Big Plans for AM&A's

There is the ability to add additional floors...another 2-3 of those penthouse type apartments would go nice

though would be nice if they re-opened the street...if only for pickup and drop off...I bet they will fully reopen the street when this section of Main Street gets reopened to traffic....but as I said...they could re-open the street now for pickup and drop off and temp parking...that would help alot.

I reallize probably on a tight budget but would be nice if the large sized windows facing Main were also on the (what is it eagle) and washington side facades.

Oh and just a little touch...dont know how it might upset the preservationists but since these lovely big windows on the historic facades on eagle street are so beautiful...and echo what can be seen in many other cities...a nice touch would be a wrought iron railing with a small balcony, perhaps on one set of windows...on one floor for each of the buildings....just to add a touch...

But bringing back the AM&As (Main and Washington) and the Warehouses and the Lafayette should make this section of Main Street one of the best sections!

(Though I still think...Chippewa bars (or as I like to refer to it as the thong and vomit district tee hee) are going to eventually relocate to a different section of the city, particularly if and when the Casino ever gets built...leaving Chippewa alittle more mature performing arts and restaurant district.)

One last thought...the redevelopment of AM&As, the AM&As warehouses and the Lafayette border on what I refer to as the Ellicott, Clinton, Michigan, Swan campus boundaries of Erie Community College.

Termini's redevelopment and future ECC downtown campus expansion again seem to highlight that the Bus Station MUST GO!

ECC really needs to put forward a plan for the 12 city block campus with parking, academic space, housing, library and bookstores!

(and the place it should go is the Central Terminal as soon as the Central Terminal can be connected to downtown).

Great news. But don't close off any streets for "pocket" parks.

How about some ground floor retail space included with the food court? Lots of possibilities here. Would've liked to see a much more exciting facade, but with the use of historic tax credits, I suppose that this is only way.

Will the recreated "storefronts" become storefronts again???

Please open Eagle Street up.

great plans, the 3rd and 4th floor retail..tough call, location, location, location..otherwise, about time!

I wonder how the 3rd poorest large city in the USA can keep building high end apartments and condos and still find people wealthy enough to buy or rent them?

I'd support this project even more if it were affordable housing or apartments. Downtown could use more people living there to thrive, and if the retail were something downtown would need.

I'm not buying the idea of keeping the over pass above Main Street, a first floor food court since we already have a food court across the street (I'd rather see a restaurant, cafe and RETAIL CLOTHING!!!) and I don't agree with a pocket either, look at the crappy one on Mohawk Street, all they do on this block is attract the pan handlers and bother EVERYONE!!, Since and when they decide to re-open Main Street, it would be nice to see Eagle Street Re-Opened too. For now, why not put a cafe/restaurant in that corner with out door tables (fenced off of course) that would be better than another park that will only become a hang out for the homeless. Other than that, I LUV everything else about this project.

Looking good except for the pocket park. Why would you want a pocket park which connects to a huge existing open plaza. Seems a bit redundant.

Is there someplace to see how he will address the interior of the buildings? Most of this place is well away from windows - I wonder how that problem will be solved.

Any word on what kind of restaurants will be included in this food court. Will it be fast food (junk) or will it include sit down restaurants, cafe's?. I'd like to see a sushi restaurant on Main Street. Tired of the same old fast food (subs, hot dogs, bagels), we need variety for a change.

Thats a wonderful idea to turn the AM&As basement into private parking..that will help market the building a great deal.

And Im glad to read confirmation that Eagle will be re-opened to cars....perhaps we can hope for a Main Street Crossing in the future.

Oh and I missed it but boy does it make a difference with the awnings removed from the building! It really makes the retail pop out...but maybe...instead of the cloth awnings they could add something thats more fitting like glass awnings that jut out horizontally over the sidewalk, allow light while sheltering from rain but with brown metal to match the brown windows.

Lastly...dont see the need for the sky bridge either.

