street grid, it would fit, with some modification, into the canalside plan and not get in the way of developing connections to the outer harbor. I think coupling an enclosed rooftop garden with the proposed weather experience museum backed by Don Paul and people from the Buffalo Niagara Partnership that could be constructed on the floors below would serve many purposes. You'd preserve some of the Skyway for its historic value, use green technology and actually create a usable space on a manageable scale, you would get great views of the city, water and Canada, and lastly you would have a ready tenant for the project when it is completed.

How does that sound to everyone?

[westcoastperspective]

$1.7 million Avant penthouse:

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5356/16c.png

Hotel lobby:

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9020/hotel.png

[westcoastperspective]

Avant's full website is up:

http://avantbuffalo.com/

[sullymon54]

Do you think Forbes may have gone back and looked at a broader set of information before just going with the first thing they saw and running with it? Hopefully the recent articles they have published have garnered enough backlash to make them think before the print next time.


America's Downsized Cities
By Lauren Sherman, Forbes.com
Mar 20th, 2009


The populations of these metropolitan areas are declining. Here's why.

In a way, it's the same old story: The Rust Belt, comprised of blue-collar cities where the manufacturing industry once dominated, can't seem to find a way to thrive.

Take Pittsburgh. Despite the fact that the city's steel industry began to deteriorate all the way back in the 1970s, the city is still better known for its mills than for its $10.8 billion stake in the technology and life-science sectors, including companies like Bayer, BPL Global and Plextronics.

Same goes for Buffalo, N.Y. Once a great producer of steel and automobiles, the city's bioinformatics research industry is now flourishing. Yet just like Pittsburgh, Buffalo is shedding population.

To be direct: If Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel or John Mellencamp has written a melancholy song about your city, it's probably on this list.

And that's the problem. General perceptions of these Rust Belt cities--that they're backward, dilapidated and cultureless--are often too harsh. And that's why, over the last decade, these areas have seen the biggest decreases in population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"Reputations die hard," says Kathryn Foster, director of the University at Buffalo's Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth.

The plight of these cities is double edged. A lackluster reputation often keeps potential newcomers away, while young adults born there tend to flee because of a lack of a diverse range of opportunities. However, many of those born and bred in the area do return when its time to "settle down," according to Foster.

Yet Sean C. Safford, a business professor at the University of Chicago and author of Why the Garden Club Couldn't Save Youngstown: The Transformation of the Rust Belt, says that it has a lot more to do with a area's business infrastructure than its "ick" factor.

Youngstown, for example, "had an economy that basically grew up in another era," he says. When the steel industry began its decline in the 1970s, Youngstown moved on to another failing industry: autos. The few companies that have adapted to the new economy have kept globally competitive by outsourcing, which is good for their finances but bad for Youngstown.
Behind the Numbers

To determine America's Downsized Cities, we used 2008 population estimates for the 125 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S., released Thursday by the Census Bureau. We compared those estimates with 2007 population estimates to determine the percent change year-over-year. Then we looked at the percent change in population from 2000 to 2007. We combined those two rankings--weighting down the more relevant 2007-2008 percent change--for a final ranking.

While migration has slowed in general, these metro areas saw an actual decrease in population, whereas others stayed flat or continued to grow, if at a decreased pace.

The state that's suffering the most is Ohio, with four cities on the list.

Topping the list is Youngstown, Ohio, which, like Pittsburgh, suffered from the decline of the steel industry and never fully recovered. Dayton is similarly depressed: Late last year, one of its biggest employers, General Motors, shut down its plant in the city. In Toledo, the unemployment rate is 9.8% (the national average is 8.1%), and manufacturing jobs decreased by 16% in January 2009 from January 2008.

And while the economy in Cleveland is diversified--from the Cleveland Clinic to NASA's Glenn Research Center to the headquarters of paint and building-supply company Sherwin-Williams--it's not viewed as a shining star of the Midwest.

But Youngstown has it the worst, seeing the biggest population declines: a 0.8% drop from 2007 to 2008 and a 5.4% decrease from 2000 to 2007. Next was Flint, Mich., with a 1.2% drop from 2007 to 2008 and -0.3% from 2000 to 2007.
On the Bright Side

Some metro areas, like Detroit, ranked fourth, and Flint (both of which continue to experience devastation as the U.S. automobile industry collapses), have enough systemic problems to continually drive their populations away. But other cities on the list do possess a few oft-overlooked bright spots, indicating that negative perceptions keep new residents from coming as quickly as others leave.

