A Progress Report on Planning and Implementation
The Queen City Hub action Plan is an important next big step in a continuous process of planning, action, and evaluation. It is the outgrowth of the strategic plan published in 1999. After four years and much additional work, it is time to look back on what has been accomplished, reassess the current situation, and adjust the course for the future.
In the past, there has often been too much of a time lapse between reviewing progress, sharpening the vision, and updating priorities. When the Downtown Buffalo Strategic Plan was published in 1999, it had already been 14 years since the previous plan, The Buffalo Regional Center Update, was published in 1985. It had been another 14 years since the original Buffalo Regional Center Plan in 1971.
The agenda for Downtown has moved forward. On the date of this publication five of an original eleven priority projects have been retired. They are complete. Four other projects were added in 2001 and three of those are completed. All the others except one are moving forward. A full accounting of all 15 of the priority projects is included as part of this description of current status.
A progress report on Downtown Buffalo would not be complete without mentioning the priority issue that went away. At the first Downtown Buffalo Summit in October 1994 the number one priority issue was “Feeling Safe.“ As a result, the City of Buffalo, Buffalo Place Inc., the Buffalo Police Department, and building owners and tenants went to work, and by 1999 the issue of crime and feeling safe in Downtown Buffalo had dropped to sixth place in the priority issue ranking. At the December 1999 Summit, a session was organized to discuss the issue. No one showed up wanting to discuss it.
A Downtown Neighborhood Development (DND) Corporation Draft Vision and Mission Statement
Downtown Buffalo is a regional destination attracting visitors, residents and new businesses to its colorful and inviting environment. The opportunity to walk to work, a host of creative eating options, the best of live theatre, and ample boutique and convenience shopping make Downtown housing the most desirable and the fastest appreciating in the region. Visitors are struck by some of the best-preserved examples of classical American architecture and the diversity of a hip population living in awardwinning neighborhoods designed by exemplary architects.
Mission Statement
Acting as the city’s lead agency for Downtown housing, the mission of the DND is to convert areas of Downtown into neighborhoods with the amenities and look which create a unique urban lifestyle. To that end it is perfecting a series of functions:
- Organization of a fair and predictable development process through policy and procedure
- Expertise in the blending of public and private incentives
- Facilitation through the city development approval processes
- Mixed-use urban planning and design, targeted public improvements, and preservation of historic and architecturally interesting buildings
- Public relations and marketing to developers and residents
- Guidance and coordination of supportive functions like parking, transportation and public safety
Priority Issue: Living Downtown
Developing Downtown Buffalo as a vibrant and inviting residential neighborhood has been a top priority for Downtown since the very first Downtown Summit in 1994. Downtown constituents now clearly understand that people living Downtown can bring life to the streets weekdays and weekends, day and night, year-round.
The numbers in the progress reports below refer to the map referenced above and also available here (will open in a new window for easy reference).
1. Century Center I
160 market-rate units were also planned for the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors of the former Trico building at Goodell and Ellicott Streets. The developer is now applying for historic preservation tax credits, working on the building shell and core, and has prepared construction drawings for the residential elements of the mixed-use project. Given the viability of the site for other commercial uses the decision to go with housing or not has been placed on hold for the short term while Signature Management Corporation reviews its options and the market.
2. The Watkins Building
Three new housing projects went on Downtown Buffalo 2002! agenda for “Living Downtown.“ The first was a small, six-unit, Pan-American era apartment building on Chippewa Street just west of South Elmwood, purchased and rehabilitated by Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc., a not-for-profit housing organization. Construction on the Watkins Building was completed in summer 2001 and the property is now occupied.
3. The Belesario
The adaptive re-use transformation of the former L. L. Berger department store to a mixed-use residential and commercial project is well under way. The third through the eighth floors of the buildings will be rental housing. The first two floors are now in commercial use. Demolition, asbestos remediation, and design are all complete. Ellicott Development Corporation has indicated that construction of 30 loft-style residential units is ongoing and currently advertises them as ready for occupancy by the end of 2003.
4. New York State Building Code
A fourth project was added to the “Living Downtown“ agenda in 2001 – reform of the New York State Building Code. Downtown constituents identified the building code as an important barrier to the adaptive use of older buildings for housing. When a review by the State Fire Prevention and Building Codes Council was commenced, the City of Buffalo staff worked hard on the technical subcommittee for existing buildings. In addition, Robert Shibley, the Director of Downtown Buffalo 2002!, was appointed to the Council and together with several City staff worked to deliver the international code to New York State, to help develop a rehabilitation code for the State, and to work with the Council to minimize more stringent local standards by individual municipalities.
The result was the adoption of the International Building Code by New York State in January 2003 with a “Schedule K“ on existing buildings, both of which will reduce the cost of the adaptive use of existing buildings by three to eight percent. Local code overlays are replaced by the new code and there is further simplification of code review and permit processes now in place that are based on the new code.
