Posting again from my hideout in suburban Buffalo, the City Where Great Ideas Go To Die. Whether it be a signature bridge, major waterfront zoo, or Bass Pro on Lake Erie(gee, a fishing store on a Great Lake - who would kill that idea). Yep we would here in Buffalo.

And now it’s the Seneca Casino in downtown Buffalo that the nitwit, crackpot obstructionists kill off. Once again a vocal minority throws around a ton of lawsuits to stop something positive in the community until one of them actually succeed in destroying it.

What the hell does this have to do with us? I don’t know, part of me is venting against morons who are doing their damndest to maintain Buffalo’s negative status nationwide. But I suppose it’s also a reminder to me of all the casinos that we’ve passed by or stopped into on our travels.

We don’t gamble…stop that, we gamble very little and certainly don’t make a point to do so on any of our sports roadies. Yet we’ve managed to stumble into quite a few along the way. Two in St. Louis….one in KC……Vegas obviously….and a stop at the Greektown Casino in Detroit the night before the final stop(12/02) @ Ford Field where I hit a slot jackpot for $2500 - and haven’t bothered to hit one since. And those are casinos I remember being in, frankly.

And it hits me as I write this just what a nonsense position these anti casino folk have taken on this issue. Allow me to tear it to shreds using the above.

“A casino will only draw locals, not tourists” - Bullsh*t, I’ve been to more casinos than I can think of as a tourist visiting a town. You know darn well people who come into Buffalo from the outside will most certainly hit that place. A businessman, a gang of visiting team’s fans going to a Sabres/Bills game…they’re heading there. You know it, I know it. Cut the crap.

And as far as locals go, the ones who will lose the most business aren’t other restaurants, bars and such. It’s those bingo halls, Monte Carlo nights at the church, and the scratch off tickets at the Wilson Farms that’ll take a hit. Tit for tat, simple as that.

The strange thing is, amidst all of the talk in the aftermath of Judge Skretny’s decision no one has brought up a major factor as to why the demand for casinos in Western New York came to be. The photo below will be a huge hint.

When Casino Niagara opened late in 1996 it was a smashing success raking in the coin by the millions. No doubt in huge part thanks to all of the Western New Yorkers who took their hard earned money made on this side of the border and spent in Canada.

The casino was a great addition to the Falls, so much so that they added a permanent one nearby, and opened a smaller operation in Fort Erie as well. And hence came the idea of “Hey, why not one over here! If people are going to spend casino money, why not build one here so the money stays here!!!”

Yep I know, the deal that the City of Buffalo made with the Senecas and the state stinks. In a perfect world(which the delusional obsNIMBYwhackos see as the only solution possible) the city would see more than the 5 to 7mil that they’re supposed to take in.

But remind me again how much money did the City of Buffalo and the City of Niagara Falls get from the Canadian casinos when they were the only place to go locally? Empty pockets….zero dollars…..nil….nada….zilch….nothing….which is less than a few mil last I checked.

It’s this line of thinking, the notion to keep dollars where they are made that got Detroit it’s three casinos, and when people’s heads clear it will be this line of thinking that gets Buffalo it’s newest attraction. One that brings in people from out of the area, one that increases options for entertainment in downtown Buffalo, and one that keeps some of the dollars here in the area.

A privately financed 330m$ investment at no cost to the taxpayer? On land that no businessman would touch with a ten foot pole? And we’re saying no????

Welcome to Buffalo, what can I tell you….where great ideas go to die.

Peter Farrell

The new “lifestyles” center renovations at Walden Galleria are really starting to take shape, and tonight I had a chance to drop in to a VIP party at the Regal Cinemas, with 16 stadium style theatres and all the modern amenities.

I was totally floored. The opulence is amazing, from the marble tiled flooring to the neat architecture and splash of neon colors to the high tech LED boards at the ticket kiosks and the concessions stands. It is one jaw dropping and eye popping facility.

Even better, the entire new section buildout of the mall, complete with its faux “Main Street” outside is rapidly coming to its finish. The new parking deck is open, and the old one has been given a much needed facelift. When all this is done, it will be THE shopping and entertainment destination in Western New York.

