Stumbled across a link to the official website of the Buffalo City Tower over on the skyscraperpage.com forums.

Fantastic website. Especially for something that in all likely-hood will not get built.

Looking at new images, they spruced up the design of the building and added a big pole to the top for accent. It looks great. The descriptions of the inside suggest it would be quite the classy experience whether you lived, worked, or visited in that building.

I do believe there is a legitimate market for this tower but after seeing how the Statler Renovation has unfolded in regards to the pace of work and the severe union issues-I would be genuinely shocked if this actually got built.

The building design won an honorable mention for best designed buildings not built. Lolz.

In case you haven’t noticed over the years, this whole Mississippi St. project has been my most favorite development project since coming back to Buffalo. That doesn’t mean I’m telling people its anything as good as Toronto’s Distillery District like some other people are-in fact its nowhere close nor will it ever be. Regardless-it is a nice feeling to see the final and most prominent piece of the project come together at breakneck speed after being delayed for seemingly way too long.

PS. Its 2008. Can we bury all our electrical wires now plzthx.

I got my 1st look at the de-skinning of the old Dulski building. Its actually the 1st time I’ve ever seen such a thing happen to a building. Could even confuse some people-perhaps those who stay at the Hampton Inn next door think Buffalo is so backwards that they’re building early 70’s-looking buildings in 2008.

This project is interesting in many ways obviously but it is a good statement that Uniland even after all the buzz about Bashar Issa’s plans for downtown-came in here, proposed the project, got Embassy Suite to run the hotel space and then went right at it while Issa sat on his hands and eventually got exposed for his business practices. Kudos to Uniland for understanding the market and aggressively pursuing this project.

The fencing is off and now the current phase of the Inner Harbor revitalization project is nearing a close. I mentioned before that the overall urban design is very good and it should be a really popular spot when the weather warms up and when retail arrives (heh.)


The museum looks pretty good, and there seems to be a 3rd floor patio…I remember reading something about a cafe being part of the museum. And the interior of the museum itself looks pretty good too. Small…but good.

I’ve gotten different stories on whether or not the remaining land that is fenced off (all on the HSBC arena side of the Inner Harbor) is about to begin the laying out of the infrastructure (streets, central wharf, etc) or its contingent on other factors related to the Bass Pro development. I’d love to see that massive amount of land get done with already.

Construction keeps chuggin’ along at Waterfront Place as there is only one more floor of to add to the condo tower.

The first few of the townhomes are done and although they’re not great they are at least less anti-social than their older neighbors aka the properties are right up to the sidewalks and not hidden by common surface lots and shrubbery.

Really excited to see how depressing the CBD side of the condo tower looks. So far so good…

Yeah, yeah…BRO beat me to it but I took the time to take the darn pictures so I might as well post them.

It looks like it will be a great addition to the area especially with 1st floor retail. Morissey’s could use some visible competition to send some people down that block.

Still sad that we waited all this time for construction to start because Savarino was awaiting state approval for condos and then there ended up just being 1 floor of apartments.

Nonetheless…it will be great to see this block complete and really start to see a flow (albeit still lackluster) in the urban fabric from the Inner Harbor down to the Cobblestone District.

Its my first day back in Buffalo and I’m greeted with the news that Bashar Issa will in all likely hood not build the City Tower due to his construction workers becoming unionized. Newell who apparently is Bashar’s appointed and/or self-appointed hype-man makes this out to be a situation in which unions are holding back Buffalo and poor Bashar, losing lots of money in court to try to sway the pendulum his way-money that could have been spent on his skyscraper.

I’d have to disagree. I saw a bunch of the construction workers hanging outside the Statler a month ago and for the 1st time in my life I thought to myself…”Are these people SERIOUSLY working construction?!?!” Kids my age, younger than me, people who look like they have no clue what they are doing…I was even thinking of working for them after seeing such a sight. He came into town saying promoting the fact that the BSC Group has their own construction company-making it easier to get projects done when it fact it meant he has lots of really cheap, unskilled workers.

If unions are the real reason Bashar can’t do the City Tower then he is clearly a liar in regard to his personal wealth.

And as I’ve said in previous posts-the BSC Group moves as slow as molasses to do any of their proposed projects with only a few being completed in Manchester as of today.

So finish the Statler and accept the fact that in Buffalo, construction workers are unionized-and usually for a reason. If you can accept that, build the City Tower. If not-go back to Manchester and don’t come back.

Hooray for adding some more infamous people/projects to the post-modern history of downtown Buffalo.

Welcome back indeed.

I’ve seen this graphic on the internets a few times, and it came up again today on BuffaloRising. Good stuff.

I’m not sure who came up with it but I assume its what some planners see as an ideal Buffalo and not an actual Buffalo…ever.

Not to be a Debbie Downer but lets make some sense out of this graphic.

-The public infrastructure changes are somewhat possible but highly unlikely. Where will the money come from to make the 190 at-grade or below ground level? Where will the money come from for an underground Amtrak tunnel? Where will the money come from to tear down the City Court Ramp, the Convention Center (and therefore build a new one), and return Genesee Street to its original design?

-Why are all these skyscrapers in the CBD? Nothing about Buffalo’s economy suggests a boom in CBD office buildings. There is a legitimate future for some serious office development in the northern end of downtown because of the potential success of the Medical Campus but the CBD? Don’t think so.

-So after observing the evolution of the Buffalo skyline over the course of 200 years, the next century provides us dozens of skyscrapers that dwarf City Hall even though we are entering a wireless society that renders central business districts and tall office buildings almost obsolete? Getting City Tower will be a huge achievement unto itself-getting dozens of legitimately tall buildings-thats a whole other animal.

Planners are optimistic by nature but come on. A realistic view would have the street grid partially brought back to Ellicott’s intentions, modest 10-20 story building filling in a respectable amount of the many surface lots in the CBD.

Dealing with the 190 and making the Waterfront less of a gated community will be near impossible as Waterfront Village continues construction on more anti-social housing and as NYS gets into higher and higher debt with no fundamental changes in the business climate in sight-seeing the 190 go down is quite a pipe dream.

I’m barking up the wrong tree here, but I know that there are a lot of people who woke up this morning, saw this graphic on BRO and said to themselves; “Yup! We are truly witnessing a renaissance!”

Construction officially began on the final component of the block of industrial buildings interrupting the flow of surface lots in the cobblestone district. Originally just lofts, now its mostly offices. With retail on the 1st floor and residential on the second.

And the 1-story building between the two warehouses should be adding a “European Bistro” this summer. I’m prediciting a cafe/restaurant/bar coming into this final rehab too…the block should become a modest post-game attraction when completed.

Not to sound like a complete design-dork but I’m really feeling the new landscaping and such going on by the commercial slip. It might not be the most authentic of urban designs but its a well done “historic recreation” and should be a nice break from the monotony that is typical urban design in the downtown area surrounding it.