A couple things hit a nerve over the last week architecturally speaking (nothing new there). Looking at the NYtimes a couple days ago I came across a special about new architecture in Beijing and all its bold new buildings. I couldn’t help but visualize the NYtimes covering all the crazy new buildings being built in Buffalo in the early 1900’s-late 1800’s with the bold and controversial Larkin Building, the insanely soaring Guaranty Building, the out-of-context Martin House.

Nowadays, this

crap gets built in the city center and no one gives a shit.

*pic courtesy flickr

I’ve written before about how architecture is indeed more important in Buffalo than it was before as we slightly move away from the “just build something” approach. That idea is still present and I’m guilty of on occasion as well. One may say that its all about money but good architecture doesn’t have to mean art museums and luxury condos designed by Gehry or Calatrava in world class cities. If a developer and an architect have any respect for the ground they build on and respect the ghosts of Burnham, Sullivan, Wright, Richardson, and Saarinen around them they’d do better-especially if you went to Harvard…like the guy who designed this-

*pic courtesy flickr

Buffalo will not have a building boom of Beijing proportions, in fact-it probably never will have a building boom. But things are and will be built in Buffalo, all I am saying is that embracing mediocrity is a self-fulfilling prophecy-whether through public policy or design.

*It would be a nice gesture for the Raptors to indeed play a game or two a year at the HSBC Arena in downtown Buffalo. Certainly they couldn’t expect to get many season ticket holders from the region, but any sports team would love to expand its market and there certainly is little to no interest in the NBA and more specifically the Toronto Raptors.

Make us feel like we’re involved and are a part of the organization’s outreach with a few games here and there and this sports-obsessed area will be all over it-at least when there in town if nothing else.

*I also like the idea of having the Blue Jays (inevtiable new major league affiliate of the Bisons) play one or two games a year at Dunn Tire Park. The Jays don’t usually draw that well anyways, having a sold out 18,000 seat stadium would be a step up from what they usually draw at the Rogers Center during the work week.

*Of course its a give and take. We’ve already offered Toronto our Bills. Perhaps Hamilton will ask us to give them a Sabres game…

Check out a good piece in the Atlantic Monthly about the new distribution of crime in metro regions as suburban crime is increasing while city crime goes down.

The era of the housing project is long gone thanks to high concentrations of poverty, limited access to upward mobility, amongst other things.

With the end of it came section 8 vouchers to all, giving nearly-limitless opportunities to those from the aforementioned projects to live in the suburbs if they so desire.

And with that has come a trend suggesting the almost evenly distributed amount of crime throughout metro regions.

Perhaps a fair explanation of why Amherst crime has gone up while Buffalo crime has gone down?

Although I feel bad for a good family to get stuck with violent drug dealers around their homes I think it is fairly anti-social to assume that crime should be a problem for just a city. Perhaps if it is everyone’s inescapable problem, then society will take a far more thoughtful approach to solving the issues at hand. Perhaps the Sandy Beach thought process will be non-existent in the future.

I’m sure many of you remember Ed Glazer’s article about how Buffalo is dead and it should stop trying. A couple of my planning professors at the time really hoped for an equally thorough and intelligent response to it and it looks like it finally happened…from Richard Florida (!)

Its a great response but maybe slightly optimistic. I’m not sure how powerful a great waterfront and other cultural assets can make young people stay as opposed to simply providing jobs that college graduates are looking for but I do believe that Buffalo can be an overflow-type place for people and businesses that are priced out of Toronto or even Canada completely. High-speed rail would help accelerate such a potential trend. A Schengen-Zone type agreement would really help but that is an impossible feat.

With the aforementioned parks and waterfronts and museums etc etc Buffalo could indeed be attractive to businesses in Canada who want a US presence but see a bad image being attatched to having set up shop in Buffalo but to individuals I find that hard to be a population-adder

Anyways I’m not the expert so enjoy his very thorough look at Buffalo’s positive future…let me know what you think of it.

Oh hai. I have been, am, and will be out of town for a bit. Observations of my travels in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, San Diego, LA, and San Fran when I get back…

Meanwhile here’s an interview with Jordan Levy on WBEN…good to hear about Canal Side coming along and beyond exciting to know that retailers are going to sign contracts in the fall.

Benderson is pushing its Canal Side project at the annual national convention of retailers. Hard to believe it but contracts with tenants should start being signed in 6-10 months and building renderings should be out over the summer. Speaking of Canal Side, the basic elements of it are done and ready to open this weekend. I remember giving downtown a good look for the 1st time ever in 2003 and the whole area was fenced off and barren. Five years later there is finally something to be happy about at the site.

Nice to know things are actually coming together. Not just the infrastructure but the retail tenants. Curious to know what kind of buzz Canal Side is receiving amongst national chains.

And the Galleria is moving along with its expansion as the epic Regal Cinema has finally opened up. Honestly, when you look at the list of retailers to come to this part of the mall, most of them are chains I could never envision even thinking about coming here. I do believe people who are into high-end retail feel better about living in Buffalo knowing they can conveniently shop at Lucky Brand or Metropark, or Coach, or Urban Oufitters, and eat at Melting Pot, Cheesecake Factory, or Hyde Park instead of traveling to find these places…quality of life as they say.

Oh and the Maple Shooting Club retail project by Benderson is rumored to be anchored by Whole Food market (the perfect paradox for SWPL types in the city: “Whole Foods is here! But its in Amherst! Do I go or not?”). Word on the street is that PF Chang’s will also be there too. Interesting…those two tenants suggest more good stuff to follow.

Chipotle e-mailed me back, said that they aren’t looking at upstate NY right now but plan to in the future. Oh well.

Hopefully most of you have had the opportunity to eat at Chipotle at some point in your life. Good stuff…and something that Buffalo should have. A friend of mine told me a week ago about her father’s pursuit of bringing Chipotle downtown only to find out they don’t franchise. For shame.

But…

You can send them suggestions for sites to look into that follow certain guidelines.

I wrote them a lengthy letter suggesting Genesee Gateway and Canal Side and perhaps even Cobblestone Alive as potential sites.

I’d assume the more people send them letters asking for them to come to the region, the more likely they would…so go ahead and write them.

I wish I had a picture of it but I walk by the AM&A’s building a lot and a few months back someone got inside and scraped the white paint off the windows in a reverse-graffiti look to spell out “BUFFALO BUILDS BAD CHARACTER”

Of course BuffaloRising turns it into a ‘cool artsy banner’ for their site that just says “BUFFALO”

Not a big deal, just thought it was fitting that they would do that.

As part of the 500 block renovation process by Rocco Termini the few remaining signs of life on it were forced to close.

But then the financing fell through and now life is back on the 500 block. Most importantly, JP’s Fashions is up and running again selling all the finest fashions.

Perhaps the most depressing building on all of Main Street, selling perhaps the worst clothes-I’ve always had a special place in my heart for this store and apparently it shall live on for years to come.

Paula Polinski must be happy though…