And again, I harken and recall the days in the late 80s when the NIMBYs and the unions and the kooks and assorted macadamias tried to do everything in their power to stop this mall from every happening. Thankfully they weren’t successful, and being on the front lines fighting for the mall back then, I had a front row seat to all the bullshit and obstructionism that went on.

But those freaks didn’t disappear. The names change, but the Tim Tielmans of the world and do-gooders trying to stop the Amherst Town Centre project always truck out the same tired crap - the noise, the traffic, the rats, the migratory waterfowl, the stench… blah bah blah blah.

If you haven’t seen all the recent doings at the Walden Galleria lately, come out to Cheektowaga and check things out!

-Andrew Kulyk

Sitting smack dab in the middle of downtown St. Louis is a gigundous hole in the ground. Right where the old Busch Stadium used to stand.

When the new Busch Stadium opened its doors in 2006 right next door, the old stadium was torn down and plans were trumped for a new “Ballpark Village”, a $700 million mixed-used retail, entertainment and residential district to be developed in partnership by the Cordish Company of Baltimore and the St. Louis Cardinals. The development is slated to cover six city blocks and directly connect to the new Busch Stadium, and will feature 360,000 square feet of retail/entertainment, 1,200 residential units situated in three towers, and 300,000 square feet of office space.

Well here it is almost two years later, and real work has yet to begin. And according to this article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the prospect of having a substantial part of this neighborhood open and ready in time for the 2009 All Star Game is looking very bleak.

I love this quote from the piece:

Complicating matters is that the city has approved two development agreements — with different specifications and time lines. The first, drawn in 2002, is binding on the Cardinals. The second, approved by the city Board of Aldermen in February 2007, is binding on the Cardinals-Cordish partnership. That agreement, however, is not in effect because it hasn’t been signed by the parties.

Is it me, or does this sound just like the Bass Pro nonsense coming out of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation?

What is missing from the St. Louis equation is their version of a piece of crap like Tim Tielman to start throwing around lawsuits. Come to think of it, couldn’t we call that Bowling Museum which is the last remaining building standing on the old Busch site, “sacrosanct”?

St. Louis leaders and officials from the Cardinals are putting the best spin on this as they can, saying the MLB All Star Game, set for July 7, 2009 at Busch Stadium, will go on and viewers around the world will see construction cranes in the air and how all is well in St. Louis. That is, of course, assuming they actually get this thing off the ground.

Meanwhile… back outside HSBC Arena… I see they’ve fenced off the Donovan Building so work can begin on demolition, and things are at least stirring around the Aud. For now I’ll take some solace in knowing that this shit, the lack of progress, the inertia, the months of inaction that stretches into years and years, doesn’t only happen in Buffalo.

As I walked out of HSBC Arena after the Sabres morning skate, I noticed that there is quite a bit of activity going on at the block just east of the arena.Note photo above… the old blacksmith building on Illinois Street is being gutted and is open to the elements. Have no idea what is planned for these buildings but I hope it is something cool.

And on Mississippi Street, the old Benlin Warehouse, to be reborn as Cobblestone Lofts Offices/Restaurant/Apartments/Mixed Use, was a beehive of activity today, with machines excavating outside and workers going in and out.

This is such an amazingly cool block of structures, in all likelihood the last intact block of buildings from the heyday of Buffalo’s Inner Harbor. Incredibly, the Sabres wanted to flatten this entire block for parking when the arena was going up. Thank goodness they didn’t get their way on this one.

It had been six years since we visited the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, so weren’t we surprised to see the incredible transformation that has taken place around that arena’s neighborhood.Back in 2001, this glitzy and glamorous venue was surrounded by plenty of vacant parking lots, the adjacent convention center, expressways and off ramps, and a newly opened light rail line with a station a block away. Otherwise it was a pretty barren and windswept scene down there.

Now fast forward to 2007… a new development district called “L.A. Live” is well underway, a $2.5-billion residential and entertainment district covering six blocks. Just opened across from Staples is the NOKIA Theatre, a 7100 seat live venue, and going up is a 54 story Marriott “headquarters” convention hotel. Other hotels, lofts and condominiums are in various stages of construction or completion. New broadcast facilities for ESPN, a 14 screen Regal Cinema, Club NOKIA - a 2200 capacity nightclub, other retail, restaurants and exhibition space are in process.

