BUFFALO | Development Thread

[Corbin Dalus]

Just though I'd throw these in:
Here's a recent pic of the Roswell tower.



And here's one of the medical school just before they took the tower down (or maybe it's still up?)

[eleven=11]

hello , the wiki/maps and google street view
seems very old around the downtown area
but my question is
1 - what are they building around the arena ?
2- anybody know a better web map ?

[Corbin Dalus]

Below is the location of the Harbor Center project w a walk bridge connecting to First Niagara Center Arena:



Another pic of Harbor Center development comes from a NY Times article:



http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/sp...c-rebirth.html

This next pic shows at right the Roswell Clinical Sciences addition, at top light upper is the medical school and below it another building (can't recall the name--anybody?) which has ground dug out with foundation started.



Here is a pic of the Roswell addition courtesy of City of Buffalo website
http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/Home/Lea...roller/economy



These projects are at two different ends of downtown Buffalo. As many aren't aware the downtown area from Buff Gen to the waterfront near the arena is two miles in length.

[ladsnine]

Thanks for the photos!!

The building you have a photo of is actually a new 7-story medical office building called Conventus. The building that is being dug out right across the street from it will be the new medical school.

[ladsnine]

The City of Buffalo has an RFP out for one of the last parcels in Waterfront Village:
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/n...ge-parcel.html

[map removed - see below]

AND...this year's list of projects requesting funds from the Buffalo Building Reuse Project revolving loan fund is out:

505 Pearl St. (Saturn Rings Building, Mark Croce)
298 Main St. (White Building, Kissling and Ciminelli Development Cos.)
7 buildings at Oak & Genesee including Curve Building at Oak & Genesee (Sienna Realty)
1110-1116 Main St. (Sinatra)
Genesee & Michigan (Madison Construction)

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/n...t-funding.html

[ladsnine]

Photo Update

Giant photo dump from Friday evening.




The new Fountain Plaza station for the Metro Rail taking shape.



Rocco's shipping container hot dog stand taking shape on this little tiny sliver of land.



Contrary to all logic, he doesn't ACTUALLY appear to be building it out of shipping containers. It looks like it will be conventional construction make to LOOK like shipping containers. What's the point of that?! People use shipping containers because there's a surplus of them and they're cheap...



The Curve Building next door (a homeless drop-in center until it closed earlier this year) is being gutted.



Across Oak Street, the new Catholic Health Headquarters is rapidly nearing completion.





Apparently the parking ramp is over 900 spaces. Usually I would have a huge problem with add so much parking when we have such an excess downtown already, but the reality is that this site is sandwiched between expressway on/off-ramps on three sides. It will never be very urban and walkable unless major infrastructure changes are made, so if any location makes sense for a giant parking ramp, this does.







Big Ditch Brewery (reuse of a former Verizon vehicle garage) at Huron & Ellicott



173 Elm St. is sporting a sign "Future Home of Service Collaborative of WNY". This is one of Paladino's upcoming projects.



The Planing Mill Lofts at Elm & William. 22 market-rate units + office space on the first floor. I guess they're test out what size the "P" should be on the front.



The building is the old Hager & Sons Planing Mill, built in the 1860s.





The newly restored porte-cochere on the Oak Street side of ECC City Campus.





New clay tile roof on ECC City Campus



The HUB Apartments. Swan & Elm. 50 market-rate units under construction.



Awesome brickwork.



Cast iron elements integrated into the new storefront. The retail will be a bike shop and a restaurant.







Fairmont Creamery. This project has a nearly 15-year history and is finally underway. For a decade it is was a dilapidated building right along I-190. It is being renovated in office space, 30? apartments, and some sort of banquet space. It also wins the award for worst windows in a historic rehab - I mean, really, how boring can you be?



Cool brickwork on the creamery.



Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino. $130 million new casino completed last year.



Bonus shot of Elevator Alley, mostly because it's awesome. It was a nice day for kayaking.



