Those don’t look very warm and inviting… 
The artspace project has been in the works for a few years… And I say any money coming to buffalo is good money.
Its proven that the creative community, or creative class if you will, drives the economy in most cities… The more people we get living downtown, the more businesses will come downtown to support the new residents, and the more money we will see being invested into the city. I would much rather the gov’t put money into affordable housing within the city versus bringing giving money to Bass Pro.
:bsflag:
Give my company 1/16th of that money I will move it to Buffalo and give 1000x the return that low rent artist housing will give.
Do the same for 15 more companies and see a HUGE return.
Have you made any calls to city hall? You may be surprised, they really seem to be trying to give incentives for businesses to come back to the city. New Era is moving thier headquarters here, when they were considering moving elsewhere, I am sure they had support from the city. I really dont think people are just going to knock on your door and hand you money without some major effort on your part. (I am not saying you havent tryed, Im just saying in general).
I am still a firm believer in getting people to live in the city first, and the rest will fall in place.
Artspace is going to change a whole neighborhood of this city… that is a huge impact, on top of the businesses that will be supported by the residents.
The creative class drives economic growth.
Also, I believe the ground floor of the building is being setup for retail storefronts for the artists.
This isnt a new thing… this NFP (Artspace) has been getting these places setup in many other cities and they have been extremely successful in turning around neighborhoods, and driving the local economy, as well as supporting a class of people that in many cases, really need the support.
I just don’t think one industry should be targeted whether it’s art or Bass Pro.
Buffalo is a blue collar city, I just don’t see the return on $16 million for the arts.
When bills need to be paid arts and entertainment are the first thing you cut from your personal budget and the government should do the same.
Coffee shops in artsy fartsy neighborhoods don’t drive economies they compliment them.
To have a successful art community you first need people with money near by.
Arts have turned around neighborhoods in successful cities not in failing cities like Buffalo.
I can agree to disagree.