Meanwhile back in Buffalo’s Inner Harbor and HSBC Arena neighborhood…Legislator Tim Kennedy recently trumpeted the release of $7-million in county funds for Aud demolition, carrying on like he had cut the check out of his personal funds. The Aud still sits boarded up, the Donovan sits empty, except for the lazy state employees who smoke on the loading dock… Bass Pro has yet to sign final contracts beyond the MOU… the first person has yet to walk on that quaint bowstring bridge across the slip, the one you see behind all the construction fencing. In a few weeks, the ECHDC will surely have another meeting, and Larry, Mindy, Jordan and Rep Brian will tell us how everything is just ducky. “It’s coming, you watch!”

When? … 2011? Anyone? Anyone? 2013? 2017?

I check out ElmwoodBuffalo Rising pretty regularly - the city development articles are enlightening, the food stuff OK, and the rah-rah-riness is always served with extra sugar. The most entertaining part of most of their pieces come from the commenters - the regulars on that site have got to be the stupidest collection of knuckleheads ever.

Evidently, one of the commenters made it to the big time with his very own reader submission. And right from the get go, the article discussing where to place a new football stadium in this region devolves into mush and loses all credibility.

Why, you ask? I will tell you…

If you want to build a new stadium with the same size and configuration as Ralph Wilson Stadium, here is what you will get… a 70s era facility with few amenities or creature comforts, dank narrow concourses, few open public spaces, no architectural significance, and an obsolete facility from the get go. Today’s modern NFL stadium doubles as a convention facility, a retail hub, a multiuse year round structure with diverse applications. Now, take Arizona’s University of Phoenix Stadium, Houston’s Reliant Stadium or St. Louis’ Edward Jones Dome and superimpose those on a map of Buffalo, and you can begin a sensible discussion. My guess is that any one of these buildings have a footprint 50-60% larger than that of The Ralph.

And as usual, the BRO family of kooks come through with their banality in fine form…

Chiknlil….Let’s find a place that is attractive, but protected from the weather. The last thing we need is the perpetuation of Buffalo as a cold wasteland whenever we are featured on national TV.
Wasn’t there a plan to put a covered stadium in Lancaster, just south of the Thruway? What happened to that idea?

Attractive and protected from the weather… How about South Beach? And yes idiot, there was an idea for a covered stadium in Lancaster… in 1969!!!

Read on…

Bison 716…I say Niagera Falls is our best bet!!! A Super Bowl is more likely to happen there, maybe the Olympics (winter-most likely) the fact that the “BUFFALO Bills” (remind you…BUFFALO) is asscociated with Niagera falls is great for our city, as long as we can figure a way to get rail from downtown to the stadium.

A Super Bowl in Buffalo? The OLYMPICS??? What medication is this guy taking?

RiaingDamp666…Why not build stadiums at all of the locations above and let The People decide which ones they want to go to. That’s the democratic way, isn’t it?

Ugh, how do you even respond to that?

I am ashamed to admit it, but I actually used to post comments on BRO. I got off that kick about a year ago at least.

Mark at our sister site All Things Buffalo offers a reasonable take on how we should proceed with the stadium plans. As usual, Mark is spot on. Then check out the comments… Steel, the flamekeeper of the BRO Amen Corner, proceeds to pick Mark apart.

Buffalo’s HSBC Arena and Tampa’s St. Pete Times Forum have several big things in common… Both venues opened at the start of the 1996-97 hockey season; both were built on the edge of the downtown core; both were built close to the water; and both were built in the middle of challenged development areas screaming with potential.

But 11 years later, while Buffalo still fiddles with getting sites development ready, deciding what to do with the skyway, signing final agreements with Bass Pro and recruiting other retail outlets, here in Tampa it is a very different story.

In the past few years, “Channelside”, the neighborhood around the St. Pete Times Forum, has exploded into a burgeoening 24/7 live/work/play community. Two luxury hotels, a Marriott and Embassy Suites, tower right next to the arena. Bars and restaurants are occupying what used to be vacant space. Down the street “The Shops at Channelside” straddles the water with retail, restaurants and bistros. High rise and mid rise condominiums dot the skyline, either open or under construction. The signature Florida Aquarium glows in the night air. Beautiful streetscapes and a nice park lines the channel directly behind the rink.

