Canalside Buffalo

Sabres, Soccer Could Spur Arena District

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Thursday will be the first opportunity for many Sabres fans to see the team’s new scoreboard in person, among other improvements made at KeyBank Center. 

The new scoreboard is a massive improvement, literally and figuratively, for the building. Pictures don’t do it justice, it’s a stark difference in size and quality within the seating bowl. Few, if any, who questioned the need for a new scoreboard will have those questions answered when they see the new screen in action. It is a truly impressive addition. 

With apologies to the work done on the roof, the scoreboard is the first major step the club has taken in an effort to renovate their 28 year old building. Future plans for the structure remain unknown, but Pete Guelli hasn’t been coy on the subject and I won’t be surprised if more work is to come next offseason. 

In the meantime, it’s possible that the Sabres will have a new neighbor, one that could tie the area around the arena and Canalside into a more cohesive arena district. 

Buffalo Pro Soccer is down to their final two locations for their stadium site, and The Buffalo News lots are one of the two finalists. There’s a long way to go yet, and it’s entirely possible their other location is where they aim to build, but the potential for the club to call the Cobblestone District home could serve as a shot in the arm to further development in the area. 

Continue reading →

Time for the next step after the debut of Ice at Canalside

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It was almost five years in the making, but the historically aligned canals at Canalside were finally opened last night marking another milestone in Buffalo’s waterfront development.

As was to be expected, the crowd at Canalside was massive and the numbers patronizing the new skating venue will likely continue to swell over the next few weeks. All told, this was a huge victory for Canalside, the Erie Canal Harbor Corporation and Buffalo as a whole. While one night doesn’t make for guaranteed long-term success, I hope that the ECHDC are spurred to get the next piece of development done well ahead of schedule.Canalside

The three parcels that sit on the South Aud Block are shovel ready with plans for Explore & More to take up the largest of the three parcels with a restaurant and information center to occupy the other two, respectively. An RFP was issued for designs last year and now ECHDC is seeking a developer for the site. They even have pretty pictures which may or may not have no bearing on what the chosen developer builds.

Proposals from developers are due by January 9 and the ECHDC RFP notes that first round interviews will be held on or around January 22. So as of now, we’re well over a month away from identifying the developer for this site. The good news is that Explore & More has always been operating on a 2016 transition to the Canalside site, something noted in the ECHDC RFP documents. Putting two and two together tells me that once a developer is chosen, it shouldn’t be long before we see concrete being poured and structural steel rising; so long as ECHDC learned their lesson with the canals. Continue reading →

Canalside is Finally Nearing its Potential

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If you get the chance, take a drive down to Canalside this weekend. Every square inch of concrete has been poured on the historically aligned canals and yet another major milestone has been reached by the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation. Now it’s time to wait.IMG_3563

Aside from the literal waiting that will accompany the concrete’s 28-day curing process (per The Buffalo News) it also appears that we will be waiting for the next significant move from the ECHDC. Tom Dee is always careful with his words but he never hesitates to reveal significant items when the opportunity presents itself. Yesterday’s development was no different as Dee said that Canalside is well past it’s tipping point.

I have to disagree with his sentiment. This is the tipping point. Continue reading →

Connecting the dots between Hofbrauhaus and Canalside

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It’s been a long time since this much news has come out about Canalside in such a short period of time. Aside from one small announcement that ECHDC will be waiting to develop the north portion of the Aud Block it’s been all great news for the epicenter of Buffalo’s waterfront development.

The building on the right will be bringing a beer garden to Canalside within the next year and it might just be the home of the previously announced Hofbrauhaus.

Today’s news included a report that Pizza Plant will be occupying the ground floor retail space in One Canalside and adding another food and entertainment option to the area around Canalside and the arena. The best part of that news is that there’s potential to see Pizza Plant open and operating right around the same time that HARBORCENTER and (716) open their doors.

Another report indicated that Pizza Plant and (716) will have company along Washington Street as Benderson has begun to work on developing a yet to be unnamed beer garden for the South Block. The Buffalo News report says the beer garden is at least a year away, which would probably slate it for a late-2015 opening. Continue reading →