Buffalo, for example, saw a 0.8% increase in housing value over the last year. Sure, the median home price is just $106,200, but home values have decreased by 30% in some parts of the country over that same period.

And in Youngstown, local officials have established the Youngstown Business Incubator, a nonprofit organization partially funded by the state government that aims to accelerate the growth rates of local tech start-ups.

But these positive notes can only help so much. Foster, whose job is to come up with business strategies to further develop Buffalo, says that what these areas really need is better marketing.

"When I moved to Buffalo, I carried the same misconceptions that most do. What I found was jaw dropping" she says of the city's architecture and cultural offerings. "Efforts to market the region are so important."

But Safford think it goes further than that. "It's about competitive companies," he says. "We'd all like to think that Seattle is popular because it's cool, but come one, it's because of Amazon and Microsoft: companies that generate cash. They're not stuck in the past."

[Downtown Bolivar]

Looks like you'll get you wish Westcoast, if we get the funding:

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/617241.html

With the blessing of the city council!

[mstem58]

Steel, I loved your photos of projects, I have a question:
Which project is the sort of cylindrical towers?
the one with the colorful glazing which also included a site plan and interior lobby. Where did you find it. Is it a project that is movinfg forward.
I find the architecture very progressive.

[steel]

The oval tower is the Federal Court. It is under construction.

The colorful one is at Buffalo State College. They say they will be starting this year

[steel]

Oh Wait,

You might also be referring to the Damen College project. I don't know the status of that one.

[believeinbflo]

to correct steel the project you're talking about is the student center at medaille. I came across it at the website of architect mehrdad yazdani. i don't know if the money is in place for the project however

[steel]

to correct steel the project you're talking about is the student center at medaille. I came across it at the website of architect mehrdad yazdani. i don't know if the money is in place for the project however

Yup - I am all mixed up on my Colleges :help:

[BUFFALOVE!!]

This is AMAZING news and BR needs to get on it

Replica schooner to find permanent home at Commercial Slip
buffalonews.com
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/639123.html

By Phil Fairbanks
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
A waterfront attraction that many thought would never come — its own tall ship.
The newly christened Spirit of Buffalo, a 73-foot Great Lakes replica schooner, is leaving Baltimore today for a six-week voyage that will take it to its permanent home in downtown Buffalo.
The red-sailed ship, owned by area natives Richard and Kathy Hilliman, will serve as a for-profit operator of charters and other recreational activities while also providing nonprofit educational services to young people.
“I’m at a point in my life where the money doesn’t matter anymore,” said Richard Hilliman. “This is about making a contribution to the community and our waterfront.”
The Hillimans are returning after a seven-year hiatus that began once their kids were grown and out of the house, and took them to Key West, Fla., for a second career as crew members on two schooners.
Eventually, they bought their own ship — the former Jolly Rover — and with the notion of moving it north to their hometown, renamed it the Spirit of Buffalo.
“They contacted us,” said Jordan A. Levy, chairman of Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., which has a one-year contract with the Hillimans. “They wanted to come back to Buffalo.”
The two-masted schooner will be based at the historic Commercial Slip and is certain to add to the growing recreational opportunities at Canal Side, the $325 million redevelopment project now under way there.
Hilliman said the goal is to provide a broad array of for-profit and nonprofit services to the public.
“When we started on this, we wanted to make sure we had something for everyone,” Hilliman said during a news conference Monday announcing his family’s plans.
On any given day, he said, the ship could serve as a site for a corporate charter or a wedding reception and later double as a floating classroom for students learning about water quality and pollution.
“We’ve seen the transformation in young people a ship like this can facilitate,” said Katherine A. Mini, a family member and one of the founders of the private foundation overseeing the Hillimans’ vision.
The schooner is believed to be the first tall ship permanently moored in Buffalo in decades and is similar to the 19th century ships that carried grain, coal and lumber across the Great Lakes.
The Hillimans’ return to Buffalo was greeted by Mayor Byron W. Brown and County Executive Chris Collins as a sign that lakefront revitalization is moving forward.
“The naysayers are finally silent when it comes to waterfront development — finally,” Collins said Monday.
The Spirit of Buffalo, which can accommodate 48 passengers for its variety of uses, is expected to arrive here about the third week of May and already has two private parties booked for that month.

