Walking up Washington Street, I saw some people in street clothes casually walking into the AM&A’s building. A double take was much necessary on my part. Turns out there were about a dozen people hauling out all sorts of random furniture arrangements from what remains of “Taylor’s”.

Does this mean that the rehab into apartments is imminent? Probably not. But the fact that New Horizons has bothered to stabalize the building a bit and now pretty much gut out the inside makes one think that they are serious about it…as slow as they might be.

UPDATE: So much for that… turns out that the materials being removed were what Taylor was supposed to have out before selling the building. No redevelopment plans have submitted to City Hall either. However, New Horizons has brought on another developer as a consultant though. (Info courtesy of WCP)

Waterfront Place is really coming along quickly. The townhomes are about done and bones of the condo tower are taking shape.

Rumors of a third tower after this one is finished. If so…you gotta belive/hope that there is finally some sort of retail component and overall urban design elements that make this place not be so anti-social. I feel genuinely uncomfortable walking here…as if I’m intruding on their god-granted wish for privacy/exlucivity.

LOLcatz are sweeping the internets these days. I was excited to see one with an urban planning angle…

Why stop talking about the Bills just yet?

Two things of note:
1. If we kept Travis Henry instead of Willis McGahee, not only would we have had a better running back but we might have turned around those depressing population trends…He can’t play now because of a so that would do the Bills no good. But that just gives him more time to bring Buffalo back to its 1990 census figures.

2. Willis McGahee might sound incoherent and mildly retarted, but when he is translated, he has some good lines like in this Washington Post interview.

On Wednesday, McGahee — who also criticized the quality of Buffalo’s restaurants, nightlife and women — was asked if he wished he could take back some of the comments he made, particularly the one about the team moving. His reply: “Oh my goodness, who said that? I don’t know what you’re talking about.

As you are aware, the Bills are looking to and seemingly will play one preseason and one regular season game a year in Toronto. Its a good deal. The Bills don’t have to fly to Munich or London for a game to meet their Internation requirement. The Bills get to attempt at getting people in the Greater Toronto Area interested in the team and maybe make the 1.5 hour (on a good day) journey to watch a game in Orchard Park.

Maybe this is a secret plot to move the team to Toronto permanently. Thats fine too. I’d still watch them/care about them. A move to Vegas or LA would make me never want to watch football in general ever again.

The GTA is about 5 million people and constantly growing, the Canadian economy is strong. Not just for the Bills but for business in general in the Buffalo area, Canada and the GTA in general is our future. If the local powers that be are smart and agressive, Buffalo’s Canadian influence can go beyond Labatt and Hockey Night in Canada. Have great train service to Toronto, have quick and efficient border inspections, and promote Buffalo as a cheap way of having back-office or head-american offices while having quick and easy access to Toronto at all times.

Willis McGahee is smarter than you think

Here’s what the Canadians are saying:
National Post
Toronto Globe and Mail

John Rzeznik is moving back to Buffalo. Cool. But honestly, if I were him I wouldn’t. Everywhere he goes some middle aged woman is going to stop him and tell him how handsome he is and that “Iris” or “Better Days” is the most beautiful song ever and it changed her life completely. Everyone will want to make conversation and take pictures and get autographs and if he ever says “no” he’s letting down “his own people.” I’m sure he gets that everywhere but in Buffalo its’ gotta be at a whole other level. But hey, maybe he likes that.

John is a big downtown booster. The band spent a lot of time upstairs in the Century Grill while writing their last album while also living in an apartment downtown.

Welcome back.

Pretty huge project announced yesterday in Rochester. As Spitzer tours cities across NYS announcing state committments to various projects, he announced yesterday that the state will demolish Downtown Rochester’s “Midtown Plaza”. A shopping plaza that has really been going down the drain for a while. To replace the shopping center will be PATEC’s HQ’s, bringing in “1,000 or so” jobs in a “12-35″ story office tower.

“It could be anywhere from a $40 million to a $100 million project for us,” said PaeTec’s chief executive, Arunas Chesonis. “We want restaurants, supermarkets, condos, apartments, all kinds of things [built around it], just what you would want if you’re in the middle of Boston or Austin or San Francisco.”

I must say that something about this project smells fishy on PATEC’s part. The vast range in estimates of job growth and building height are a little fishy. Also, there’s no need to tear down all those buildings since there is no market demand for it. In fact, the Midtown Tower looks pretty decent. All I can think of when reading this is Adelphia.

But if this does actually happen, its great for Rochester’s downtown. Buffalo has been getting all the awesome development projects lately, the ROC deserves a couple thrown at them too.

That’s the gist of today’s front page article in the Buffalo News about all the good news happening downtown lately and in the future.

An article like this helps certify the fact that I am indeed not insane for believing in what is happening and what is in store for downtown Buffalo.

Even since I’ve come back here in the Summer of 2005, I’ve seen some serious although modest private sector investment consistently. Its beginning to snowball though. The small rehab project here and there is turning into block of rehabs (500 Main, Genesee Village), big rehabs (Statler, AM&A’s) with surface lots becoming office towers (285 Delaware, BCBS, City Tower, 50 Court), with the public sector finally getting serious and making sure things like the Courthouse and the Inner Harbor and the Peace Bridge actaully happen.

It’s good to know that sooner rather than later-Downtown Buffalo will be a place that the region can get excited about. Maybe it’ll put Sandy Beach out of a job? Maybe.

One of those rehab projects downtown that really makes you feel the tide turning. Its quite the good feeling to walk up Pearl Street with a spruced up/full of life Webb Building. Boy was there drama and even a life lost but Termini didn’t turn out to be a corrupt evil man afterall. In fact he’s quite awesome for his devotion to making downtown a place to live. His next project will be his most important one yet- 500 Block of Main!

If you’re an architecture junkie you’ll probably love the exhibit going on at the Albright-Knox right now. A small but interesting collection of drawing from the likes of Libeskind, Gehry, and Neutra. The big piece of the collection is this huge spanning series of drawings of the World Trade Center master plan by Libeskind. Really fascinating to look at.