Buffalo Inner Harbor Update

To our readers outside of Buffalo who don't get the daily hub-bub, the news here is that the kooks and obstructionists are coming out of the woodwork to try and derail the exciting plans for the rebirth of the Inner Harbor next door to HSBC Arena.

Our friend Buffalo Pundit has an excellent post which lays out a common sense dialogue to the entire issue. Some excellent posts replying to the main article as well.

Our position is simple... this land has laid vacant and empty for 50 years...a signature retail destination such as Bass Pro, ancillary development which is certain to follow, buildings designed in 19th century wharf style, life and energy and people on the streets year round in a vibrant Cobblestone District. Enough procrastinating... just get it done!!!

Bass Pro at Canalside - is this finally the real deal?

Above are two renderings of the new Bass Pro and related development set for the central wharf next door to HSBC Arena. Check out the 19th century period architecture!

It's front page news here in Buffalo - the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation today inked a "pre development" agreement with Bass Pro to construct a 125,000 sf retail store on the waterfront next door to HSBC Arena. This will be the retail anchor for a comprehensive mixed use development which should dramatically change the look of the arena neighborhood in the coming few years.

Looking at the renderings - part of me is thrilled, and part of me is looking at this with a feeling of trepidation and dread. What will go wrong now? Supposedly all that is standing in the way is the standard environmental impact review, and once a negative declaration is issued, it is all systems go. Nonetheless, I will believe all this when I see a shovel in the ground. I've seen Buffalo's hopes and dreams dashed too many times and that is where my skepticism comes in.

And sure enough, Tim Tielman from the local preservationist crowd is already chiming in, calling the renderings "an abomination". As a reminder, this is same posse who tried to move heaven and earth to prevent Dunn Tire Park from being built in the 80s... they much would have preferred to maintain the few derelict vacant buldings and litter strewn parking lots over a beautiful baseball stadium.

Anyways, the urban planner in me is jacked up and I am just a fountain of ideas.... so rapid fire here goes:

1) The renderings show the skyway gone; $10MM is set aside for Aud demo; and the Donovan Building is now vacant and slated for demolition this year. So how about fast tracking the Skyway closure, and start bidding out asbestos and mold remediation for the Aud NOW! Demo all three structures at the same time, and have development ready sites all in place for immediate build out.

2) They are leaving the skyway piers in place, according to the drawings. So light 'em up, turn them into dramatic sculptures. Imagine laser lights and other special effects offering a symphony of light each night.

3) How about leaving the Terrace Street lobby entrance of the Aud intact. The size of the structure would be proportional to future development, and it would leave a bit of Aud history in place.

4) I would love to see a dramatic new Canalside light rail station - with weather protected access for arena patrons.

5) When can we see construction of that low rise bridge at the foot of Main Street, presumably connecting to the new Fuhrmann Blvd in the outer harbor. Get that bridge built and open and that land the other side of the Buffalo River becomes HOT PROPERTY.

Here is more from The Buffalo News. Also, Jim Fink has an update from the ECHDC meeting this morning at Buffalo Business First.


This is a circa 50s photo of the Inner Harbor, with the Skyway under construction. With today's plans being released, the new look would resemble what things were like there two generations ago

Baltimore's wish list: An NCAA basketball subregional

Here in Buffalo we might covet an exciting and vibrant downtown core - something like Baltimore's Inner Harbor, but over in Baltimore, they covet something that WE have (and no I'm not referring to Willis McGahee and his progeny). They would love to be in the rotation for an NCAA basketball event, and as Baltimore Sun columnist David Steele points out in his column, Baltimore does not have the facility to support a tournament of this magnitude. The 45 year old First Mariner Arena in downtown Baltimore was once the home of the NBA Baltimore Bullets, but that was a lifetime ago.

One quote from the column:
"This time, Maryland and seven other schools traveled to drab, bone-chilling Buffalo, thin on top-notch hotels and nearby amenities...."

Ouch!

No amenities? Perhaps next time we need to get the good Mr. Steele up to Fort Erie and a visit to the Canadian Ballet. Or maybe he was in a surly mood because his Terrapins got themselves a good whoopin'!

Save the Aud? Tear down the Aud?

