Author: Chris Ostrander

Calling Cobblestone: Take some hints from the Distillery District

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One of the most under-utilized neighborhoods in the city is the Cobblestone District. Hampered by the pair of massive arena lots that occupy two of the blocks that make up the area, the District itself is little more than on square block of densely packed buildings.

Once before, I explored some ideas for the Cobblestone District and it was on a relatively big scale. Rather than recycle thoughts from that post, I want to explore how to duplicate the Distillery District in Toronto in the existing structure of the Cobblestone District.

The view of the boarded smith shop (right) and other properties in Cobblestone that are ripe for development.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Distillery District, it is basically a pedestrian-centric neighborhood that occupies a very well-preserved whiskey distillery in Toronto. It is located a short drive from the proper city center and has an interesting mix of gallery space, boutiques and restaurants. The pedestrian-first design is quite popular thanks to the size of Toronto and nearby residential space. In fact, there are a pair of modern, high-rise residential (and mixed-use hotel) developments currently being built in the area. Once those projects are complete, the District will be a historic neighborhood with an industrial feel that serves a number of large populations driven from the new builds in addition to others coming from downtown.

What is truly brilliant about the Distillery District is not only the historical integrity that has been upheld in the core portion of the neighborhood, but the willingness to allow contemporary additions to be made to the area. In fact, a number of the new builds have taken facades and other pieces from former buildings that previously occupied specific locations. To specify (see pictures), this isn’t an adaptive re-use, but a new building basically constructed with some of the bones and skin from the older buildings included. Surely ideas as progressive as this would make such preservation fore-runners like Tim Tielman soil their trousers. Continue reading →

Hasek statue should follow the French Connection

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Friday was supposed to be a truly impressive evening. Combined with the home opener for the Buffalo Sabres, the team would also unveil the centerpiece of the new alumni plaza with the French Connection Statue.

With the end of the lockout nowhere in sight, the home opener has been cancelled. But the statue unveiling will go through as planned and it should still serve as a wonderful way to honor three of the franchise’s greatest players.

The likely pose for the future statue of Hasek.

From the very brief and obstructed view I got of the statue, it looks impressive. All three players are prominently featured and the layout should provide a unique view from just about any angle. Depending how the structure will be lit, I expect that the statue will be very impressive at night.

The next step will be identifying who else will join the French Connection in the plaza. Thanks to this week’s news, the next addition should be Dominik Hasek.  Continue reading →

Change to Canalside parcel strips potential development, Because it’s Buffalo

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More public green space and less room for commercial development; that’s exactly what Buffalo’s central waterfront development project needs.

Business First ran a storyabout a pair of changes that will be made to a parcel of Canalside property in the next 12 months that will significantly alter the density and urban feel to the area. The change will also make a significant alteration to something that so many preservationists fought so hard for.

The canal and parcel on the left side of this photo have been drastically altered by the ECHDC.

The portion of the Donovan Building property that fronts Scott St. between Washington and Main was originally supposed to be the home for a low-rise strip of development with a canal roped between One Canalside (Donovan Building) and the “south block” as it is called.

The ECHDC has now decided that property is better suited to serve as additional green space with shady areas to sit. What about the canal? That will now turn into a reflecting pool – which is pretty much what the re-routed canals are anyway thanks to the Hamburg Drain.

To review, the ECHDC has deemed that a parcel of potential retail and commercial development replete with a canal just outside of the building will be better off as a lawn with a pool of water that will likely be shallower than what the foot-and-a-half canals will already be.

Canalside was enjoying plenty of positive momentum thanks to a year of actual development announcements and the commencement of other projects. Between the construction on the canals, One Canalside being in full swing and the announcement of HARBORcenter, Canalside was not only becoming a central location for serious development but was gaining the critical mass that the region has been waiting for since the first master plan was unveiled for the area. Continue reading →

Extra Point: History is made out west

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If Taylor Swift was a Bills fan, she would have a limitless collection of material. She probably could have written a few songs based on Sunday’s performance.

Buffalo shot out to the West Coast for their second-straight game against a member of the NFL elite and came up with their second-straight black eye. While the team is only 2-3, the way they have gotten to that record has been cause for concern – or outrage, depending who you are.

