BUFFALO | Development Thread
 

There is more Warterfront talk going on!



From Buffalo Rising:

Why Senator Schumer's Waterfront Proposal Is Correct

by Steve Siegel
http://www.buffalorising.com/city/ar...8/citizens.jpg
Editor's Note: The image used for this post is an alternative plan recently presented by Citizen's Vision for the Lakefront. The group spoke at the BOHW Waterfront Discussion this past saturday. The image is being shown here merely to point out that various groups have different ideas as to how our waterfront should function. This proposal's #1 concern was keeping waterfront land open to the public. It is an image that until Saturday we had never seen. The above proposal is NOT Senator Schumer's waterfront proposal.



The current jousting between the city and the anointed developers of the harbor project is rather frustrating to the many that were energized by the possibility that this project would proceed. But, in retrospect, the current impasse is wholly predictable.

Recent posts and comments have provided some great perspective on the hows and whys of the current situation - and even provided ideas on how to proceed from here. What needs to be discussed is why, from a more holistic perspective, all these large, complex development projects almost always follow the same pattern of: “yes…finally .. thank god, it’s going to happen……oh s@#*, screwed again!

Think of the great looking male “Cade” in high school who dates the rather ordinary looking girl who he knows is lacking in self confidence. About halfway through the date he demands that they take a little drive over to lovers’ lane. The girl, though rather plain looking, is nobody’s fool and declines. The Cade responds that she is lucky to have a suitor the likes of him and that she will never do any better.

The city is the rather plain looking girl and the suitor is Uniland, or Bass Pro, or the Seneca Nation – take your pick.

My point is that from a strategic business point of view, cities that consistently pull off development projects that, to the frustrated residents in the city of Buffalo appear to be development miracles, are always cities that recognize that they need to find developers who need to accomplish the project more than the city needs the project accomplished. In other words the city holds the upper hand and the developer is either an equal partner or the equivalent of an economic “lapdog” that must do as the city demands because this project is a “silver bullet” project to the developer, but merely one more in a series of small, but important projects to the city. Why can Bass Pro, the Seneca Nation and Uniland attempt to continually dictate new terms to the city? It’s because if they don’t get their way, they can walk away and develop elsewhere and probably get a better return on the investment, with less risk.

The cities inability to recognize this reality and find development partners that the city possesses strategic advantages over, is one big reason why we see this same pattern repeating itself over and over again.

I presume that Senator Schumer’s proposal to subdivide the project into many smaller projects is at least in part based upon his acceptance of these realities. It is also why the city should use this impasse as an opportunity to walk away from the deal – this is only the first of many new demands that the developers will make upon the city.

Schumer’s proposal makes sense, and in my mind is the only strategically viable way to proceed at this point.

http://www.buffalorising.com/city/ar...umers_wate.php

Back from Buffalo with a slew of new pics to share over the next few weeks. Here is the progress on New Era HQ's:

Planned:
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/8...wera5vmqp4.jpg

Middle of last week:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1990/newera3de9.jpg

Saturday, from Belesario. Steel for atrium/entry started:
http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/8587/newera2zc3.jpg

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/152/newera1zo0.jpg

Any waterfront project needs the removal of the Skyway. That monstrosity needs to go like H-O.

:jester:

wouldn't buffalo development news be a better title? This one reminds me of Bush saying "internets"

Granite Works- a block of historic buildings almost demolished, now 29 lofts- as of Sunday, there was only one unleased.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1247/granite2ek4.jpg

http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/2500/granite3wu5.jpg

http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/8922/granite1bt0.jpg

View from the outdoor deck on the roof of the granite building- accessible by two of the units:

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/6107/granite4nn4.jpg

Rocco's new Ellicott Commons complex, which will have 30 units including four leasing for $3000/month that will have rooftop patios (three of the four are pre-leased):

http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/5814/ellicottfp1.jpg

Westcoastperspective, thanks for those great pictures. I have not been to B-lo for a while, and those give me sense of what's really going on. Man, is it exciting!:apple: BuffaloBill, Sooner or later, someone at some point, is going to start removing The Skyway. I don't think I will live to see it though. Steel, yes, buffalo development news would have been a better title. Can't please everybody. OH WELL.:2cents:

Higgins has tried to secure funding for the removal of the Skyway. I hope he keeps pressing the issue.

Interesting view from the roof of the Granite Works. I see some buildings there that do not look very familiar.

New Era is going to be Fabulous. I wonder if there will be a place to buy caps or just offices?

There's supposed to be a store/museum in the New Era bldg.

Bass Pro wants to tear down the Aud...
Wonder if some in the preservation community are going to object. They should at least save the facade facing the I-190 (Exchange Street?). Get it started already!