Buffalo R/UDAT 2001
Part of the Downtown Buffalo 2002! campaign progress on Living Downtown involved the American Institute of Architects Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) visit to Buffalo. The team included nationally recognized architects, planners, designers, and developers, who were invited to take a fresh look at a housing strategy for Downtown Buffalo. They emphasized the need to build clusters of housing to create life on the street and generate attendant service retail. They stressed the need to make links between Downtown housing and surrounding inner neighborhoods.
The members of the R/UDAT team saw that subsidies, permit reforms, and technical assistance to developers would be necessary to “prime the pump“ for new projects. They thought a mix of housing prices for a mix of incomes would help create a better Downtown neighborhood. And they stressed the importance of quality. The team identified a number of potential clusters: the Theatre District, the 700 Block of Main Street, and E. Genesee Street as well as the triangle bound by Niagara, Elmwood, and Mohawk, and the east end of Lafayette Square (see www.buffalorudat.org).
The effort to develop an exciting, attractive Downtown neighborhood seems to be gaining momentum. Developer interest is growing. New projects are on the horizon. And the demand for Downtown housing is still bigger than supply. A report of progress was published a year after the initial visit in “Buffalo Responds to the R/UDAT“ by Downtown Buffalo 2002! and is largely incorporated in The Queen City Hub plan.
Priority Issue: Working Downtown
While Downtown takes on new roles, the constituents of Downtown understand that its historic role as a center of employment also needs to be reinforced. At the 1999 Downtown Summit the issue of “Working Downtown“ was a strong number-two priority issue and developing a business growth strategy was the number-two priority project. Office space is a key part of the productive capacity of any Downtown. Changing functional and technological requirements for office users require that Downtown Buffalo improve its office space product in order to grow the employment base.
5. Century Centre II
If closure of the former M. Wile plant on Goodell Street was a blow to the economy, the almost immediate renovation of this building must be seen as a recovery. The adaptive use of the historic 172,000 square foot daylight factory building was completed in 2001.
6. Hampton Inn and Suites
What had been one of Downtown Buffalo’s old and underutilized office buildings opened in mid-2001 as one of the city’s most luxurious hotels. Benderson Development reconfigured the former Jackson Building into a 138-room hotel and suites complex. The project also included the demolition of the troubled 210 Delaware Avenue apartment building once known as The Ford Hotel.
665 Main Street
Although not added to Downtown Buffalo 2002! agenda until 2001, this new office building on a site previously occupied by a vacant single story fast food restaurant is already complete. Its first tenants, the Wolf Group, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, have already moved in.
8. Webster Block Development Site
The recent turmoil surrounding Adelphia Communications has had impacts on the Western New York community far beyond the shelving of plans for the Adelphia National Operations Center near the foot of Main Street. Adelphia’s employees remain, but the prospect of a new headquarters building has dimmed. Yet the crucial fact is that a prime site surrounded by recent or planned developments remains an important resource. The factors that led Adelphia to choose the “Webster Block“ for its operations center – proximity to the Erie Canal Harbor, waterfront retail developments, the Inter-modal Transportation Center, HSBC, and the HSBC Arena – all still apply. New developers are already considering the potential of the site.
Other projects are on the horizon including a new office building now under construction on the vacant parcel at the corner of Chippewa and Main Street. Work on a notable Summit priority – a business development strategy for Downtown – is proceeding. Total Downtown employment will rise by as much as ten percent with the full implementation of the Inner Harbor plan and with full build-out of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Still additional employment may result from the completion of new Federal court facilities.
Priority Issue: Accessing Downtown
Downtown constituents understand that the attractiveness of Downtown Buffalo as a place to work, live, and play is partly a factor of how easy it is to get there, move around, park, and walk the streets. “Accessing Downtown“ was the third ranked priority at the 1999 Summit and five of the top ten priority projects were about access, including a revision of street circulation, parking improvements, and a new look at cars sharing Main Street.
9. Street Circulation Revisions
Although the system of one-way streets Downtown simplified travel at intersections, it also made it necessary for motorists to drive long and confusing loops to get to places that were actually nearby. A pioneering phase of street circulation revisions made Chippewa Street two-way from Elmwood all the way to Ellicott. The first phase of additional conversions made Ellicott two-way from Swan Street to Goodell. Conversion of Huron Street was completed in summer 2002. The phase three conversions of Franklin and Washington Streets to two-way traffic were completed in the spring of 2003. Projected for completion in 2003 is the extension of two-way circulation on Washington and Ellicott Streets from Goodell Street through the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
10. New Lighting On Main Street
To borrow a phrase from the centennial celebration of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, "the light has returned to Main Street." Long-term inadequacies in streetlevel lighting have been rectified through the cooperative efforts of Erie County, the City of Buffalo, and Buffalo Place Inc. Brighter light fixtures and bulbs have been installed for both upper levels and pedestrian levels. The City of Buffalo has also installed similar fixtures along Pearl and Washington Streets.