The tortured Replica Canals project at the Aud Block site. This was supposed to be finished in 2012, then they fired the contractor for being incredibly slow. From the looks of things, there's still not much getting done. Maybe the project is cursed?



The NFTA just redid the Erie Canal Harbor Metro Rail station including adding these medallions showing the canal district.



One Canalside. I believe construction finished on this last month. This is the former Donovan State Office Building. It is now home to a Courtyard by Marriott hotel on the lower floors and the Philips Lytle law firm on the upper floors.



The rear of One Canalside, along Washington Street.



The new East Canal pocket park in front of One Canalside. The building at right is the Buffalo News.



This new park is SERIOUSLY well done.



HarborCenter - new double-rink hockey arena with 15-story hotel on top, parking ramp, and restaurants/retail









All of a sudden Washington Street is feeling a lot more crowded over here...





I just loved this shot because there's so much going on here...



Tishman Building Renovation - 20-story skyscraper being renovated into restaurants on the ground floor, hotel above up to floor 14, apartments on 15-17, and the offices of the developer, Hamister, on 18-20. Hamister is moving downtown from Amherst.



Reconstruction of West Mohawk Street looking from Main. Paladino actually gave up a row of parking to make this a reality - imagine that.



East Mohawk



Main Street 500 Block re-construction, looking north



Looking south (Lafayette Square Metro Rail station in the foreground)



535 Main Street - renovation of a long-abandoned 19th century building. D'Avolio's Kitchen is opening on the first floor and the upper floors will be apartments.



537 Main Street - this is becoming a french restaurant with the owners building an apartment above



5-7-9 Genesee - the yellow hot dog building and the gray building next to it. These are some of the oldest buildings downtown, built in the 1840s. The gray building (#9) is becoming a single-family residence on the upper floors with a "street meat" deli on the first floor. 5-7 are going to have that gross yellow stuff torn off and will be restored, with apartments on the upper floors and retail on the first floor. #9 is underway but 5-7 isn't yet.

Roosevelt Square is being reconstructed in the foreground. The building looming in the background is another renovation project that has been announced and is upcoming.



The Curtiss Building, at Huron & Franklin. The owner, Mark Croce, has been working on redevelopment plans on and off since 2009?. But supposedly construction is starting the second week of July, so it may actually be happening. This will be a boutique hotel.



Detail, Curtiss Building



And - last but not least - the Lake Hotel. Formerly abandoned, re-opened last year as apartments.

CRAZILY enough, that's not even close to all the activity going on in downtown Buffalo. I missed a few smaller projects in this area (and one large one - Delaware North HQ), but the main area I didn't walk through is the Medical Campus, located on the north end of downtown. Over $500 million in construction is underway there with more planned. But the sun was going down...so, another day

[Fortunate4Now]

Thanks for all the photos!

Originally Posted by ladsnine

The City of Buffalo has an RFP out for one of the last parcels in Waterfront Village:

Come on Uniland, dust off those 33 gates plans!!

[Downtown Bolivar]

I still don't understand what restoring traffic to main street will do for main street or metro rail. Patrick Whalen, former CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus was right, Metro Rail is an asset the city doesn't deserve. They are killing off ridership with this reconstruction. The NFTA continues its incredible record of utter incompetence.

[atlantaguy]

While Raleigh obviously doesn't have LRT down its signature street, restoring auto traffic to Fayetteville Street after being converted into a pedestrian mall years ago has proven to be a huge success.

Hopefully the same success will happen in Buffalo.

[ladsnine]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

While Raleigh obviously doesn't have LRT down its signature street, restoring auto traffic to Fayetteville Street after being converted into a pedestrian mall years ago has proven to be a huge success.

Hopefully the same success will happen in Buffalo.