Does anyone have the early rendering of the exterior of the Aud when Bass Pro was proposing a renovation? Rue?

I believe there is a photo with Pataki or Masiello standing in front of a rendering that was up at a press conference.

Here a cross section image that was on the Bass Pro website. They never released an rendering of what the outside of the store would look like

http://img177.imageshack.us/my.php?i...image45ux5.jpg

HealthNow pics:

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/452/hn1pw6.jpg

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4285/hn2ak9.jpg

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/757/hn8pa9.jpg

pretty much beyond bland

It looks like every hospital expantion I ever saw. Three points:

A. It's not an expantion, but the real deal, which brings us back to "bland".

B. Putting this project right in the middle of downtown just sucks.:yuck:

C. What's with that Gotdam Gray Wall? I know it's old, but WTF?

Yeah - but it is better than what USED to be there...........

NOTHING

:banana:

^I agree... at the very least give them props for cleaning up a hazardous site, and bringing 1300 workers into the CBD.
it may be bland, but I do like the glass wall facing the 190, and it might be good for helping to change people's perceptions of Buffalo. a huge new building = good things are happening.

Dulski bidding continues- two serious bidders going head-to-head. Mr. Alphabet in the lead (again):

Amount
Bidder
Bid Date/Time

$4,000,000.00
(ABCDEFGH)
September 5, 2006 14:46:09

$3,750,000.00
(Ithaca)
September 5, 2006 9:47:30

$3,500,000.00
(ABCDEFGH)
September 5, 2006 8:25:56

$3,250,000.00
(Ithaca)
September 1, 2006 13:51:54

_______

More HealthNow pics on Buffalo Rising/City

I guess. Still, It looks like any average city's expanion and this is supposed to be a HQ. :shrug: May as well be the South Bend Memorial expantion. A nice project, but hardly worthy of downtown development in a mid to large city.

http://media.wsbt.com/images/Memoria...sion1_WSBT.jpg

Wednesday, September 6, 2006




And now the fun part - building Wright's boathouse

Work to begin this month

By TOM BUCKHAM
News Staff Reporter
9/6/2006



Bill Wippert/Buffalo News
Bill Maggio, left, and Ted Marks stand along the shore of the Black Rock Channel near the West Side Rowing Club, where a new boathouse designed by Frank Lloyd Wright will be built.
http://www.buffalonews.com/graphics/...06boathous.jpg

Now for the easy part - actually building Frank Lloyd Wright's boathouse.
A few months behind schedule and $500,000 or so short of its fundraising goal, the nonprofit corporation pushing the revival of Wright's 101-year-old plan for a rowing clubhouse will break ground today on the Black Rock Channel near the West Side Rowing Club.

Serious construction will begin this month, with completion set for next summer.

The $5.4 million facility will serve both as an attraction on Buffalo's "Wright stuff" architectural tourism trail and a functioning boathouse equipped and operated by the rowing club.

Membership in the West Side club, already one of the nation's largest - if not the largest - is expected to rise substantially from the present figure of more than 600, said President William J. Maggio.

Most new members will be students from area schools who have not been exposed to the club's popular rowing programs or else have been unable to sign up because the present clubhouse adjacent to the Wright site is running at capacity.

The club has made a strong commitment to involve Buffalo public high school students, Maggio said. They and others whose schools are not affiliated with the club will be invited to enroll in West Side's high school program, which has 570 members and for years has "had a significant impact on the youth of Western New York," he said.

Designed by Wright for the University of Wisconsin in 1905, the boathouse, will be a 4,500-square-foot pressed-concrete structure with storage bays for racing shells at ground level. A clubhouse adorned with art glass windows will occupy the upper floor.

The groundbreaking follows a series of complicated land deals to secure the site, a five-year fundraising campaign backed by television producer Tom Fontana that drew contributions from many film and TV stars, and the receipt of a $1 million state grant.

"It has been a monumental task to get this far," said Theodore E. Marks, president of the Wright boathouse organization. He is confident the fund drive will reach its goal before the facility opens. Individual West Side Rowing Club members have given generously to the project, Maggio added.

Lehigh Construction Group of Orchard Park will be the general contractor.


e-mail: tbuckham@buffnews.com

BURA expected to OK Artvoice deal

Business First of Buffalo

After almost three years of negotiations, it appears that Artvoice is poised to move into downtown Buffalo's Theatre District.

Jamie Moses, Artvoice publisher, through his JM LLC partnership, has crafted a new deal with the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency that revives his plans to move the business into a portion of the Glenny Building at 667 Main St.

Artvoice, the weekly arts and commentary publication, is currently located in leased space at 810 Main St.

For the past three years, Moses has been working with city officials on taking over 10,000-square-feet of the center and rear portions of the Glenny Building, leaving the front section as a local youth hostel.