As I walk out of HSBC Arena, onto the empty and windswept streets, look at the empty hulks of the Aud and Donovan, and reflect on the stupidity, the incompetence and the failure of what is collectively Western New York, it just makes me want to weep.

Here are some photos of the excitement that is Channelside in Tampa… Get a gander of how to develop a vibrant and exciting sports venue district…As you look at the pictures, be mindful that none of this existed ten years ago.

The Marriott right behind the arena

The Shops at Channelside, with cinemas, patio bars, restaurants, bistros, all densely packed in quaint narrow streets and hugging the channel.

The Teco trolley connects Channelside with the Ybor City Historic District, 2 miles to the northeast

Embassy Suites, just east of the arena

Another shot of the Shops at Channelside, looking towards the downtown skyline

Straight ahead is the Florida Aquarium. And check out the art deco parking ramp on the left. Yes Tim Tielman and Donny Osmonde, an above ground ramp in a historic district. Oh the horror, the horror!

The cool new scoreboard at the St. Pete Times Forum (I like ours better)

OK OK it’s not exactly a sports story, but from time to time I chime in on downtown Buffalo development news, especially when it involves the neighborhoods around our sports venues.

Yesterday Savarino Construction announced that they were no longer planning to rehab the old Benlin Building on Perry and Mississippi into 36 loft condominiums. Instead they are going to go “mixed use”, still planning restaurant space on the ground floor, and office space on floors 3 through 5, and I hear Empire State Development Corporation will be the tenant for two of those floors. The second floor will remain saved for 9 residences, but they will now be apartments.

Of course, the Buffalo Rising crowd is cheering this on as some wonderful bold stroke for the city. Check the comment board in another day or two, and the nonsense there will devolve into arguments how the doors should not be painted eggshell white and how we need an IKEA. But my opinion is very simple - while I am glad to see rehab work at long last start on this magnificent structure, the final use of thie building is not a win for the neighborhood.

Office suites are fine and dandy, but at 5PM everyone shuts the lights off and books for the suburbs. Second, this is not some influx of new jobs into the city, just a shuffling of downtown tenants, leaving vacant space for lease elsewhere. Third, the dwarfed residential component again serves renters and transients, and not investors who want to buy into city living. The original plans for the building had a ground floor workout room and a rooftop patio and garden. Now it’s just nine apartments wedged in among offices. Blech!

I’ve been eyeballing downtown real estate for almost five years now, with the idea of moving back to the city core someday. Yes I’m knee deep into Cheektowaga politics, and it would be soooooooooo hard to walk away from all that (sarcasm intended). The fact of the matter is, downtown housing today caters to three markets - the luxury buyer (think Waterfront Village 350K and up way up), the luxury renter (think Bellesario), and the low income renter (think Holling). There is nothing to cater to the middle class buyer, who wants to spend 100-225K on cool digs in the center city. Cobblestone Lofts would have been the first project to cater to that niche. I am convinced they would have sold out in a week.

These plans were first unveiled and approved in 2005. My guess is that the developers re-crunched the numbers and found that they just weren’t viable. There has to be a reason that guys like Obletz and Termini rehab all these structures like the Webb, 210 Ellicott etc. and turn them into rentals. That’s where the money is.

*Sigh* So I sit here check in hand for the new place I want to buy, that cool and funky and trendy space that I am chomping at the bit to find. And my thoughts turn back to Cheektowaga, where I am in town government and now knee deep into an overhaul of the Town’s Master Plan. And I have been putting forth this idea - imagine the creation of a downtown Cheektowaga centered by the Galleria Mall and its new lifestyles center. Mid rise condos, office parks, trails, greenspace and micro parks, all densely packed and creating a vibrant and exciting “live work shop play” environment.

I’ve shared the concept with my partner Pete. His reply? “Ya think your good ideas are ever going to fly in Cheektowaga? Bwa-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!”

It’s been one bit of dreary and depressing news after another this past week for Buffalo’s Inner Harbor project. First comes the story that Bass Pro is waving the white flag and moving off of the central wharf, and now looking at the Aud and Donovan sites instead (translation..forget about Bass Pro. Then the ECHDC holds their latest meeting, and lay out a timetable for demolishing the Aud and the Donavan building, and it looks now that 2009 is the EARLIEST that these blocks will even be development ready. The NYSDOT is ready to move on plans to rebuild Route 5 through the Outer Harbor, but nowhere is there a plan and concrete timetable for closing and demolishing the Skyway and building alternative routes.

