Canalside

Lighter, quicker, cheaper. Code for smaller, dumber, ineffective

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

I know dumber shows my prowess of the English language, but bear with me on this one. I had a long rambling post half written before I left work but all of my writing disappeared. So I get to start from scratch.

A while back I had a very productive conversation with a writer whose opinion I value greatly. Especially in the matter of development. We discussed a whole matter of topics ranging from the Outer Harbor to the Larkin District. However, the meat and potatoes of that conversation dealt with Canalside. The person’s name is Andrew Kulyk and he recently wrote a fantastic column regarding this topic for WNYMedia.net. Some of what is to follow will be quite similar to what Andrew wrote, mainly because we share a very similar opinion.

First I should thank Andrew for writing the column to give my brain a kick in the ass to write this post. I have been mulling over it for some time and I am now finally putting pen to paper….or fingers to keyboard in this case. Continue reading →

Buffalo continues to move backwards

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In 2013 HSBC’s lease will run out at the HSBC Tower in downtown Buffalo. The corporation is looking at numerous options in and around the city in addition to remaining in the tower.

The tower is the tallest building in the city and dominates the skyline. It isn’t pretty but, its tall and is a valuable commodity to the city. One prospect that seems to be high on the bank’s list is a new build near the existing Atrium building across the street from HSBC Arena.

This choice is apparently contingent upon the city deeding a piece of property on the Webster block to the Erie Canal Development Corporation. They, in turn, would sell/lease/whatever the land to HSBC for the new build. I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure the parking lot across from the Arena is involved in all of this too. Continue reading →

This is why we should hate preservationists

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Read this story from Buffalo Rising – and please come back to my site to read my post too.

I would like to extend a warm thank you to Mark Goldman, Scot D. Fisher, Bruce L. Fisher, Susan M. Davis, Stephen C. Halpern, and Elizabeth P. Stanton for taking steps to block the only potential development occurring downtown.

I know there are numerous revitalization projects but, this Canal Side project was going to create a major destination for people coming to Buffalo. I have written previously that Bass Pro is not the silver bullet some people think it is. It doesn’t have to be. It should be one brick of many that goes towards rebuilding Buffalo. Continue reading →