CorEy.
Buffalo is just fine. People just need to be more optimistic right now and for the future.
The Main place mall was a huge mistake, suburban style shopping in an urban downtown setting, on a road that has no cars. durrrrrrr.
You might be a pessimist, but downtown is waking up, you’ll see.
WORD.
285000 and falling every year. And of those, how many want to be there vs how many that are stuck there because their propery values have fallen so much they simply can’t move?
Don’t get me wrong, I want to see Buffalo turn around, and I think it is slowly, but it will never be amazing without major political reform at the local and state level. It’s a fact that it costs too much to do business in NY and that will the reason that you’ll never see a huge influx of businesses.
The casino will bring people downtown, so will the Sabres if they keep playing well. Higgins seems to have some pull and the waterfront is a big issue for him so that’s a huge plus. The 190 and 33 provide good access into an out of the city, and removing the 190 tolls only helps that. Galisano added some stability to the Sabres, though the talk of increasing the salary cap again next year makes me question the long term viability. The medical complex is promising, as are the high end apartments.
So we’ll see. I’m certainly not hoping to see Buffalo fail because having a thriving city is only going to help a suburbanite like myself. Property values go up, salaries go up etc. If Amherst gets too crowded with those big city increased high property values I’ll just sell and move farther out. 
Now i don’t wanna say anything…but letting something from 1880 get in the way of today/tomorrow is exactly what is wrong with the precious city. It is and will continue to be its own worst enemy.
Doesn’t surprise me at all. They did the same thing when Panos wanted to expand.
That would have been a crazy bad spot for a hotel. It would have been nice to see some devolopment but it would bebetter to see them refurbish those houses now instead.
make a mass transit mall…
extend the subway underneath it…
tie in the bus systems
private buses to and from the airport (buffalo delays :tdown:
130000000 is a lot of money for buffalo… a huge mall would not only attract other “outdoors” stores but attract all walks of life to buffalo downtown area…
something to do before sabres games and other events…
skyroofs/glass walls facing the water, food court
just a few better ideas in my opinion
also, if you live in buffalo, there arent any good malls “close”
gal,blvd are both drives :tdown:
Coming from a hick type home town, I can attest that people do flock to Bass Pro Shops from far away, there are plenty of people that drive numerous hours to the closest one and from what I heard the one planned for Buffalo was to be one of the best in the US.
I think it would bring revenue and people, but I also agree in this thread as to why the fuck was Ralph Wilson Stadium not built downtown. It would have been a better idea to have it closer to the actual city.
Hopefully some new changes can come about…
where do you live? I live on Elmwood and the drive to the Galleria or Blvd is only a 10 minute drive given theres no terrible traffic.
there’s a Cabelas about 30min. from where i live (same type of place as Bass Pro) and its always packed, people drive hours to come to it, always RV shows, tent sales, other outdoors exhibits going on. Its not just a sporting goods store like dick’s.
Are you joking? It would have been a prime location for a hotel. Tons of tourist attractions, right in the heart of a shopping/entertainment district, less than a half mile from a thruway, etc.
Agreed, the Cabelas on the way to Michigan is always packed, and they have an enormous parking lot. Any day/night its always full
is not that its a “far drive” or that it bothers me at all… its just that a subway/bus/shuttle via airport would bring mass people on a regular bases and not only create jobs at the mall but also for the people who make it all happen estimate approx 5000 new jobs… :tup:
Deal reached on Bass Pro store
By Sharon Linstedt - News Staff Reporter
Updated: 03/29/07 12:22 PM
A deal has been reached to bring a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store to Buffalo's waterfront.
The Buffalo News has confirmed the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. is expected to approve an agreement for a Bass Pro store on the former Central Wharf site, directly on the Buffalo River.
The deal is the linchpin in a $250 million private/public initiative to redevelop Buffalo’s Erie Canal Harbor District, with the one-of-a-kind Bass Pro store as the retail anchor. The store is expected to be 120,000 square feet, about half the size of the store originally planned for the old Memorial Auditorium.
“This is the real deal. We have money, we have a developer and this is going to happen,” said a member of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. board of directors, which negotiated the agreement.
The vote will take place at a special meeting of the harbor development panel scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday.
The agreement is “a completely different animal” than the Memorandum of Understanding, unveiled with great fanfare in November 2004, according to the panel member, who confirmed the deal on the condition of anonymity.
“The '04 announcement was made on a wing and a prayer and it turned out to be just another plan, just another photo opportunity. This is based in reality,” the source added.
The agreement forecasts a spring 2008 construction start, with Bass Pro and other retailers opening by mid-2009 on the five-acre site, which is bounded by Scott and Main streets, the historic Commercial Slip and the Buffalo River.
In addition to construction of a Bass Pro store, designed to resemble a circa 1800s commercial building, the plan also calls for an adjacent cluster of retail shops, linked to a 300-car parking garage.
An Erie Canal/Great Lakes Museum, waterside promenade, public plaza, and a linear water feature on the former site of the Prime Slip are also part of the blueprint.
Under terms of the predevelopment agreement, Bass Pro would receive $25 million in public funding to open a waterfront store. Bass Pro would be required to pay a common area fee of $300,000 a year to help support the Erie Canal Harbor district.
The deal also provides the city with $10 million to pay for demolition of the vacant Memorial Auditorium, which had long been the hoped-for site of a Buffalo Bass Pro Shops store.
Buffalo-born Benderson Development will act as the project’s developer, overseeing construction of the outdoor store and additional retail on the waterfront site, as well as mixed used projects on the Aud site, Donovan State Office Building site, and the vacant Webster Block, in front of HSBC Arena.
The development process “will necessarily” include fresh environmental impact studies to evaluate the feasibility and appropriateness of bringing the mix of retail, entertainment and historical venues to the site, according to the harbor panel source.
“There is a process to be followed and we will honor that process. There are no final designs at this point, so there is flexibility in making this work,” he said.
For full details, see Friday’s Buffalo News.
Wow and I just was thinking the other day that this was shot down and never to return again.
AWESOME! GREAT! …uh, this store won’t benefit buffalo nearly as much as they think it will.
Let’s get some real developers in this city.
Im so tired of hearing about that place, I cant wait till they build more just to have another vacant building in 2 years.