An Amherst developer wants to build an 80-room boutique hotel on Buffalo’s Elmwood Strip.
There really isn’t THAT much room there, is there? I’m trying to picture it. The new psychiatric center is somewhat far back from elmwood, but still doesn’t leave that much room.
the apartment building I live in (16 apartments per floor) would fit in that spot perfectly. As for where they put the parking lot…that’s a different story. :gotme:
right across the street from the psych center. theres a tourist attraction if i ever saw one.
actually the psych center is a big deal. the original building is an architectural masterpiece
and with a birchfield penny art center going in on elmwood right in front of the psych center, this could be good for expansion
ehh either way its nice to see more development in the city :tup:
I bet Buffalo fucks this one up too. Like maybe they wont give him the electricity he needs for a hotel, or maybe theyll pull some other shit.
I think its great and needs to get built right away even if they do not make some of the changes I think it needs…
HUGE PLUSES:
Underground parking
developed at curbside
Downsides:
Suburban look, fake & cheesy ornamentation, needs to have more of a corner presence with an attractive doorway on the corner. Larger windows, especially on the ground (retail) level. Floor to ceiling would be best.
I think with some minor design changes it would be great, overall i think the look is cheesy, but the benefits outweigh the downsides big time.
Between this and the new burchfield penny art center, I hope this inspires development of the HH Richardson complex. (cough new conference / boutique hotel / restaurant center??? cough)
"Parking for more than 50 vehicles would be under the structure, with a handful of surface spaces in the rear. "
yea, and the drool adds character 
quick copy/paste of what i wrote to someone yesterday who was “protesting” it on myspace:
Why is this so negative? I don’t understand. Granted the 105 year old building is a loss that I wouldn’t like to take. But weigh the possibilities. The proposal has 2-3 ground-level retail units and a cafe. It will, if done right, attract people to the area, thus promoting business. All while housing a few small businesses itself. What is skunk tail glass, mondo video, etc doing for elmwood? They’re not making much money. They’re not bringing about any expansion that would generate more revenue for buffalo. they have been in the same sad state for the 20 years that I’ve been alive, and have gone nowhere.
Also, the building looks pretty attractive, so it’s not like doing a disservice. It could possibly help the revival of that part of the block. There is a plan to go in for a median on that block, roundabouts to slow traffic down and promote pedestrian traffic, and also they are supposed to put a Birchfield Penny art center on elmwood in front of the psych center. this could spar development, why hold it back with dead businesses?
there is a saying in urban planning, “anything that is proposed will be protested.”
not to mention the jobs it will create.
and it’s not like elmwood is packed right now. there are a lot of available spaces. kunis, feel rite, the tanning place, the elmwood market at potomac, the old curves or whatever, etc.
so if these businesses are doing well, they will still do well to move a few blocks down and continue. if they are failing, they’re not helping anyway, and if they close, it makes way for other growth
i think it’ll be good for all the parents visiting buff state students, the closest hotel to there is almost downtown
The houses that contain mondo, HOD, home of the hits, etc are not architectually significant in any way, shape or form. They are standard, run of the mill 1900’s houses that can be found all over buffalo.
They are also all set back from the street, and do not promote good urban design, not to mention not one of them is handicapped accessible.
I do however believe that these businesses should have first dibs on the retail space located within the hotel, and should be offered the same or comparable rents to what they are paying now.
There are not many people against this hotel, the preservationists, the rationalists, everyone is pretty much on the same page. They are hoping for some simple design changes on the hotel itself, but other than that… its going to be a great and much needed addition to elmwood.
It will be great if this does happen… But like most have said the city will fuck this one up…
Sweet… now the patients have somewhere else to waddle around instead of the Buff State Campus
i was hoping that block would add storefronts. that’s what happened in the other thriving parts of the street, they were mostly originally houses too, with storefronts added on.
these businesses and rental units in the proposed hotel area have just been surviving, so unfortunately the funds aren’t available.
so this could drastically speed up the expansion process to that part of the block.
i’ve noticed in the past year alone the bidwell to bird block is coming up slowly but surely.
Elmwood has an awesome atmosphere, this can do nothing but help!
very interesting. i think i like it. doubt it will ever happen though.
You’re persistant optimism is sure to help 
lol, yea.