Canalside

Despite obstructionist claims, HARBORcenter will be an asset

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

You simply cannot have nice things if you live in Buffalo. I’ve only been around for 27 years and my interest in downtown development is far shorter than that. But I’ve seen enough to know that we simply cannot have nice things.

After winning a RFP process that only had two submissions, the Buffalo Sabres are preparing to break ground on a massive new development that will bring a brand-new hotel, twin rink and parking facility to the foot of the city’s new waterfront district alongside the preexisting arena district.

Multiple entrances and attractions certainly add up to a barrier, no?

Apparently this just isn’t historic enough for some people. Maybe Clinton DeWitt tossed a handkerchief out on this site when he wedded the waters or maybe a member of the Cotter family placed their outhouse on the northeast corner of the Webster Block back in 1847. Who knows? All that matters is protecting the historic integrity of the city and obstructing any project that looks, smells or sounds progressive.Tim Tielman’s complaints about the HARBORcenter project aren’t just obnoxious – as is common practice for him – they’re downright maniacal. To say that this dynamic project designed to draw people to the center of Buffalo’s newest entertainment district on a year-round basis is going to cut the city off from the waterfront is asinine. The gall of constructing a multi-level parking structure that can house a vast majority of Thursday at the Harbor fans along with those patronizing the ground floor retail of this building is beyond ignorant. How could the Sabres and city perpetuate such nonsense?

Just imagine what this lot could be if Tielman and his placemaking, crowdsourced gang of nincompoops got their hands on it. We could celebrate with temporary tents, functional lawns and deck chairs as far as the eye could see.

HARBORcenter isn’t just a hockey complex. It is a multifaceted addition to a burgeoning portion of the city. If anything, Tielman is completely contradicting the nature and scope of this very project.

Continue reading →

Changes along Metro Rail should come to Canalside

Chris Ostrander2 Comments

Another mild winter has not only kept snow off the ground in Buffalo, but has afforded pleasant weather for construction crews working in various sections of the city. One particular project that has gone into full build-out is the “Cars on Main” development that is preparing the 600 Block of Main Street for automobile traffic.

As detailed in this Buffalo Rising post, the 600 Block construction is well underway and should be completed within the calendar year. As that project is set to end, the 500 Block construction will be set to begin. Planted in the middle of the 500 Block designs are renderings for modern replacements for the current Metro Rail stations. Continue reading →

Canalside public hearing coming soon; but what about more construction?

Chris Ostrander2 Comments

Don’t worry, Buffalo. The waterfront you deserve is well on its way and will arrive in 2031. That is if everything goes according to plan.

ECHDC is set to hold a public hearing next Wednesday, December 5 to discuss and detail the revised master plan for Canalside. For those of you who have a vested interest in the development of this fair city and the waterfront, this will be a great event to take in. Unfortunately my work schedule will not allow me to attend.

However, the revised master plan is available for public digestion on the ECHDC website (www.eriecanalharbor.com) and is certainly worth a look. It details nearly everything one could think of regarding the current and future development of the parcels surrounding the Buffalo River. It also details the expected date of completion, 2031. That’s right, in just under 20 years Buffalo should have the waterfront it deserves. Twenty. Years. Continue reading →

Disappointing changes made to Pond Hockey

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

The Labatt Blue Pond Hockey Tournament has been a welcome event in the middle of the last few Buffalo winters. Taking notes from it’s older cousin in Eagle River, Wisconsin, the Buffalo tournament has truly become a must-play for any beer leaguer in Western New York.

As is the case with sport in Buffalo, things have rarely gone according to plan. The tournament has been plagued by bad ice, warm weather and many hiccups. 2012 was the climax of various hurdles over the first five iterations as the Inner Harbor didn’t freeze and the tournament needed to change over to a street hockey format.

