BUFFALO | Development Thread

[ladsnine]

Happy New Year everyone!

I was waiting for the #24 Genesee bus out to the airport a couple weeks ago and snapped this shot of progress at the Catholic Health HQ. Sorry, old camera on a rainy day so not the greatest quality.



Also, here's a photo of the 112 Genesee Street (Ellicott Paint) building that is going residential. The loft conversion is planned for the right building, but the interesting thing here is that the left building has been boarded up for years and isn't anymore, so perhaps something is happening here as well?

[westcoastperspective]

Originally Posted by ladsnine

Happy New Year everyone!

Thanks for these!

Catholic Health is much closer to the corner than I envisioned looking at the site plan. Ideally the building would have been built right at the corner, but this isn't "too" bad.

Interesting about the Genesee Street building. It does have a separate owner but I haven't heard if they are working with the owners at 112 Genny or are doing something on their own. In any case- yes, looks much better with the boards gone!

[Fortunate4Now]

They let me into dinosaur bbq! Kind of a dreary rainy day.

Sorry the quality sucks, I really need to get a better camera. Also there's a big shipping container in front which makes things difficult.



Covered pathway along the side


Entrance


Looking inside


Bar area


To Kitchen


Sign


Full sign


Some other photos I snapped today:

Medical Campus steel!

[westcoastperspective]

Sweet!

Kind of funky interior on Dino, no? Glass block?

Looks like they have a bit of façade work remaining and only a few weeks to finish it.

[Fortunate4Now]

Originally Posted by westcoastperspective

Sweet!

Kind of funky interior on Dino, no? Glass block?

Looks like they have a bit of façade work remaining and only a few weeks to finish it.

I was thinking the same thing. They still have a lot of work left. One thing not completely clear in the photos is there was a lot of nice, reclaimed wood that will be sure to pop once it's cleaned up.

[ladsnine]

Thanks for the awesome photos, f4n. Very cool to see inside the Dino.

I guess I was hoping the interior of the Dino would play more into the industrial concrete feel of the 1940s film vault building it occupies, but I think they didn't know the building's history when they were doing the design. But, that's a minor criticism, obviously. This will be major for downtown. It will be telling to see if the lines are as big for Dinosaur BBQ as they have been for Popeye's Chicken .

It's also fun to think about how different your second-to-last photo will look in a year. Those three buildings on the right of the photo should all be re-activated by then and whatever's behind that yellow stucco will once again be visible. The street will be mostly replaced and there might even be cars driving down it and parked in front of the buildings. Roosevelt Plaza will be rehabbed with a much more modern look and lighting. The old film warehouse looming above in the distance might be in the process of rehab as well. And there will be other big changes that are just out of the frame.

[ladsnine]

An update on the work going on at the Delaware Court Building in preparation for demolition and for construction to begin on 250 Delaware this spring.

The building has been ringed with Asbestos tape since about November. Bada Bing was the last tenant and they closed at the beginning of January.



In case you were curious how much asbestos was actually inside the Delaware Court Building...

It reads:
"Metro Environmental & Contracting... will be removing the following Asbestos Containing Materials:
Approx. 19,815 SF Flooring/Mastic
Approx. 122 SF Trowel on Magnesia
Approx. 42 SF Fire Stop Insulation
Approx. 8 SF Vibration Damper
Approx. 178 SF Transite
Approx. 330 SF Window Glaze
Approx. 1,012 SF Roofing
Approx. 1,803 LF Pipe Insulation
Approx. 17 LF Trowel on Magnesia
Approx. 7 LF Wire Insulation
Approx. 72 LF Transite
Start Date: 10/28/13
End Date: 02/28/14
Air Monitor: Envoy Environmental"



Here's where Bada Bing is going -- the old Omega Club space next to Prima Pizza near Chippewa & Pearl.



Meanwhile, this building permit went up Jan. 6. It reads "** Plans Filed ** Remove Terra-Cotta from the facade to be replicated for new build aka 250 Delaware."



Here are some notes made on the building for terra cotta pieces that are to be removed as samples for replication as part of the new facade at 250 Delaware. "BVTC" stands for Boston Valley Terra Cotta. They are a company located in Orchard Park that is one of only two terra cotta manufacturers in the United States and three in the whole world. The other in the US is near San Francisco.

[westcoastperspective]

That's pretty cool - it would be a neat to follow the process of BVTC recreating the facade

[Fortunate4Now]

Thanks for the update Ladsnine!

[Tedious]

Nice update. So we should have at least 5 tower cranes downtown come summer.

[westcoastperspective]

Originally Posted by Tedious

Nice update. So we should have at least 5 tower cranes downtown come summer.

Could be seven by fall: Med School and Children's Hospital

[ladsnine]

That must be, by far, a record. I mean, the last time there was probably a tower crane in Buffalo at all was the early 90s when Key Towers were built, or perhaps when the Roswell Cancer Center tower was built in the mid-90s. What is now M&T Center probably had one in the early 80s. One Seneca Tower in the early 70s before that. Main Place, Main-Court and M&T Towers in the early to mid-60s. But, has there ever been a time with 5+ tower cranes in the sky in recent memory?