Take this Google view of Tonawanda/Amherst.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=43.001634,-78.793602&spn=0.123784,0.351562&z=12

Consider that most of these homes are $70k - $250K. Most homebuyers these days average downpayments of 6% - 18%. So you have THOUSANDS of middle-income to high-income households with around $15K equity leveraging $60 - $200K mortgages.

We think of Buffalo as being "poor," but the truth is there's MILLIONS of real and leveraged dollars in property all around Buffalo, and most of the THOUSANDS of households in this map could probably afford to live downtown instead. If you could convince even 1 out of every 100 households to sell their home and buy a $150K condo in this building, there's your critical mass. There's demand and support for a nice

**This is NOT an attack on the suburbs**

Got cut off

. . . There's demand and support for a nice retail store on the 3rd/4th fls. It would be taking people with an expectation for their housing and giving them the same quality, amenities, and parking requirements, in a more interesting environment.

HOWEVER Buffalo schools and neighborhoods don't offer the same quality of life. How do we solve this problem?

Has the retail space been presented to major retailers yet such as H&M, Zara, Le Chateau?

onestarmartin>"3rd and 4th floor retail..tough call, location, location, location"
clockhill>"demand and support for a nice retail store on the 3rd/4th fls"

I'd guess the article's mention of "third and fourth floor commercial space" means office tenants, not retail up there.

If it's soooo hard to fill office space downtown, then WHY is is so easy for Rocco to fill spaces before they are even finished yet? Look at the AM&A's Warehouse project. That entire first floor will be rented out by a Collection Agency- Done!, Now the AM&A's Department Store, already has Horizon signed to take over office space- Done! And did'nt someone say, we only have 10% vacancy downtown? If this is true, then we really don't have a problem at all, especially in this troubled economy. Maby NEW open floor office space is all we need more of in order to lure more company's here. Rocco has proven that already. Main Place Management and Palidino need to take note and do what works, not try and discourage others for knowing how to take care of business.

As far as Palladino and a few other building owners complaining about Rocco getting an unfair advantage by applying for Upstate Blueprint funds, let's keep a few thoughts in mind. First, the city sold Carl the Bergers Building for his Bellasaro project for a dollar. Secondly, the city was going to award Norstar the contract to develop condos in the Waterfront Village on the very land where Carl is now constructing his latest townhouses and the Pasqualue hi-rise for a higher purchasing price loer than Norstar's and had no empire state tax credits reqest. But because Carl and Mayor Tony were such great buddies, Carl was allowed to submit his proposal for the development of these parcels past the final submission date for the RFP's and was awarded the project for less money and the with city's support to obtain the empire zone tax credits he subseuently acquired for the project. Third, Carl's bid on the parcel of land at 50 Court St, where he wants to buld an office building,was awarded to him for a lower bid than what Patrick Houtang of the Main Place Mall had offered. That's why the 50 Court St project is on hold because of a lawsuit that Houtang initated over why the city accepted Carl's lower bid rather than Houstang's higher bid.So,if Carl wants to complain about subsidies for Rocco's AM&A under the guise ofcreating an unlevel playing field for developers, he should look no further than his own face in the mirror.Rather than complain about subsidies, Carl and the others should submit their own proposals for AM&A's and explain what kinds of subsidies they need to do the project.

So the people buying and renting these high end apartments and condos are wealthy folks from the 'burbs. That begs my next question: Why leave a nice home with a big backyard, 2 car gagage, safe neighborhood within a quality school district, etc., etc.....and move to downtown Buffalo?

As a young professional in the area let me say no one can doubt the results Rocco Termini has accomplished. Sure, the funding has other developers fuming. Too bad. At least he's turning liabilities into assets for our downtown.

one of the best things about this building is the warm yellow stone facade. but the rendering looks beige, like someone wants to "update" it with that awful fake stucco stuff. can anyone comment?