The tournament organizers are obviously trying to combat that by building in additional fail-safe methods for the upcoming tournament. However the changes being made have a very disappointing tone to them. The tournament will change from a weekend long event to a one-day marathon of hockey and the registration process has also changed from first-come first-serve to a lottery process. Continue reading →

Canalside should piggyback on Perry Street proposal

Chris Ostrander5 Comments

The proposed Perry Street streetscape project really got some wheels turning for me. The proposed improvements will not only directly impact the businesses in the Cobblestone District, but it will serve as an aesthetically pleasing entryway to the Ohio St. corridor and, more importantly, Canalside.

Take this logo, illuminate it and place it at the front door of Canalside.

A point made in my post on the Perry St. proposal included the need for Canalside to eventually get permanent, significantly eye-catching signage for the district once the major construction projects are completed. While there is no doubt of where you are upon arrival to the neighborhood, replacing some of the temporary banners with permanent and dynamic signage should be first on ECHDC’s to-do list. Continue reading →

Dynamic Perry Street project should be fast tracked

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

A super group of business entities that occupy various areas around Canalside and the Cobblestone District have joined forces in hopes of adding streetscape improvements to Perry Street and the area around Canalside.

As reported by Buffalo Rising, Seneca Gaming, the Sabres, Savarino Companies and HSBC have all voiced support of a project that will connect Canalside with its neighbors around the larger arena and entertainment district with an impressive set of streetscape upgrades.

From the Buffalo Rising report:

The primary goal of the project is to enhance the visual appeal and experience of the corridor and to link the areas entertainment and retail connections. Design highlights:

  • Widen the pedestrian corridors by shifting parking away from the sidewalk in some locations and using unique and sculptural screening elements to buffer the lots. The screening elements would be reminiscent of the area’s industrial past.
  • Provide unique and consistent catenary street lighting to visually reinforce linkages between destinations.
  • Use artistic lighting accents and aerial lighting canopies over crosswalks to highlight key nodes.
  • Install curving and colorful pavement design to evoke a waterfront theme and allow for seating opportunities, landscape buffer treatments and trees.
  • Plant a double rows of trees on each side of the street to create a canopied walkway with permeable concrete and structural soils beneath to establish desirable growing conditions.
  • Use cobblestone materials for benches, planter curbs, and other features to unify the look of the street with the rest of the Cobblestone District.
  • Improve street aesthetics and safety with new safe pedestrian crossings, line-striped crosswalks, and pavement overlays, including well-defined and buffered bicycle lanes.
  • Utilize wayfinding signage to provide directions to pedestrians, drivers and cyclers. Continue reading →

Change to Canalside parcel isn’t all bad

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A few weeks ago ECHDC made an announcement that appeared to be a significant scale back of a portion of the Canalside development. They have since clarified their stance on the portion of land that makes up the space immediately south of One Canalside and the development parcel known as the “South Block”.

The original reportspointed to a plan that would not only minimize the water element of the parcel, but eliminate the potential for development of the South Block. However, ECHDC stepped up and clarified their stance, pointing to a re-worked plan for the area more so than an overhaul.

The circle indicates the next portion of Canalside that will be constructed.

On Friday, Buffalo Rising came forward with more details on the project and how it will come together. The canal will indeed be scaled back to more of a shallow reflecting pool on a canal path. However, there will be elements added to the canal path that will alter the way it will look.Rather than to simply toss in another historically aligned, but ultimately faux canal, the majority of the canal will be covered with a paved tree grove with only a portion of the canal pool being exposed. As BRO details, channels will run through the grove so that the water will still be visible.

When ECHDC clarified some of their planning for this, Tom Dee explained that he saw this as becoming a very cool place that people will want to hang out in. I have to say that I agree. While I originally bemoaned the thought of another piece of the master plan being significantly scaled back, I now feel that this will be addition by addition. I’d say addition by subtraction, but this is actually adding quite a bit more to the space.

The addition of the tree grove and paved portion of the canal should actually serve as a far more effective link between Washington St. and the rest of Canalside. In addition, it will also confine the potential pitfalls of not building One Canalside out to the curb. Rather than the space between One Canalside, the South Block, Washington and Main being relatively sparse; this will actually add a bit more density and should also give more of a reason for people to mingle. Continue reading →

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

Chris Ostrander2 Comments

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 →

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

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

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 →