Moses said he hopes to have the space renovated and be in the Glenny Building by early spring.

Now why the hell did this take 3 years. GEEZOPETES!:koko:

The explanation was in the part I deleted. :haha: But three years is awfully long, I'm surprised they didn't walk
______________________
Because of the shift from a single-user to a multi-tenant scenario and because of state and federal restrictions tied into the youth hostel's original financing package and utility packages, a special lease-sale arrangement has been crafted.

Under the terms to be presented to the BURA directors during a Sept. 7 meeting, JM LLC will lease the Glenny Building space, paying $9,780 annually and at the end of the 10-year deal, buy the square footage for $1.

The BURA directors are expected to approve the deal.

JM LLC is also seeking a $500,000 loan from the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp. to finance the deal. The BERC officials are also expected to approve that deal later this month.

so is the search function crapped out on this forum too or is it just my computer?

News: Dulski bidder wins at $6.1 million, Zepto gets city-owed 878 Main for expansion (below), and AM&As finally sells to the NYC developer planning retail, office and residential. Not a bad week! :cheers:

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/8098/878rc8.jpg

Old 'Courtyard Mall' site to be renovated

$5.5 million project will put offices, stores apartments on adjacent Main Street properties

By SHARON LINSTEDT
News Staff Reporter
9/10/2006


A pair of long-vacant buildings on the west 400-block of Main Street are coming back to life as an office/residential/retail complex.
Buffalo developers Carl Paladino and Frank McGuire have embarked on a $5.5 million overhaul of the idle Courtyard Mall, at 460 Main St., and the former Baker Shoes building next door at 450 Main St. Phase One of the project is focusing on the 73,000-square-foot Courtyard Mall building and will create two floors of office space and a small first floor retail space, with basement-level parking for 56 vehicles.

The Main and Pearl street facades of the structures will be redone in red brick to match original brick on the Baker building.

Paladino, who has owned the Courtyard Mall since 1995, said market conditions are finally right for the conversion.

"It is a very difficult location on Main Street in a downtown that has been a tough sell," Paladino said. "We're now at a point where market conditions have improved and we're figured out the right tenant mix."

A key driver in the redevelopment is the New York State Department of Parole, which will lease all the office space on the first floor. The parole division has signed a 10-year lease and will move its operations from the Donovan State Office Building by the end of the year. Empty since the late 1980s, the Courtyard Mall building has long been considered an eyesore in the heart of downtown. The longtime home of Neisners department store, its last anchor tenant was a branch of the now-defunct Permanent Savings Bank, along with a lower level food court, game room and some small retail shops.

Paladino acquired the building for $370,000 in mid-1995 from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which took control of the property in 1990 when Permanent Savings was gobbled up by Key Bank.

But even before the bank's acquisition, the Main Street site was eyed as a potential location for a huge office tower. In 1988, Corporex Cos. of Cleveland came to town proposing a 20-story office/retail complex. That plan went nowhere.

A Philadelphia developer was next in line with a flashy $55 million office tower that incorporated retail shops facing Main Street and several floors of interior parking.

After that proposal fizzled, a number of more esoteric uses were proposed, including a downtown outlet mall. The University at Buffalo Urban Design Group weighed in with an unsuccessful blueprint to convert it to a combination farmer's market, grocery store, day-care center and furniture design gallery.

Buffalo Place Executive Director Michael Schmand said he's heartened to see activity at the long-dormant address. In recent days the building's circa 1970's stucco facade and Courtyard Mall sign have been removed, revealing the old Neisners discount store nameplate.

"The multiuse plan they're working from will fit in well with all the good things that are happening downtown. The mix of office and residential is exactly what the city's Queen City Hub development blueprint called for," Schmand said.

Schmand acknowledged that he's heard some concern about locating the parole office on Main Street, bringing convicted criminals to the business district for required meetings with their parole officers. But the Buffalo Place executive said he's confident the state and the developer will provide adequate security.

"The bottom line is that this is everybody's downtown and these are people who have served their time and repaid their debt to society," Schmand said. "It would be a shame to concentrate on that aspect and let it overshadow the bigger impact of having a key Main Street site brought back to life."

In the second phase of the project, the Baker Shoe building will be redone as upscale, loft-style apartments, similar to Paladino's conversion of the former L.L. Berger department store to the Bellasara apartments in the next block of Main Street.

"We're going to be able to do some really cool things with these because of how the building is situated," Paladino said, noting the building's unusual design that features a one-story structure with a false second floor facing Main Street and an eight-story tower at the rear.

A few of the units will be jumbo, 4,000-square-foot apartments, while a typical dwelling will be approximately 1,200-square-feet, renting for around $1,100 a month. Like the Bellasara, the units will feature open floor plans with up-market kitchen and baths and lots of exposed brick.