Back in February we ran this Puck Stop column in Artvoice, called "A Blueprint For The Aud", which examined the trials and tribulations that the Montreal Forum went through in its transformation from a hockey arena to a multi use retail and entertainment facility.

This week, our colleague Jim Fink at Buffalo Business First broke this story indicating that Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown now wants the Aud torn down, and wants it done soon. I chatted with Jim at the hockey game last night, and he confirmed that this is all in the pipeline, and also that asbestos removal and demolition preparation will be starting on the adjacent Donovan building this summer.

But whether the Aud is saved or demolished, it will still require massive dollars for asbestos removal and environmental remediation, no?

So that's why this post by Queenseyes at Buffalo Rising Online really got me excited. Very simple premise - gut the Aud and turn it into a massive parking facility. It would service downtown retail and business during the day, HSBC Arena and Dunn Tire Park at night, and free up every frikkin' surface lot down there for new construction.

Memo to Mayor Brown, Congressman Higgins and the powers that be at the ECHDC... can we give a good look to this idea? Can we get moving on it NOW!

Rendering above taken from Buffalo Rising

Bass Pro "drop dead" date now passes 50 days and counting

In mid December the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation released this sexy sketch of their vision for the Inner Harbor neighborhood, right outside the front door of HSBC Arena:


At the same time they gave Bass Pro, who has been designated to rehab the shuttered Aud into a mega store, a 30 day deadline to sign on or take a hike.

The 30 days came and went, everyone involved said talks are still ongoing and then said sure... let's give 'em more time!

All we hear now from the ECHDC is the sound of crickets chirping. Oh yeah, and Congressman Higgins got some funds released for an environmental impact statement for that low bridge (bottom of sketch) to take cars over to the Outer Harbor and Fuhrmann Blvd. Don't expect to actually see such a bridge in place much before 2012, if even then.

In twelve days, we will be welcoming thousands of visitors to Buffalo for the NCAA basketball tournament. Just as in 2000 and 2003 and 2004, those visitors will have nowhere to walk to in the immediate vicinity of the arena for things to do. The LRRT ride up to Chippewa will take them past the shuttered Aud, shovel ready lots in the Main/Swan area, an empty Main Place Mall and a boarded up AM&As, boarded up eyesores in the 400 block, and finally by the most decrepit Hyatt in their entire chain. It is so depressing.

By now I am almost pining for Dennis Gorski's old Horizons Waterfront Commission...this entire saga is yet another chapter in the failure of Buffalo's leadership.

So as long as we're presenting beautiful sketches and pie in the sky design ideas for Buffalo's waterfront and the Cobblestone District, allow me to present mine:

Buffalo's Cobblestone District - The Bad

Now undergoing renovation along Mississippi Street, a block away from HSBC Arena, is this former loading dock structure, and that building is finally taking shape as the new home of Morrissey's Irish Pub.

So why am I labeling this "The Bad"? Well, basically the progress for this entire development, which includes a four story office building, retail space and 36 loft condominiums, has been agonizingly slow. Avalon Development and Savarino Construction got approval from the Buffalo Planning Board for this project way back in September, 2005, they launched this cool website and stuff is now getting done there in dribs and drabs.

I met proprietor Dennis Brinkworth during the Buffalo Old Home Week last August, and he then predicted a Thanksgiving opening; in December they said March 15. Check out the photo - does it look like they'll be pouring cold Guinness Stouts in three weeks?

My props to Savarino Construction for even taking this on... if it all gets built out (including the lofts) I'll give them all the love in the world for being the visionaries. But for now I guess you can call me impatient.

Buffalo's Cobblestone District - The Ugly

Here is the new Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino going up three blocks east of HSBC Arena, and don't feel bad if you don't confuse this structure with the Wynn or Bellagio in Las Vegas. For this hideous abomination is the "temporary" 5000 s.f gambling hall that will open soon, while the permanent structure gets built in the next couple years, as this rendering should give you an idea what the place will look like.

I'm not crazy about the idea of a downtown casino, but if it is meant to be, then I want it to be the snazziest thing this side of Atlantic City. My fear is that lawsuits or other delays will kill the permanent casino, and we will be left with this sleazy storage garage with its few dingy slot machines and snack bar.