[westcoastperspective]

This is AMAZING news and BR needs to get on it

I liked the quote in today's editorial- "boats, booze and bands" are three ingredients to bring people to the waterfront.

[westcoastperspective]

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/7932/avantmodel.jpg

[WIGS]

WCP,

Uniland has done such a great transformation with the Dulski. Thanks again for bringing me on for the "hard hat" tour. Once in a lifetime Buffalo experience :)

[westcoastperspective]

Schumer says Yahoo weighs sites in Genesee, Orleans

Genesee and Orleans counties are the Western New York locations being considered by the Internet giant Yahoo for a new data center, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., said Saturday.

“They are seriously, seriously considering a site in Orleans County or Genesee County,” Schumer said. “They are considering other sites, I don’t know where they are, they haven’t told me, but Western New York is at the top of the list.”

Schumer said the center would not result in a large number of jobs—maybe 50 to 100—but luring a giant like Yahoo could help draw other high-tech companies to the region.

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/666778.html

[sullymon54]

This is great news, lets just hope that NYPA doesn't screw this one up like they did with google. On a side note its interesting that these companies continue to look at smaller communities that are outside the urban centers of Rochester or Buffalo.

[westcoastperspective]

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5839/hamburg2.png

Hamburg board OKs retail center project
Camp Road complex to occupy previous Leisureland site
By Barbara O’Brien

Hamburg Town Board members Monday night issued the final environmental approval to Hamburg Crossings Retail Center, the 650,000-square-foot center that will feature stores, restaurants and a 115- room hotel.

Located on the southwest side of Camp Road, northwest of the Thruway and adjacent to the interchange ramp, the 80-acre site once held the former Leisureland truck stop and bowling alley, Days Inn and Fisher Bus garage.

Benderson Development Co. is planning to replace them with three larger retail buildings, 10 outparcels and the hotel.

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/southernsuburbs/story/668821.html

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8840/hamburg1.png

[westcoastperspective]

Waterfront Place update: 31 of 49 SOLD, three others leased. Work on additional town homes will be underway "soon"- they'll be shorter and somewhat smaller than the first four that are complete.

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/05/construction-watch-waterfront-place.html

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/3277/115gsr.jpg

[westcoastperspective]

Waterfront Place update: 31 of 49 SOLD, three others leased. Work on additional town homes will be underway "soon"- they'll be shorter and somewhat smaller than the first four that are complete.

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/05/construction-watch-waterfront-place.html

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/3277/115gsr.jpg

[believeinbflo]

the martin group is moving in to the NewEra HQ's which means their move to the old wendy's on main street is no longer happening...would have helped the 400 block a lot.

[BUFFALOVE!!]

the martin group is moving in to the NewEra HQ's which means their move to the old wendy's on main street is no longer happening...would have helped the 400 block a lot.

I read that article too and i was going to ask if this means that the wendy's project is dead. Its such a shame

[westcoastperspective]

AM&As warehouse conversion project. More tomorrow on Buffalo Rising-

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1356/eagle3.png

[BUFFALOVE!!]

AM&As warehouse conversion project. More tomorrow on Buffalo Rising-

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1356/eagle3.png

This is still going through?! F... Yes!

[BUFFALOVE!!]

Downtown condos selling for $1 million
Avant’s luxury sells, with 5 buyers so far
By Jonathan D. Epstein
NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER

Five condominiums have been sold for more than $1 million each at Uniland Development Co.’s new Avant building downtown, and more than one-third of the 28 condos in the project are already under a sales contract.

OMG how can these people afford these. Everyone in WNY is on food stamps??!!

Screw everyone who says no one has the money for high end living in Buffalo. I cant wait to post this link every time I read "who can afford these?"

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/679430.html

[Austinlee]

Five condominiums have been sold for more than $1 million each at Uniland Development Co.’s new Avant building downtown, and more than one-third of the 28 condos in the project are already under a sales contract. [/I]

OMG how can these people afford these. Everyone in WNY is on food stamps??!!

Screw everyone who says no one has the money for high end living in Buffalo. I cant wait to post this link every time I read "who can afford these?"

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/679430.html

Don't be suprised. There are many wealthy people out there who live modestly and save for decades until they find something they like. (read the book: The Millionaire Next Door) This is why it is important to have high end units for sale. No one should ever be against a project because of the "No one has that kind of money around here" excuse. That simply isn't true.

[westcoastperspective]

At least a few projects are moving forward (though this won't start until next year). New Educational Opportunity Center to be built behind/attached to the M. Wile building at Goodell and Ellicott:

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/6950/neweocbuilding.jpg

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/05/ub-shows-plans-for-downtown-gateway-project.html

[steel]

My book "Buffalo-Architecture in the American Forgotten Land" is now on sale at Blurb.com! This is the exclusive place for purchase until I can negotiate with some book stores. This will be the cheapest place to buy as well. The hard cover (which I recommend) is discounted off the cover price. Go here for:

Hard cover version
http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/692804

Soft cover version
http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/692851

Check out this Facebook page for more information
http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=buffalo+architecture&init=q&sid=fcf891820b5417128f97aeab0cc99f28#/pages/Buffalo-Architecture-in-the-American-Forgotten-Land/118364118992?sid=fcf891820b5417128f97aeab0cc99f28&ref=search

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs013.snc1/4203_118370353992_118364118992_2703580_256810_n.jpg

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs013.snc1/4203_118370368992_118364118992_2703583_4226797_n.jpg

[westcoastperspective]

Downtown Housing Tour- Version Four- June 27, Noon until 3 pm

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/313/dsc0085l.jpg

These rental or condominium properties have signed-on to be open for viewing during the tour:

406 Franklin Street (private residence)
Allentown Lofts
Avant (off-site)
The Belesario
The Bellesara
Cobblestone Lofts
The Cooperage
Ellicott Commons
Historic Warehouse Lofts
IS Lofts
Lofts @ Elk Terminal
The Pasquale at Waterfront Place
The Whitney

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/06/downtown-housing-tour-properties-announced.html

[westcoastperspective]

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5298/732300bednursinghomesta.jpg

:rolleyes:

Nursing home planned for medical campus

Kaleida Health is preparing to build a 300-bed nursing home, another big project connected to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus that advocates say will significantly improve services for the elderly in the inner city.

The $64 million building, planned for the block bounded by Michigan Avenue and Maple, East North and High streets, will be the first nursing home built in Buffalo in many decades.


As proposed by Canon Design, the nursing home would consist of four connected structures with 20-bed clusters of semi-private rooms and courtyards on each floor. Its four stories are intended to provide a visual transition between the taller hospital buildings on one side and the residential neighborhood on the other side.

It will consist of 200 long-term- care beds, 40 beds for patients with memory impairment, 30 beds for short-term patients rehabilitating from hospital care, 20 beds for children with profound disabilities and 10 beds for residents on ventilators.

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/703684.html

[BUFFALOVE!!]

Rocco Termini is a baller

Developer sees future in empty AM&A's
From Business First
http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2009/06/15/daily30.html?surround=lfn&ana=test

Developer Rocco Termini, who has just started an $11 million conversion of the former AM&A’s warehouse in downtown Buffalo, said he is willing to tackle the most expensive and extensive renovation of AM&A’s flagship store on Main Street.

The catch is Termini said he is going to need significant public-sector support, including an influx of incentives to make the restoration of the AM&A’s department store work from a financially viable standpoint.

Termini made his pitch — something he has considered for more than one year — during Wednesday’s Buffalo Place Inc. monthly meeting.

Termini wants to buy the building from its current owners, the Long Island-based New Horizons Development LLC, and renovate the eight-story, nearly 500,000-square-foot structure into a facility anchored by residential units.

Termini pegged the redevelopment costs in the $80 million to $100 million range, depending on final plans.

“It’s a heavy lift,” he said, “but someone needs to do it.”

Except for a brief run as Taylor’s department store, the AM&A’s store has been closed since March 1995 when the Bon-Ton Stores Inc., who bought the AM&A’s chain in 1993, shuttered the retail outlet. AM&A’s, for more than a century, was one of downtown’s retailing anchors.

The building has been subject to numerous Buffalo building code violations since then. A number of development plans have been considered for the building, but none ever materialized for a myriad of reasons.

“We believe the building can be saved,” Termini said.

The AM&A’s store along the Statler Towers and Main Street’s 500 block remain top economic development projects for the city.

Termini said he has only held the most basic and preliminary talks with various state, county and city agencies about incentives for this project.

“It’s not something that’s going to happen next week or next month,” Termini said of the project. “Maybe, in 18 months. It is doable and can be done.”

Termini has a deep track record of renovating older downtown buildings into residential and commercial units, the AM&A’s warehouse is his latest.