Agreed. It won't be a "silver bullet" where Main Street will all of a sudden blossom to life, but I think it will make a difference. There are a LOT of cities that have done this and in the examples I know of, the result has always been positive. Kalamazoo, Michigan was the first city to put in a mall, on Burdick St., but tore it out in 1998 and that street is doing well. Chicago tore out its State Street mall in 1996 and State Street is booming, as examples.

Also, it's not the NFTA that's doing it. The NFTA is actually fighting it tooth-and-nail. I believe Buffalo Place and the mayor's office are leading the charge to get the mall removed. If you'll notice, there's still a green signal box sitting in front of Hostel Buffalo Niagara that is right in the middle of the new northbound traffic lane on the 600 block. I have heard rumors that the NFTA is trying to leverage that box in order to keep traffic from returning to the block - they probably won't be successful, given that the project has to be finished and in service before the city can get reimbursed by the feds, but they might successfully delay it for a few months.

[Fortunate4Now]

ladsnine, after reading the BRO article today is was made clear the request for proposal is for the lot to the left of the image not the right or area that was highlighted in red.

[ladsnine]

Oy, yes, you're right.

It's these parcels:





I guess that might make it a lot more attractive for developers, right, since it's right on the water?

---------------

Also from BRO, the city is RFP'ing this lot at Main & Best, right across from the Summer-Best Metro Rail station and a couple of blocks north of the Medical Campus



This is just begging for something really urban. I wonder what we'll see here. Poor little kiddies will lose their play yard, though...

Here's the link: http://www.city-buffalo.com/files/1_...A_1127Main.pdf

[westcoastperspective]

Originally Posted by ladsnine

Oy, yes, you're right.

It's these parcels:





I guess that might make it a lot more attractive for developers, right, since it's right on the water?

---------------

Also from BRO, the city is RFP'ing this lot at Main & Best, right across from the Summer-Best Metro Rail station and a couple of blocks north of the Medical Campus



This is just begging for something really urban. I wonder what we'll see here. Poor little kiddies will lose their play yard, though...

Here's the link: http://www.city-buffalo.com/files/1_...A_1127Main.pdf

A nice 4 to 6 story residential building with one or two storefronts would be ideal for that corner on Main. Fingers crossed they get something appropriate.

It has only been 30 years since Waterfront Village started and yet there is still empty land there. Granted the layout of the neighborhood isn't ideal, but the units and location is great. It seems like developers propose projects but the real estate market takes a dump before they start work or they bail on future phases. Portside and Marina Park were supposed to fill those Lakefront Blvd. parcels with more phases- each died after one phase (Marina Park) or two (Portside - which has a second developer come in to finish up units that were started but not finished by the original developer). It doesn't give me much hope for alot of residential development on the outer harbor.

[Corbin Dalus]

Ladsnine, thanks for the building clarifications—and the photo dump. I wish I could find time to do one. I’m downtown every day!

Fortunate4Now, I echo your question regarding 33 Gates!! I never forgot about this! Wasn't it just a handful of little bitties that stepped up to denounce it (anti-progress)?! I think it was something like 30 stories proposed wasn’t it? Cool shot of the downtown westend there! Am I a nut to think we should divide the halves of downtown into Eastend and Westend? Or has this already been done? It’s two miles long for cripe sakes!

As for Main St., I never knew what to think about it going in and now. I respect they took a shot at something in a city that has a track record of sitting on the fence. It seems to function now, sort of. I’m down at Laffayette Square and I will say it’s drivable but it’s tight and I often hear people beeping (and the train beeping), when someone parks to run inside somewhere.

I noticed that traffic box when I took a walk up near Shae’s. Is that what that ridiculous thing is? It’s an eyesore. Frankly, since I moved her in 95’ nothing stumps me more than that ridiculous NFTA. Heck, they were always the major obstacle to getting the waterfront done.

I think your best bet for creating momentum is the medical corridor (Eastend) and the waterfront.
They will come…

[ladsnine]

51 of the 53 senior apartments at the new Canterbury Woods location at Gates Circle are already spoken for, and they aren't even close to starting construction on it:
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-regi...taken-20140626
The article also says they are planning 500 market-rate residential units, including both apartments and condos, as part of the new mixed-use complex.