A single unit is also planned for the rear of the Courtyard Mall building, overlooking Pearl Street, as part of the residential phase of the project. Build-out of the Baker Shoes site is slated to begin next spring.

http://buffalonews.com/editorial/20060910/1062478.asp

878 Main has to much historic value to just sit dormant. Zepto is doing something great here.:tup:

I still shutter to think what Paladino is planning for the facade of Courtyard and Bakers- rec brick facade? Brick like a Rite Aid? And why two phases- get Baker Shoes and the loft project started already. Wonder what other potential tenants will think of a parole office being there? :koko:

Any news on the Issa Tower?

This could be a: "Those who know, won't say, and those who say really don't know things. Nevertheless, and this is just an Old Man's hunch, give it about 6 weeks to 2 months. The "few weeks" statement was probably hyperbolae. Perhaps the longer they take, the better the design we will be. Let's just wait and see.

I'm also questioning the decision to put a parole office in there. It will be luxury apartments in the historic Main St entertainment / theatre district... it just seems like a parole office will detract from all of that "destination" appeal.

Uniland is taking high rise view pictures from a balloon at the Gates Circle site to market its new highrise condos.

be nice to see that view.:yes:

Hey Steel, any word on Issa?

Issa who? Uniland/Acquest have a similar mix planned for the Dulski:

http://www.buffalorising.com/city/ar...nces_for_1.php

Who can move quicker, and is there a market for both?

^ I'd like to see the Dulski replaced with something greater, but a facelift/update to make the building more sleek and appealing along with the renovation may do wonders too. A nice blue-ish glass facade with something interesting atop the structure would seem fitting. I'm interested to see what happens with it. It would be nice to see some infill or new buildings in that area of downtown eventually too.

I can't imagine them keeping the facade, would they? Might as well strip it off and start over. Clear glass seems to be all the rage...and add balconies.

How about this?

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/2...street1ny5.jpg

:yes:

The palm trees would be a definate draw

Dulski on the Riviera?!?!

speaking of the Dulski project, after it came up i tooled around a little with a picture in PS and did some of my own renovation & facelifting...

unfortunately i didn't have any of my own pictures on hand so i had to fish for one. :sly:

anyways, enjoy.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/9616/dulksicv1.jpg

Whoa!
Did the new courthouse and New Era mate and give birth to this? :haha:

Nice work though!

What do you think of putting this up on Buffalo Rising to share with a wider audience?

OH, YOU'RE GOOD!:worship:

it has fangs!! :hell: :koko: :jester: :shrug:

:haha:

According to Business First, we're competing with Chicago, Toronto and Long Island for this facility that could be four-stories and 250,000 sq.ft. and 2000 jobs. :fingerscrossed:

Citigroup may put facility in Amherst
By JONATHAN D. EPSTEIN
News Business Reporter
9/15/2006

Citigroup is considering placing a second major back-office facility in Amherst's CrossPoint Business Park, but Western New York is still competing tightly with other parts of the country, local real estate and economic development sources said Thursday.

The nation's largest banking company and parent of Citibank is discussing a proposal to expand its existing corporate and investment banking presence in the region, the sources said. The bank is working with Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and Empire State Development Corp., and talks so far have been positive, but no decisions have been made, they added.

Details of the proposal have also not been finalized, but could involve moving jobs from the New York City area, where real estate and salary costs are significantly higher.

"Whatever they're considering, they haven't chosen a site," said James Allen, executive director of the Amherst Industrial Development Agency, who isn't directly involved but said he was briefed on the project. "They are looking at Amherst and other sites around the country."

Citibank officials could not be reached for comment.

Citibank is opening a new facility in Uniland Development Co.'s
CrossPoint park early next month. The 107,000-square-foot project will house its Global Transaction Services group that is now based on Ridge Lea Road, behind Boulevard Consumer Square in Amherst.

Lets keep those fingers crossed!

The auditorium turned office space at Oak School Lofts. Vaspian communications is moving in this month- they've grown from two to forty employees in just three years.

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1153/oak2az1.jpg

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/688/oak1jb4.jpg

:previous: stage to become their conference 'area' :previous:

Very nice.

I don't know why everybody says that the economy is bad here in WNY. It's slow, but it's not bad. From the most recent stats published in the Buffalo News this past week I believe the area has turned a corner. Yes we are continuing to bleed unionized unskilled manufacturing jobs, but now at least there are enough new jobs in other sectors that we are seeing a net gain in private sector jobs each quarter. It may not result in a construction boom downtown, but it is resulting in a lot of renovations and a new interest in downtown. Open your eyes WNY--things are looking up!

Your name wouldn't be Pataki by any chance would it? :coolugh: