Higgins Gives Two Week Notice

To compare, I would like to view an alternative waterfront plan that doesn't include BassPro. (At least it wouldn't include all those spaces for RV parking.)

Stupid drama and free publicity.

Finish the streets, get the water, sewar, curbs, sidewalks and canals in there

Fill Hanover, Prime, Lloyd and the others with 3 story period canal buildings...and save Bass Pro until last.

Why? Because Bass Pro will not be forced into a major financial commitment in a poor city like Buffalo that depends on travel and spending during a recession when people do not want to travel and do not want to spend.

Further, if you force BassPro during a recession then you could force them to miss their profit projects and risk them pulling out and closing the store just a few years after they open leaving Buffalo with a custom built canal village to BassPro specs without BassPro as an anchor.

Its why I harp on integrating the DL&W, Waterfront Village, LaSalle Park and how the access ramps block integration to downtown. There are big picture things that need to be considered that are not considered

The Congressman had mentioned alternative uses of funds if Bass Pro were not part of the development picture. An intermodal transportation center that links NFTA, Amtrak, etc. would seem to be a no brainer (or at least initial funding for it). Why it was ever scrapped from Canalside originally is a mystery to me.

If the city is so hell bent on getting a fishing/outdoor store in, why not get Cabela's which seems to be their major competitor. Some of my friends that do that stuff say it's a better store (I have no idea).

What did Baltimore do with their inner harbor? Did they have to have a giant anchor tenant when they built theirs up? I think all that money definitely could be used to make the area even better. I agree with bdgemble, use it for infastructure get that NFTA/Amtrak stuff altogether. If the country really is looking to do things with trains and whatnot, it would be perfect to have it back downtown...and actually downtown.

This is a ruse, and a way for Higgins et al to save face. Fortunately, BP is not coming.

Seriously, this was a concept baked by the Rich's so long ago, that the prospects for Buffalo and its downtown are much, much more hopeful. I still wonder: do Brown, Higgins, Levy and Quinn actually consult/listen to actual urban planning experts? I fear not, because they would have learned by now (from empirical evidence) that this plan is totally shortsighted, ineffectual and, frankly, stupid.

Is there a "No to Bass Pro" group on Facebook???

The idea of spending taxpayer dollars to subsidize retail makes no sense, Bass Pro needs to pay their own way just like any other business. Where are all the free market champions and why are they silent about this blatant attempt to extort money from our citizens. Does anyone really believe Bass Pro will be a "destination" after the intial novelty wears off? The store targets a fairly small group of sportsmen and is unlikely to interest the majority of the population. I would rather see a collection of small local business on the site than a corporate parasite like Bass Pro.

Arbitrarily announcing a deadline without repercussions seems like an unlikely series of events.

Im guessing he has an inside scoop, and is positioning himself appropriately. There is too great to look weak if his "deadline" is ignored.

In either case, its a political win. If BP ends up coming - then he gets to look like the strong leader that made them seal the deal. If they dont, then then the Congressman looks like he was the one who finally got tough with the company that has been stringing us along for too long.

I agree with Blackrocklifer - if this is a viable business for this location at this time, then there is no need to subsidize it. The idea of a big box store with limited appeal in a prime location on our waterfront is ludicrous to begin with, but to actually have to bribe them to come here is outrageous. Clearly, no one involved with this project understands the basics of urban planning, Travelrrr.

I agree with many of the comments. We should pull the public funding for Bass Pro and invest those monies into more worthwhile projects that serve the people of our region.

The original incentive was to have them reuse the Aud, that didn't happen. Now we have spent taxpayer dollars to tear downt the Aud, we are using taxpayer dollars to remediate the site, and we will use taxpayer dollars to build a retail store for a publicly traded company. What a total waste.

I'd rather see a park go into the old Aud space than to see us waste millions of dollars on Bass Pro.

Pull the funding, close the book, and walk away.

The idea of a deadline is appealing, but 14 days is a short span given the lack of any specific alternative at this point. Higgins speaks only generally of bridges and infrastructure, or office relocation to the district.

That's not a specific enough alternative to warrant resetting the clock to zero on the Aud site, and may not be necessary given Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. President Thomas Dee's contention earlier this month that Bass Pro would finish lease reviews and sign by mid-August.

Harbor Development Chairman Jordan Levy has acknowledged public "Bass Pro fatigue." That's real, and Higgins is understandably impatient with delays -- years of them caused by the need for Aud demolition and environmental review -- that have slowed inner harbor development. He also is convinced that there is momentum elsewhere in the district that makes Canal Side a project that can exist with or without the outdoor retailer as an anchor, and suggests that spending the incentive money on infrastructure would make the Aud site more attractive to unspecified other development.

Others in the community still favor a cultural attraction for the site, such as a museum. But that would likely be even more expensive for taxpayers, and a continuing draw on public subsidies.

None of that would drive additional development anytime soon, simply adding to the delays in a project linked to urban recovery. But both Bass Pro and the harbor development corporation would be wise to recognize the public impatience and announce a definitive commitment, if not a lease signing, soon.

http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article78681.ece

I've lived in DC, Baltimore, and Silver Spring, MD and the one thing each place has in common, despite different levels of wealth, is subsidized retail. OF COURSE subsidized retail is an important and useful tool in the arsenal of urban revitalization. It's how you spur reinvestment in underinvested areas. It's called impetus - something most cities learned is necessary a long time ago.

WalMart is an ideal anchor tenant. They will draw crowds and receive unanimous approval from the low income tenants of the lovely, subsidized, Marine Dr apartments.

First off, its true that trains would have to back into the city. There is no straight run. However the Central Terminal IS the closest straight thru train station to downtown NOT depew.

Second, the multi-modal station downtown was abandoned because it would take to much downtown land, filling it with dead space for rail track. The Common Council voted overwhelmingly to reactivate the Central Terminal for rail and it is very possible that the Bus Terminal could move there too!

Third, a light rail extension to UB Amherst and Airport is on NFTA 12 year plan. Finally! But consider this...if light rail were connected to the Larkin District, Central Terminal, Galleria and Airport then it is quite possible that the owner of the Galleria could have been a better partner and brought more reliable anchor tenants to Canalside than BassPro. The Galleria certainly hasnt had difficulty attracting customers and new national stores.

Once again, we dont use/partner local assets and once again downtown just doesnt get how strategic light rail is for downtown businesses, hotel room, retail, tourism, office development, etc.

Hunting decline? With unemployment so high there are many people out to shoot a one or two deer to supplement their food budget.

I think its just a sin to poison all those geese and their eggs as they do in the suburbs.

I dont care whether its duck, geese, deer, etc...these animals shouldnt be killed by municipalities just because their a nuisance. They should be butchered, sold and eaten.

Any towns out there killing rabbits, deer, geese, ducks, etc should pay hunters to kill them, butcher them and open a stall at say the Washington or Broadway Market.

Heck fill up Tifft and LaSalle with Buffalo and Deer. Thats good meat!

Heck, I have been asking all the hunters I know that Id partner up and split the cost of butchering...for as much as my freezer could fit.