AND...the tower crane is up at the Delaware North HQ (250 Delaware):
http://www.buffalonews.com/business/...aware-20140626
It looms VERY impressively over downtown. I'll try to get a photo in the new couple of days. That's 5 tower cranes up right now, right? Any idea when the one for the new Med School will go up?


ALSO...this isn't as sexy, but it is interesting:
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-regi...rhood-20140625
Buffalo has a Combined Sewer, like most older cities, which means the rainwater and sanitary sewers mix together and it all goes to the treatment plant. It is also means that when the system overflows in large rainfalls, we dump a lot of untreated poop in the Niagara River. The city is undertaking a 20-year $380 million project to create a series of in-line storage tanks in the sewer system, throughout the city, in order to store the water during big rain events. It seems the first part of the construction started this winter, under Bird Avenue in the Elmwood Village. Apparently the suburbs will be paying the city for the privilege to use these storage tanks as well, which will help the city's finances.

[Corbin Dalus]

Was able to get a pic of the Roswell tower today - had to be quick as I was driving:

[ladsnine]

Thanks for all the pictures Corbin! (this and those from the other day too)

That Roswell tower is really starting to get tall. It's only going to be 11 stories, I think?, so it must be almost topped out. Is that box at the top of the steel the penthouse? If so, then it is topped out.

EDIT: Apparently the Roswell Clinical Sciences Center was topped off June 6th. The Buffalo News has a slideshow of the topping off ceremony here: http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs...6009992&ref=ph and a slideshow of construction photos from June 7th here: http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs...7009999&ref=ph

[ladsnine]

More information on the proposals to redo the Market Arcade Theater:
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-regi...nment-20140627

Rocco renamed his proposal to "Tavern + Bowl" (he dropped the Laverne & Shirley references, it seems) and would have 4 theaters with food and drink service, 10 bowling lanes, and a lobby bar. Sinatra's is similar, but with less changes from the existing - Dipson would run the theater, Bijou would offer dining, and there would be 3 theaters with food and drink service. There is a third proposal as well, but the city isn't divulging any information about it - but it apparently keeps the theater open and includes dining as well.

[ladsnine]

That parking lot across from Spot Coffee on Elmwood that will become the new mixed-use building at 766 Elmwood is officially closed as of today. Rode the bus by it today and there are jersey barriers around it. No construction equipment on site yet.

Also, steel is going up at the Delaware North HQ tower. They've gotten the basement and first floor up along the north end of the site.

Sorry, didn't have a chance to grab pictures.

[homestar]

Originally Posted by Downtown Bolivar

I still don't understand what restoring traffic to main street will do for main street or metro rail. Patrick Whalen, former CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus was right, Metro Rail is an asset the city doesn't deserve. They are killing off ridership with this reconstruction. The NFTA continues its incredible record of utter incompetence.

Three points to consider with this...

1 - the rail track bed was 30 years old and due for replacement. So even if the Cars On Main project never happened, the tracks would need to be ripped out and replaced at some point soon, and that would have disrupted ridership either way. Plus we all know how dated and deteriorated the sidewalks were on Main, so those would have had to be ripped up too. Bottom line is that the disruption to metro riders and pedestrians would have happened regardless of this project.

2 - the huge spike in renovation announcements along the 400 and 500 blocks (restaurants, apartments, offices) only occurred after the Cars On Main project was finalized and financed for those blocks. It could be a total coincidence... but it definitely appears to be a positive factor in the rebirth of Main.

3 - the reduced ridership on the metro will only be temporary, because around the same time that Metro schedules get back to normal, it will coincide with the opening of Conventus, Children's Hospital, and UB Medical... all right on Main St and right above a subway stop. It is virtually guaranteed that there will be a huge boost to ridership once they open, especially with the limited parking in that area.