Depressing, disgusting, pathetic… the two state authorities, the DOT, and our elected officials can’t seem to get out of the way of each other and move things along.

Meantime, over in St. Louis, there’s Ballpark Village, a $650 million mixed-use retail/entertainment and residential district being developed in partnership by The St. Louis Cardinals and The Cordish Company. Ballpark Village will cover six city blocks that will directly connect to the new Busch Stadium, which opened in the spring of 2006. Ballpark Village will feature approximately 450,000 square feet of retail/entertainment, 1,200 residential units, 300,000 square feet of office and 2,000 parking spaces. Located in the heart of downtown St. Louis, MO, Ballpark Village will be a world class district that will redefine the Gateway to the West.

And guess what? They are breaking ground soon on the first phase of the development, which is now a cleared site on the spot where the old Busch Stadium stood.

My question is this? Why is St. Louis able to demolish their old venue, clear the site and have new development shovels in the ground less than two years after the final game was played at the old Busch? Yet here it is, 11 years and counting since the Aud saw its last event, and the boarded up, vacant eyesores still stand, with redevelopment timetables pushed back over and over again.

To our readers outside of Buffalo who don’t get the daily hub-bub, the news here is that the kooks and obstructionists are coming out of the woodwork to try and derail the exciting plans for the rebirth of the Inner Harbor next door to HSBC Arena.

Our friend Buffalo Pundit has an excellent post which lays out a common sense dialogue to the entire issue. Some excellent posts replying to the main article as well.

Our position is simple… this land has laid vacant and empty for 50 years…a signature retail destination such as Bass Pro, ancillary development which is certain to follow, buildings designed in 19th century wharf style, life and energy and people on the streets year round in a vibrant Cobblestone District. Enough procrastinating… just get it done!!!

Above are two renderings of the new Bass Pro and related development set for the central wharf next door to HSBC Arena. Check out the 19th century period architecture!

It’s front page news here in Buffalo - the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation today inked a “pre development” agreement with Bass Pro to construct a 125,000 sf retail store on the waterfront next door to HSBC Arena. This will be the retail anchor for a comprehensive mixed use development which should dramatically change the look of the arena neighborhood in the coming few years.

Looking at the renderings - part of me is thrilled, and part of me is looking at this with a feeling of trepidation and dread. What will go wrong now? Supposedly all that is standing in the way is the standard environmental impact review, and once a negative declaration is issued, it is all systems go. Nonetheless, I will believe all this when I see a shovel in the ground. I’ve seen Buffalo’s hopes and dreams dashed too many times and that is where my skepticism comes in.

And sure enough, Tim Tielman from the local preservationist crowd is already chiming in, calling the renderings “an abomination”. As a reminder, this is same posse who tried to move heaven and earth to prevent Dunn Tire Park from being built in the 80s… they much would have preferred to maintain the few derelict vacant buldings and litter strewn parking lots over a beautiful baseball stadium.

Anyways, the urban planner in me is jacked up and I am just a fountain of ideas…. so rapid fire here goes:

1) The renderings show the skyway gone; $10MM is set aside for Aud demo; and the Donovan Building is now vacant and slated for demolition this year. So how about fast tracking the Skyway closure, and start bidding out asbestos and mold remediation for the Aud NOW! Demo all three structures at the same time, and have development ready sites all in place for immediate build out.

2) They are leaving the skyway piers in place, according to the drawings. So light ‘em up, turn them into dramatic sculptures. Imagine laser lights and other special effects offering a symphony of light each night.

3) How about leaving the Terrace Street lobby entrance of the Aud intact. The size of the structure would be proportional to future development, and it would leave a bit of Aud history in place.

4) I would love to see a dramatic new Canalside light rail station - with weather protected access for arena patrons.

5) When can we see construction of that low rise bridge at the foot of Main Street, presumably connecting to the new Fuhrmann Blvd in the outer harbor. Get that bridge built and open and that land the other side of the Buffalo River becomes HOT PROPERTY.

