The Pasquale continues to move along quickly in the land of planning/design fail known as Waterfront Village. Not one to rock the boat, this tower adds design features that are ‘in context with its surroundings’. Good for them.

I believe the townhomes are in the stages of being redesigned since the three that are up have struggled to attain much interest. (12 more were supposed to be constructed)

Those beige lines going across the back of the nearly-windowless side of the tower are a fabulous accent too I must say.

It’s great to know that a third and final tower is in the works on the site although I dread to see the renderings. Having a fairly dense neighborhood of wealthy people in downtown is great for the city tax rolls and can possibly make retailers feel a bit more comfortable with investing in Canal Side or downtown/the waterfront in general.

But one day Buffalo will desire a well designed, sustainable city infrastructure and they will look back on our generations and think of us as thoughtless and stupid people for letting such a project evolve into what it became.

The structural steel is coming along at the Federal Courthouse. The two story rectangular base is bascially there while the cylinder is starting to ascend above it. Its a sigh of relief to really see this starting to come along finally.

The Avant project continues to move along quickly. Most of the glass facing north and west is up while little of it is up on the sides facing south and east. With the new courthouse, NewEra, and this leading from city hall towards the corner of Chippewa and Delaware and then going up to 285 you have a pretty sweet downtown boulevard. I’m excited to find out what restaurant takes the 1st floor…according to the website: “a most delectable restaurant.”

Lawsuit? What lawsuit? The Senecas are going at this project like there is no tomorrow with seemingly 24/7 work on the project. What is mostly taking shape right now is the parking garage which should be fairly large onto itself. Next to it is the actual Casino which should be about the same height as the garage. Whatever comes about of the lawsuits and appeals, there is no doubt that in the meantime the Senecas will continue to make big money at the temporary lot. The parking lot is just always packed to waste money away at this little blue shed. Mindblowing.

The final component of the Cobblestone Alive project is moving along swiftly. It looks as if the 1st floor will have some patio space on the corner of Perry and Mississippi. For 1st floor retail the windows end a bit to high up but maybe I’m wrong. Down the block I see no progress with the sports bar “Benchwarmers”. Perhaps their waiting for Sabres season and/or the block to welcome in occupants before starting things up.

Anyone with a remote interest in Buffalo is aware of the casino ruling and the opinions are varied and abundant.

The casino had the potential to serve as an entertainment anchor along with the HSBC Arena to help encourage business. And before you bring the Seneca Niagara analogy I submit to you that their (NF) project was
1. around minimal development
2. brought in revenue to pay for the new NF airport
3. put pressure on surrounding hotels to up the ante or die

One could argue the announcement of the hotel aspect of the project put some extra pressure on the Adams Mark and maybe even the Hyatt to make sure their upgrades were soon and of high quality.

A Buffalo Creek casino could have had some drawing power to developers needing an extra reason to commit to a store or restaurant or hotel on Canal Side. Since Canal Side is to become a regional attraction-having a large facility that draws people who clearly have a burning hole in their wallet who hail from Cheektowaga or Fort Erie or anywhere else around town-would help increase foot traffic at some small to medium scale.

In reference to the Senecas sucking in the poor who live in the Perry Projects or Douglass Towers- I have never once seen a pedestrian go to the casino, I’ve also never seen anyone get off an NFTA Bus to go there while the parking lot is packed all the time…I’m not buying the ‘exploitation of the nearby poor’ theory. Yes, a blue tool shed with slot machines has drawn in some not-so-fancy characters for the most part, but I can’t see the clientele base not evolving a bit after the completed project.

I think gambling is a stupid thing, I resent the fact that Buffalo got such a paltry deal on the project, and I think anyone who regarded the project as a great way to revitalize downtown is delusional BUT I think every project with drawing power adds up to eventually create a much better downtown. The more options one has when looking for things to do downtown, the better it is for everyone. The Senecas are in the game of profiting off of people who want to throw money away knowing that there is some sort of chance that they’ll get some of it back but the sad reality is that most of if not all these customers already waste their money on OTB’s and the Fort Erie Slots and NF Ontario Casinos-if your dwindling tax base wants to waste money, at least give them an option of doing so while giving back to the local municipalities.

To stereotype further, a bunch of old rich people in North Buffalo got together to sue because they feel they know what’s best for everyone else in the area. Whether they’re right or not is debatable. The Cobblestone District will continue to slowly evolve, probably into a quiet, high-rent loft neighborhood with some decent restaurants and cafes but they missed out on a chance to take a quicker path to vibrancy-perhaps a riskier one at that but Buffalo is in a position in which taking big chances might not be such a bad idea.

For a while now, Carl Paladino has been floating around the idea of converting the former Baker’s Shoe store into luxury apartments. The project was announced at the same time of his intentions to redevelop the Courtyard Mall next door.

The Courtyard Mall ended up being the new NYS Parole Office and ideas were floated around last year for the office component (1st floor) of Baker’s Shoes to be a spot for institutionalized people with mental disorders AND luxury apartments on top (concept FAIL). I don’t think that is still in the works. Parolees and the mentally unstable deserve good facilities but it doesn’t quite fit in with what Main Street downtown should have.

Anyways, not much if any work has happened on Baker’s but now that the Courtyard Mall rehab is complete (and oh what a rehab it was!) it might be Baker’s turn now. Apparently a gutting of the facility is taking place now. Hopefully that actually is the case.

The Pearl Street side of the building is actually quite attractive and its a very deceptive structure-I never think of it as a 7-floor building when I see it on Main. Here’s hoping the rehab is underway and that it works-not sure how easy it will be to get people with money to live next to a parole facility.

The final phase of the “Cobblestone Alive” project is coming along as most of the windows above the 1st floor are in except for the ones that are interfered with by the electrical poles (seriously? 21st century and downtown still has some of these?!). Work is starting on the 1st floor exterior and some of the roof was removed for structural reasons.

Movement only beginning in the process of creating “Benchwarmers” at the remaining vacancy at the terminal building nextdoor. Probably no opening till late Summer.

Went to Cleveland and saw their Warehouse District (more on this in a future post). Makes our ‘Cobblestone District’ look like a joke. Nonetheless-this block will be an asset to downtown and should attain some attention since thousands of people from around the region park in front of it 50+ times a year anyways.

City View now has a website devoted to their newest and most exciting project.

Although scattered about and small in magnitude, there are a few new establishments downtown on various 1st floors adding a little vibrancy to each respective block.

The new fancy chocolate place on the 700 block help add some life to this part of Main that has been quiet for quite the length of time. Great investments by Avalon Development have and will help it be a better block. It will be interesting to see if development picks up on this block when traffic gets brought back. It has the potential to be an uppity residential area with low key 1st floor retail.

Fix Salon has opened up in the Ellicott Commons (finally! a retail tenant!) although its mostly tucked into the Commons alleyway it does bring a little bit of extra life to the Commons outside of the Washington Market. Hopefully the sushi restaurant rumors are real and we can see even more life brought to this part of Ellicott Street.

Its no fancy hair salon or chic chocolate establishment but the new credit union at 598 Main puts the humble building on a key downtown intersection at full occupancy-ground floor included! Good signage and although it won’t create a hustle and bustle by its doors-having 1st floor occupancy is a good step towards creating a downtown people can feel comfortable with and trust…leading to future investments.