(And, obviously, if we go back further than "recent memory", they usually didn't use tower cranes in the early decades of the 20th century when most of Buffalo's highrises date from, so perhaps the question is -- has this ever happened in Buffalo?)

Just to type them out to keep track for my own benefit, potentially by late this year we might have:
1, 2. HarborCenter (2 cranes)
3. Conventus
4. Roswell
5. 250 Delaware
6. UB Med School
7. Womens and Childrens Hospital

[westcoastperspective]

Key Center had a tower crane...and the Federal Center on S. Elmwood.

Don't forget the Kaleida blue cube on med campus had one a couple of years ago.

But seven is definitely a Buffalo record. Could be eight if The Carlo starts construction on the waterfront.

[westcoastperspective]

Ohio Street project redesigned, still 78 units:



http://buffalorising.com/2014/01/ohi...ct-redesigned/

[westcoastperspective]

Construction crews will begin erecting structural steel on the sixth floor of HARBORCENTER at approximately 8:00 AM on Tuesday, January 21.

[ladsnine]

Originally Posted by westcoastperspective

Construction crews will begin erecting structural steel on the sixth floor of HARBORCENTER at approximately 8:00 AM on Tuesday, January 21.

Awww, HarborCenter is growing up! *sheds tear* Awesome to see them being so serious about their construction schedule, even through what is shaping up to be a pretty brutal winter.


I LOVE the new design for Freight House Landing/Buffalo River Lofts. I think Buffalo desperately needs some modern design, and this looks pretty good. I think there will be a huge market for these apartments because there is literally nothing like it in Buffalo - no really modern design, nothing along the river, and nothing new at all in these old but charming (in their rusty way) industrial corridors. Hopefully they don't cheap out on those metal panels (good panels can be expensive) and hopefully they don't value-engineer out the diagonal element of the entryways. The coolest stuff tends to always go first on developer projects.

[ladsnine]

Image source: Bing Maps/my own work

Owner eyes expansion of Pilgrim Village housing complex

The first three-year phase would see 32 existing units demolished and replaced with 80 senior units, while the 58 remaining units would undergo a $3 million renovation, according to a project outline. The developer would add 300 units on the same cleared section of the property for students, medical staff and others. Over time, if demand dictates, more of the older units would be demolished and replaced with new units, with at least 20 percent set aside for below-market rents.

So, we are looking at potentially 380 units replacing just 32 of the 90, with more potentially in the future. Or, an increase of density on this underused parcel of more than 10x. I guess the Medical Campus really IS driving private development...

I wonder how tall the buildings containing the 380 units would have to be? The existing buildings are 2 stories, but they have tons of green space and parking lots, so my off-the-cuff guess would be maybe 5 stories for the new buildings. Any other guesses?

[ladsnine]

Also of interest --

Ensuring future of farmland, local communities buy up property so it stays just the way it is

To help preserve Erie County’s agricultural integrity, five towns are buying up property or paying owners to keep it development-free – forever

...

But little by little, a handful of communities are quietly staking claim to what’s left before it’s gone for good.

They’re buying up land for farming or paying property owners to keep it as agriculture – forever.

“This is the only system that I know of that works,” said Nancy R. Smith, executive director of the Western New York Land Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization that helps communities preserve and monitor farmland and open space.

The problem is that the Buffalo region continues to sprawl despite its declining population, Smith said.

As a result, she said, new homes and development are taking away prime soils – and leading to this suburban fight to save green space.

...

They would never call it this, but this has some aspects of the establishment of an urban growth boundary, though not as widespread or defined. Granted, growth can leapfrog into Newstead or some other area, but at least it isn't just free-for-all new subdivisions. The tolls on the Thruway at the edge of the built-up section of the metro area, in my opinion, is also helping to keep sprawl under control. This type of sprawl control is probably helping lead to some of the revitalization in the central city - though there are many other factors leading to it, as well.

[westcoastperspective]

Originally Posted by ladsnine

Image source: Bing Maps/my own work



So, we are looking at potentially 380 units replacing just 32 of the 90, with more potentially in the future. Or, an increase of density on this underused parcel of more than 10x. I guess the Medical Campus really IS driving private development...

I wonder how tall the buildings containing the 380 units would have to be? The existing buildings are 2 stories, but they have tons of green space and parking lots, so my off-the-cuff guess would be maybe 5 stories for the new buildings. Any other guesses?

I'm putting this one in the "I'll believe it when I see it category." His father was good at announcing projects and never building them in the city and suburbs. That being said, that site would make for a great infill project - higher density and MARKET RATE.

[ladsnine]

I didn't realize his family's record. Nonetheless, would set a good precedent for re-densification of the city's core if it were to happen.