Crews are nearly done removing debris from the building and will start with asbestos removal in the coming weeks.

The heavy construction activity will start in July.

Termini plans on converting the building’s upper floors in 48 market-rate apartments while P&B Acquisitions, a fast-growing collections agency, has agreed to lease 15,000-square-feet of office space.

Termini said he already has 15 people on a waiting list for the apartments. He expects, when it opens next spring, that all 48 apartments will be leased.

[westcoastperspective]

Buried in a press release about Damon Morey moving into Avant....13 of 28 condo units are pre-sold.

[westcoastperspective]

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8676/home1r.png

The new home for Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) will save and renovate a long vacant historically significant building at Main and Ferry. The first floor will provide 3,000 square feet of accessible office space for HOME. For the first time HOME will have its’ own space. The increased visibility will enable HOME to serve more clients in need of fair housing services.

The second and third floors will provide ten units of barrier-free energy-efficient affordable housing for low income families. Modest rents from the apartments will help HOME move toward the goal of self-sufficiency.

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8066/dsc0151o.jpg

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/06/home-moving-on-main-and-ferry-project.html

[Downtown Bolivar]

^^^Really good to see that corner get renovated--hopefully it starts a trend. That part of main could use some love.

[northbuff]

:cheers: Great news. It would be even greater if the building across W. Ferry on the adjacent block got a bit of sprucing up too.:D

[homestar]

That corner is so bad right now... simply putting in a new sidewalk would dramatically improve how it looks.

I can't wait to see this project get started.

[BUFFALOVE!!]

Probably the best article he has ever written and for once, i completely agree
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/709907.html

West Side revival can be a blueprint
Donn Esmonde

I have seen it with my own eyes. I have seen what some people do not think is possible.

I have seen what City Hall still— judging by its demolition-heavy, rehab-light policy—has little faith in.

I saw a neighborhood deep into a seemingly irreversible slide into slumville. I saw it dig in its heels and turn around, with hardly any tax-dollar handout.

I saw verge-of-demolition buildings revived. I saw abandoned houses transformed into homes. I saw people who were losing hope find a reason to believe.

That is what mine eyes have seen. Glory, glory hallelujah.

Good news is scarce in these parts. The ongoing revival and resettlement of streets west of Richmond Avenue—long the western firewall of upscale Elmwood Village—is ample evidence that neighborhoods can be reclaimed.

“[The city] does not have to demolish all of these houses,” Harvey Garrett said of the mayor’s plan to demolish 5,000 houses over five years. “If people stand up for their neighborhoods, they can transform them, the way we have here.”

It helps to have somebody like Garrett— a boyish, laser-focused former tech exec who spearheads the West Side Collaborative. The band of some 100 urban pioneers includes students, activists, block-clubbers, long-suffering homeowners and new blood, all united for revival. Empathetic Housing Court judge Henry Nowak Jr. uses the weapon of hefty fines to force slumlords to fix broken houses or to sell them, as-is, at deep discount. Garrett&Co. keep vacant places up until they are rescued by a buyer.

I saw the start five years ago, when Garrett helped to run off Essex Street a slumlord whose four crack houses held the block hostage. Eyesores on Essex— within a block of $150,000 Richmond Avenue homes—were selling for the price of a laptop. Now the 19th century bungalows, a block from the Left Bank restaurant, go for upwards of $60,000.

“We leveraged the strength of the [nearby] Elmwood Village,” Garrett said, “to expand street-by-street into the West Side.” Garrett is a bright guy with no patience for excuses. We walked a dozen blocks Thursday evening, with Garrett naming the owner of every eyesore, work-in-progress or restored house we passed. Folks on porches called out to him.

The better the neighborhood gets, the more people want in. The collaborative, allied with activists at PUSH-Buffalo, has helped turn over more than 100 houses. Garrett gets a dozen calls a month from people looking to buy.

Chenango Street years ago was three blocks battered by 12 vacant eyesores. All have since been bought, and more than $1 million invested.

Garrett two years ago played matchmaker between Elvi Jo Dougherty and a neglected 19th century Chenango Street bungalow after its elderly owner left. For $7,500, Dougherty—a single mom and art teacher—hitched a ride on a rising tide.

A new roof and fresh paint brought it up to speed, and the rehabbed bells-and-whistles bungalow next door lists for upwards of $150,000. Dougherty has a stake in a reviving dogs-and-kids neighborhood. Her inflating home equity might someday cover her daughter’s college bill. In a job-starved city, reviving neighborhoods are like money in the bank.

“What’s going on is inspiring,” said Dougherty, unloading groceries to a drumbeat from a nearby artist’s loft. “There’s no comparison to what was here [two years ago]. Neighbors stop by with perennials for my garden. It’s real comfortable.”

There still are eyesores mixed with rehabs. There still are blocks left to reclaim. But what has happened here shows that people cannot just fight. They can win.

desmonde@buffnews.com

[believeinbflo]

that main/ferry project is huge. the property next to it is undergoing a bit of a facelift on the 1st floor. a new liquor store opened (which sounds like trouble for the intersection its on but is actually very very nice), the remaining storefronts are being re-done and apparently the super sketchy corner store will be out of business by the end of the year.

[westcoastperspective]

Probably the best article he has ever written and for once, i completely agree
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/709907.html

West Side revival can be a blueprint
Donn Esmonde

I have seen it with my own eyes. I have seen what some people do not think is possible.

I have seen what City Hall still— judging by its demolition-heavy, rehab-light policy—has little faith in.

I saw a neighborhood deep into a seemingly irreversible slide into slumville. I saw it dig in its heels and turn around, with hardly any tax-dollar handout.

I saw verge-of-demolition buildings revived. I saw abandoned houses transformed into homes. I saw people who were losing hope find a reason to believe.

That is what mine eyes have seen. Glory, glory hallelujah.

Good news is scarce in these parts. The ongoing revival and resettlement of streets west of Richmond Avenue—long the western firewall of upscale Elmwood Village—is ample evidence that neighborhoods can be reclaimed.


desmonde@buffnews.com

Sounds familiar:

http://www.buffalorising.com/2008/12/west-side-rising.html

:D

[westcoastperspective]

New KFC site rendering:

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/724/3131860448elmwoodrender.jpg

OLD:

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/5943/elmbryantwd4.png

[homestar]

when? when? when?


:)

[Nickelplate]

All these new projects will do wonders for the street view of main st. I love it from trash to cash!!!

[sullymon54]

That new rendering looks great, so much better than the second rendering they came out with. I do however have to echo Homestar's question. When is this project going to break ground? The site has been roped off with caution tape for months now but it looks like no action has taken place.

[Fortunate4Now]

looks good. I just hope this project moves as fast as pano's renovations!

Although I've yet to see any "ground breaking" dates..

[westcoastperspective]

Embassy Suites opens in Avant Today

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/9625/dsc0251emf.jpg

Some news about the residences:

Luxury condominiums are being sold on the top three floors with 28 residences offered from $450,000 to $1.7 million.

The first four residences we sold were over $1 million each. Two of our buyers to date have bought two residences and combined them, so we now have a community of 26 units, said Montante. Nearly half those residences have been sold he said.

We are looking forward to having our condominium model complete in mid August, said Judi Griggs, Uniland spokesperson. Our first residents will be closing on their new homes in early fall. A condominium showroom is open by appointment at 285 Delaware.

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/4135/dsc0241l.jpg

[Austinlee]

^That renovation turned out to look pretty nice; Better than the renderings IMO.

[westcoastperspective]

^That renovation turned out to look pretty nice; Better than the renderings IMO.


Agreed- Its a nice addition to the skyline. Will anyone miss the drab Dulski? Now if only we could get some parking lots built on. :rolleyes:

[lastcall4am]

A++ for this renovation/reconstruction. Can someon post a before/after?

[westcoastperspective]

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/381/dsc0037h.jpg

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/2416/dsc0242r.jpg

[sullymon54]

The before picture also shows a bit of the old federal reserve before the New Era renovation. Dare I say this three block stretch from Niagara Square to Chippewa is going from drab...to fab?

I immediately apologize for that.

[westcoastperspective]

New rooftop patio at 95 Perry. Three of five of the lofts are leased:

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/07/cobblestone-gains-a-rooftop-perch.html

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/6092/dsc0148c.jpg

[Bison716]

BIG NEWS!

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/733840.html

[westcoastperspective]

Additional good news- Redevelopment of the Arctic Freezer building along the 190 have started. Its going to be office space.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/3705/dsc0329.jpg

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2411/dsc0325.jpg

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/07/plans-for-arctic-freezer-redevelopment-finally-thawing.html

[Bison716]

I'm hoping the Casino can get going to really jazz up this part of the city. This new office building would be right across the street! Come on Senecas!!!