11. Short-Term Parking Plan
Implementation of a new short-term parking plan is producing the equivalent of more than 2,000 new parking spaces for Downtown. This includes 700 commuters using the expanded Park n' Go shuttle service; a targeted 500 monthly parkers converted to transit use through a new Metro Advantage incentive program supported by the NFTA and Downtown employers; the addition of 505 new onstreet parking spaces; and 450 meters that allow $2/day parking.
12. Erie Canal Harbor and Intermodal Transportation Center
Despite substantial delays due to the controversy over the fate of the historic Commercial Slip, investments in Inner Harbor infrastructure are back on track. A Supplemental Environmental Impact Study is complete; additional archaeological investigation has been undertaken; and a new budget for the project to accommodate the re-watered canal slip has been drawn up. Meanwhile, construction of the new Naval Ship basin and the Veteran’s Park has continued and is expected to be complete this year.
As part of a more comprehensive approach to the inner harbor, plans have called for the Amtrak Station to be relocated in the northern portion of the Memorial Auditorium where it would be co-located with the NFTA Metro Rail. The project has gone through its environmental impact reviews and thirty percent design development with all the funding in place to proceed to construction. A subsequent phase of the project would involve demolition of the Gen. William J. Donovan State Office Building to better accommodate the inter-city bus facilities. As the Erie Canal Harbor plans evolve, however, so also do the plans for the inter-modal facility and Memorial Auditorium. As this plan goes to press the intermodal transportation center is on hold pending the results of additional development plans for the Memorial Auditorium as well as a final determination of what should occur at the Ellicott Street Metropolitan Transportation Center.
13. Metropolitan Transportation Center
The proposed renovation of the bus terminal of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority also includes renovating the office portion of the complex. All of the work is on hold pending lease negotiations and budget issues.The full program has been approved by the NFTA Board pending such resolution. If implemented, the project would greatly enhance the streetscape on Ellicott and Division Streets.
14. Chippewa Street Improvements
Upgrades in basic lighting on Chippewa Street, as well as paving and streetscape improvements, are in design and are awaiting approval of bonding authority before proceeding to construction.
15. Adam and Augspurger Parking Ramp Expansion
Construction to add additional levels to the Robert Adam ramp at Washington and North Division Street is underway. Expansion of the Owen Augspurger ramp on Pearl Street north of Huron is also under construction and will include a mixed-use retail and commercial space on the first two floors.
Other Developments
Besides these projects, there are many other developments on which to report. Within the Downtown core, the new Erie County Family Court Building has recently opened at Franklin and Niagara Streets. A major renovation of the historic Erie County Courthouse is ongoing. And planning has begun for a new U.S. Federal Courthouse.
Beyond the Downtown core, a wide array of new investments is planned, underway, or recently completed. In the Waterfront Village, a second phase of the Gull Landing residential development has recently been constructed. On the Lower West Side, the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority is in the midst of a massive redevelopment of a seven-block area under the federal Hope VI program. The project will replace many of the units in the Lakeview Apartments – one of the oldest public housing projects in Buffalo – with new one- and two-family homes. Comparable work is occurring in the near East Side as affordable housing replaces the “projects“ of the 1960s.
Nearby, construction on the long-awaited new Tops Supermarket on Niagara Street has concluded and funds have been earmarked to renovate the Father Belle Community Center. Ten new homes have been constructed nearby on Prospect Avenue, and Hispanos Unidos de Buffalo has completed its headquarters building. A new grocery store on the East Side reinforces commercial service on Jefferson Avenue.
In Allentown, the restoration of the Allendale Theater has provided a new activity anchor for that popular street. Restoration of the historic reflecting pool, as well as other renovations at Kleinhans Music Hall, is well underway on Symphony Circle. The Mansions hotel has opened in the renovated Sternberg House (more commonly known as the former location of Victor Hugo’s restaurant) at Delaware and Edward. Also, luxury apartments are renting in the renovated former University Club at Allen and Delaware.
The Pillars Hotel has opened to provide accommodation for long-term hospital patients and their families. And work on implementing the master plan for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus is advancing. Across a twenty-year horizon, it is anticipated that as much as 2.6 million square feet of space will be constructed to house bio-medical research and bioinformatics-related facilities on the northeast corner of Downtown.
Return of Vehicular Traffic to Main Street
Planning work is underway on the future of the Main Street pedestrian mall and transit way. An environmental review process for the Main Street Multi-Modal Access and Revitalization Project has been concluded by the City of Buffalo, NFTA, Buffalo Place Inc., Erie County, the New York State Department of Trans-portation and the Greater Buffalo Regional Transportation Council resulting in the selection of a preferred alternative, the phased sharing of the train way by automobiles. The phased program will involve approximately a year’s work in final planning and design and three stages of implementation if the consortium of interested parties is successful in acquiring Federal funding. Design and construction will be phased so that no block of Main Street will suffer through more than one construction season.