There is no reason to rehash the numbers from Sunday’s loss. Any and all media members will be pounding those numbers down your throat in a similar manner that the 49ers run game pounded the football on Sunday. However, the second-straight historic let down is nothing to ignore.

Entering the year, the defense was expected to be the strong point of the team. As of now, even the new-and-improved front four have been invisible. There were some who saw the linebackers as a major weakness and others who had lingering questions about the secondary. Some even had fears that both of those units would be the downfall of the defense. As of week five, everyone is right.

Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 2.2 – Locked Out

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The lockout is indeed on. While the CBA arguments went beyond the September 15 deadline, regular season games have now been cancelled and this has become a very real thing. Eric and I sat down to discuss the lockout, solutions for it and a host of other topics. We tackle the Alumni Plaza and, of course, play a little plus/minus.

Apartment opposed, because it’s Buffalo

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Buffalo just can’t seem to get out of its own way. On a week in which preliminary work appears to have begun around the Webster Block and actual testing of lit grain elevators moved forward, another project was announced that would inject private funding and add people to a growing part of the city. It took less than 24 hours for the preservation crowd to condemn the thought of this project.

The background here dates to early 2012 when Sam Savarino purchased the decaying Erie Frieght House on Ohio Street from Great Lakes Paper Fibers. Savarino’s purchase came shortly after a large portion of the building collapsed and was subsequently condemned by the city. The Freight House received local landmark status just prior to Savarino’s purchase.

Savarino now has plans to demolish the 150+ year old structure to replace it with a 48-unit apartment building that would front the river. Of course, there are some out there who bemoan the $15 million project and contend that the Freight House survive.

The Buffalo Rising story shows Savarino’s has done his due diligence and that the building is beyond the point of stabilization for reuse. Naturally, Preservation Buffalo Niagara says the building could indeed be stabilized and rehabbed. Continue reading →

With projects underway, time to clean up small features of Canalside

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Since the grain elevators are now expecting a slight makeover, what comes next for the waterfront? Considering the projects that are already in progress there is a somewhat vacant hole as to what the next project may be.

With the faux historic canal construction in full swing, along with the Webster Block and One Canalside building projects, the inner harbor is nearly at full capacity regarding the projects that are underway. For Canalside, the only area that remains untouched, to this point, are the “functional” lawns that can be sold as parcels to interested developers. Continue reading →

Lighting the grain elevators, great step forward

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Things are happening on the water, it’s true. Slowly but surely the critical mass along the Inner and Outer Harbor is growing and it would seem as if there is indeed a rhyme and reason to what is happening.

Despite claims that the “slower, dumber, cheaper” approach has been a silver bullet unto itself, attention around Canalside and various properties on the Outer Harbor has grown to a height that has yet to be seen. The most recent example being the test lighting of a grain elevator last night. Continue reading →

All the Kings Men

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Jessie Cohen and The Royal Half both invited me to guest on their 30 NHL bloggers from 30 NHL teams in 30 nights mission. I was lucky enough to have them ask me to be a guest on the show and it was a fun 15-minute interview. Check it out by hitting the link.

Amerks (Sabres) Season Preview: Forward thinking

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Looking around the hockey world, there are plenty of players getting bumped off rosters due to the influx of skaters and goaltenders previously slated for the NHL. The effect will be felt across Europe and particularly at the AHL level.

While individual AHL teams will benefit from skaters on entry-level deals making their way down to the developmental league, the players who would have typically battled for one of the final roster spots are likely destined for other locations.

Rochester serves as a perfect example of this as a few tryout players and summer free agent signings have suddenly found themselves on a roster with a lot more talent than originally expected.

Marcus Foligno and Cody Hodgson were each expected to be in Buffalo to start the season with Luke Adam, Kevin Porter, Nick Tarnasky and Corey Tropp were all expected to at least push for a roster spot with the big club. Now, those six join 14 other forwards who now face a much more daunting task in making the AHL club.

Those who are most affected by the infusion of talent are; Riley Boychuk, Maxime Legault, Jonathan Parker, Frederick Roy and Jamie Wise. Boychuk and Parker each saw time in the ECHL last year, while Legault has stuck with the organization on AHL contracts over the past few years. Roy and Wise each made a positive impression at development camp, but are behind far more skaters than they would have been after their camp performances earlier in the summer. Continue reading →