[westcoastperspective]

Another long-vacant building going residential- this one on W. Huron just a block away from Avant. Kissling is proposing eight units in the vacant Lake Hotel.

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/4340/dsc0192t.jpg

http://www.buffalorising.com/2009/07/west-village-momentum-continues.html

[Bison716]

Neighborhood on the rise. Go Grant Street!

http://www.buffalonews.com/businesstoday/localbusiness/story/737877.html

[westcoastperspective]

Another Rocco Rehab- For Commercial Space

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7895/cherrystreet001e.jpg

Just minutes after Gov. David Paterson signed the tax-credit legislation Wednesday afternoon in the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, developer Rocco Termini confirmed he will move ahead with plans to convert an under-utilizied East Side warehouse into a high-tech business incubator that targets companies with connections to both the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and the University at Buffalo’s 2020 plan.

Termini said the $8.5 million project, set for a five-story, 65,000-square-foot warehouse at 127 Cherry St., would not have happened unless Paterson signed the bill. The legislation allows for tax credits up to $5 million for commercial projects or $50,000 for private residences, provided they involve the restoration of a historic structure.

“This is going to happen because of what was signed into law today,” said Termini, who hopes to begin work on the project by next spring. :cheers:


http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2009/07/27/daily36.html

[sullymon54]

Rocco is unstoppable, he's really pulling ahead and becoming the premiere downtown developer. Does anyone know him? Is he hiring?

[westcoastperspective]

Rocco is unstoppable, he's really pulling ahead and becoming the premiere downtown developer. Does anyone know him? Is he hiring?

He's almost a one-man show. If you call Signature Dev. to inquire about leasing- it is his cell phone! He has maintenance staff and office support (they are tied in with Burke Homes)- but I don't know if he has any assistants or anything like that. It would be a great company to work for.

[BUFFALOVE!!]

Cant believe this hasnt been posted yet even though i'm sure you all read buffalo rising or the news...

Construction begins on vascular center
The 10-story, $291-million vascular center is going up at Ellicott and Goodrich streets.

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/752786.html

UB wants medical schools downtown

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/756573.html

[westcoastperspective]

Cant believe this hasnt been posted yet even though i'm sure you all read buffalo rising or the news...

Construction begins on vascular center
The 10-story, $291-million vascular center is going up at Ellicott and Goodrich streets.

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/752786.html

UB wants medical schools downtown

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/756573.html

It has been a good week for downtown. :tup:

[Bison716]

http://www.buffalonews.com/145/story/760055.html

Now all we need is the Elmwood Hotel to get going!

[westcoastperspective]

Statler- $1.3 million

Bill Koessler, owner of Park Lane Catering; Richard J. Sterbin, a local real estate consultant; and Tom Zawadzki, a local mortgage broker, outbid a single other bidder for the property.

Koessler operates his catering business in the hotel's ballrooms and fashionable first-floor spaces.

The group plans to remodel the building with 235 hotel rooms, 111 apartments, two restaurants, a coffee shop, a jazz club and retail space. Sam Savarino of Savarino Construction will be the general contractor.

Plans call for asbestos removal to begin as early as September.

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/761667.html

:cheers:

[sullymon54]

Excuse me if I don't bust out the champagne on this one. Personally I have to pessimistic about anything concerning the Statler. I don't think I'll be convinced until I see the first moving truck pull up and watch people bringing beds up on the elevators.

[believeinbflo]

the only thing fighting away the skepticism inside me is that this guy owns the big tennant of the building and has made great efforts to get bashar out of the statler and to give the building a fighting chance. in all honestly this is probably the best person for this project.

[Bison716]

I agree. I believe the Statler will finally see its day! Imagine the buzz along Delaware, from a renovated Mix-use Statler, new Federal building, Avant, down to the Chip-district with 2-way traffic approaching that part of Main street roughly around the same time. The interest from outside investors will surly grow. Now if we can re-skin the convention center as we did with the Avant building. Now that would be great!!

[SnugBuffalo]

It is my sincere hope that the group succeeds. However, they need a financial horse with big dollars - "EQUITY" for those developers unfamiliar with this term. Without a personal financial stake of at least 25-30%, even the local banks will not back the project.

Would the group have bid-to-win if they did not have this equity partner? We'll have to wait and see.