Here is more from The Buffalo News. Also, Jim Fink has an update from the ECHDC meeting this morning at Buffalo Business First.

This is a circa 50s photo of the Inner Harbor, with the Skyway under construction. With today’s plans being released, the new look would resemble what things were like there two generations ago

Here in Buffalo we might covet an exciting and vibrant downtown core - something like Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, but over in Baltimore, they covet something that WE have (and no I’m not referring to Willis McGahee and his progeny). They would love to be in the rotation for an NCAA basketball event, and as Baltimore Sun columnist David Steele points out in his column, Baltimore does not have the facility to support a tournament of this magnitude. The 45 year old First Mariner Arena in downtown Baltimore was once the home of the NBA Baltimore Bullets, but that was a lifetime ago.

One quote from the column:
“This time, Maryland and seven other schools traveled to drab, bone-chilling Buffalo, thin on top-notch hotels and nearby amenities….”

Ouch!

No amenities? Perhaps next time we need to get the good Mr. Steele up to Fort Erie and a visit to the Canadian Ballet. Or maybe he was in a surly mood because his Terrapins got themselves a good whoopin’!

Back in February we ran this Puck Stop column in Artvoice, called “A Blueprint For The Aud”, which examined the trials and tribulations that the Montreal Forum went through in its transformation from a hockey arena to a multi use retail and entertainment facility.

This week, our colleague Jim Fink at Buffalo Business First broke this story indicating that Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown now wants the Aud torn down, and wants it done soon. I chatted with Jim at the hockey game last night, and he confirmed that this is all in the pipeline, and also that asbestos removal and demolition preparation will be starting on the adjacent Donovan building this summer.

But whether the Aud is saved or demolished, it will still require massive dollars for asbestos removal and environmental remediation, no?

So that’s why this post by Queenseyes at Buffalo Rising Online really got me excited. Very simple premise - gut the Aud and turn it into a massive parking facility. It would service downtown retail and business during the day, HSBC Arena and Dunn Tire Park at night, and free up every frikkin’ surface lot down there for new construction.

Memo to Mayor Brown, Congressman Higgins and the powers that be at the ECHDC… can we give a good look to this idea? Can we get moving on it NOW!

Rendering above taken from Buffalo Rising

In mid December the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation released this sexy sketch of their vision for the Inner Harbor neighborhood, right outside the front door of HSBC Arena:

At the same time they gave Bass Pro, who has been designated to rehab the shuttered Aud into a mega store, a 30 day deadline to sign on or take a hike.

The 30 days came and went, everyone involved said talks are still ongoing and then said sure… let’s give ‘em more time!

All we hear now from the ECHDC is the sound of crickets chirping. Oh yeah, and Congressman Higgins got some funds released for an environmental impact statement for that low bridge (bottom of sketch) to take cars over to the Outer Harbor and Fuhrmann Blvd. Don’t expect to actually see such a bridge in place much before 2012, if even then.

In twelve days, we will be welcoming thousands of visitors to Buffalo for the NCAA basketball tournament. Just as in 2000 and 2003 and 2004, those visitors will have nowhere to walk to in the immediate vicinity of the arena for things to do. The LRRT ride up to Chippewa will take them past the shuttered Aud, shovel ready lots in the Main/Swan area, an empty Main Place Mall and a boarded up AM&As, boarded up eyesores in the 400 block, and finally by the most decrepit Hyatt in their entire chain. It is so depressing.

By now I am almost pining for Dennis Gorski’s old Horizons Waterfront Commission…this entire saga is yet another chapter in the failure of Buffalo’s leadership.

So as long as we’re presenting beautiful sketches and pie in the sky design ideas for Buffalo’s waterfront and the Cobblestone District, allow me to present mine:

The replica bowstring bridge is now in place over the rewatered Commercial Slip, just a block and a half from the front door of HSBC Arena.

Can you see the remnants of the foundations in the foreground? This is a special and hallowed place. Here is where America’s commerce and industry met and pushed westward in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a hustle and bustle of ships, grain mills, docks, bawdy houses and residences, and now will enjoy new life as the restored Canal Side Inner Harbor project.

I can’t wait until this is all done. I can’t wait to come down here on a warm summer Buffalo evening… to reflect on the old Buffalo, and to let my spirits soar and imagine what the new Buffalo can become.