Central Terminal to Release Master Plan

Why did it ever seem like a good idea to put a central transportation hub so far from the center of the city? The Buffalo airport is the same way. I guess if there was a reasonable public transit option available the distance wouldn't seem like such a great factor.

Ill also add that at this point in history, if you built a good enough train station near a big city, you could actually get the city to come to you. Literally.

Developers who wanted to build a new tower would do so between the city and the terminal to get the best of both locations, not to far from downtown, not to far from a transportation hub.

In the case of BCT, this never got to happen, the Great depression cut ridership and then after WW2 people swore off traveling by train because of how miserable of an experience train travel was during the war.

BCT was only supposed to be "far from the city" for as long as the city took to get to BCT.

Downtown Buffalo's geographic center near the eastern end Lake Erie made it difficult for the New York Central Railroad to access the city with mainline passenger service. East/West trains required a time consuming process of leaving the main line and back into the station after going around one branch of a "Y." For years a number of important New York Central trains did not stop in Buffalo for passengers.

Inexpensive property was another consideration. The New York Central needed land to spread out…for train servicing, freight houses, etc. The neighborhood, primarily made up of immigrants, was prime for purchase. When built, only a 1/3 of the 15 million dollar cost was spent on the terminal. Other items include 30 miles of new track, interlock towers, a power plant, postal /baggage facilities and signaling systems.

The current location sits only 2 and two-tenths from the core business district (six minute ride up William Street). At the time, it was far from any heavy traffic congestion found downtown. Buffalo had other train stations downtown (the Lehigh Valley and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western), but those railroads did not continue direct service WEST but terminated in Buffalo.

will those of us with crappy printers be able to get a hard copy of the plan from ctrc?

Why do I see this as another one of Buffalo's award winning plans, but in the end, nothing will happen?

Way back when the Terminal was a "kid" - that community was the heart of the city in a sense.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation visit this fall - and their stop at the CT - is very signiicant and can help leverage the beginning stages of the planned re-development.

Dave is right..this part of Buffalo was the densest part of town. I've seen some pretty cool pictures of how Broadway/Fillmore was the "2nd Downtown"..it seems it would only make sense to put it here..on top of the fact there were 2 other stations downtown.

The Central Terminal has still today to be a big part of our future! We need only to think Outside of the Box to put this Beautiful Structure in to Great Use! It appears that in this Master Plan, the Train does not Stop in the Terminal, Why?

Once I read that the Seneca Nation in its Hunt for a Casino Location was Never asked to Consider the Terminal. As a Central Area with plenty of land. This use along with Convention Center, Proper Parking Ramps and a New Stadium with a Dome, Once the Bills Learn to Play Football, is an Ideal location. A Rail Line to Downtown can still be built. This will attract Hotels and the short sighted Taxi Cabs Union will have more business than they know what to do with.

Please bring the Rail into the Terminal and lets have Gambling, Sports Fans and Conventions Attendees use this Rail to come from Toronto, Cleveland, Rochester and Syracuse for the day! With that Tourist Dollars will flow here, (Build it and they Will Come, I Assure You)! A Line to the Airport Would Be a Smart Move Also.

I hear they're putting in a rink... Just Kidding.

just a couple of quick random points (cause I have a tummy ache, since u ask. ughhh.):

There was a connecting direct bus btwn the BCT and the downtown stations.

The Terminal, although undoubtedly beautiful, was probably overbuilt for the size of traffic. It likely contributed to the separation of the NYC's president and the RR.

The decision to go ahead with the complex was a result of decades of failed negotiations between the various railroads and the city to produce an agreement on a Union Terminal (of the multiple proposals, is one SW of Niagara Square that *did* allow for trains to turned via a large loop).

After the DL&W went it alone to build their terminal, it was pretty much over.

There is more central location for a station downtown: just east of the current Amtrak station @ Hamburg is a wye that would likely allow traffic from all directions to serve the city without time consuming reverse moves.

Yes, the DLW did not operate through trains to points west, however, they did interchanges cars with connecting west bound railroads like the Nickel Plate. A passenger didnt even have to detrain to continue their journey.

I am excitd to hear that the CTRC finally has a long-term plan for the terminal. The plan is long overdue and the lack of plan and vision has turned off countless volunteers and potential funders over the years. I am eager to hear what they propose at the meeting and how much of it will be stand-alone projects for the Central Terminal, and how many will require completion of other projects that are out of the CTRC control.

Good luck to the CTRC. I hope they have lined up grant writers or asked some of the past grant writers to return to assist. There was a lot of money left on the table due to the lack of vision in the past, I know a few of the past writers who still talk about requests they wanted to submit or the philosophical differences between board members that resulted in no action taken. I'd be willing to help if needed, hopefully the CTRC will send out information via their website and email when they are ready.

Same old arguments and same points everytime they post something about the Central Terminal.

This section of the eastside was always a big transportation and warehouse district.

The big picture here is to think of the Larkin District (built around the Larkin Warehouse) and the Fruit Belt (built around Buffalo General/Roswell) because the Central Terminal could be the same core for development.

If it were closer to the city then it would have been demolished like the DL&W and the Lehigh.

Perhaps the Central Terminal is still here because of where it is.

It is very possible a downtown location would have sealed its fate as a "shovel ready" site for downtown development.

Let's be happy that the Central Terminal lives, and is being saved for the future.

its a architecture marvel, but is that enough to put time and effort into an area of the city where nobody really wants to go/ or live?

There nothing over there. Public transit is awful, few people live there, and besides for handful of businesses, there is little incentive to settle over there. These neighborhoods use to be populated/upcoming, 30-40 years ago....

The idea of private/public funding going into this is ridiculous.

One thing is pride in not letting a building go, another is stupidity.

Ditto to Grad94 comment.

This is not "Escape from NY" with Kurt Russel as Snake Pliskin. We don't abandon a community - which happens to be PART of the CITY.

Preservation and Restoration - and Arts - have turned many communities and cities around when the masses thought it was time to abandon. Ask Mark Goldmans brother and the National Trust for Historic P
reservation.

Locally - look at Tifft/Gallagher/Bird Island Pier - as a small example. Imagine what skeptics cried 35 years ago. I remember fishing with my dad and neighbor on the old "break wall" that is now Bird Island Pier. So many people cried backthen that it is not worth it and just let it go. Today..... well, today during the summer you can witness the rebirth. No, the CT is not the waterfrontmor the River..., but it is something well worth saving and restoring.

Have hope, be optimistic and contribute. That is how "we" all win.

Like the idea of this location to be used for a Casino, if it has to be one in Buffalo, in exchange for the current location to be sold to ECC for their expansion plans.

Too many commentators here at BR, when the topic of the Central Terminal comes up, always refer to the past without understanding the future of that major hub of past AND future transportation.

Can't understand why The Central Terminal is located where it is? Then you don't comprehend why the restoration group is titled Central Terminal... and not Buffalo Central Terminal... (The writing in the picture at the top of this article depicts two directions for that major hub: present and future.) Buffalo Central Terminal refers to the past; Central Terminal Restoration Corp., without "Buffalo" in the name, (CTRC, not BCTRC), is the future.

Yes, at least 75 years ago that area was the hub of civilization in Buffalo, NY. I know people who grew up there in the days of all Buffalo's suburbs' infancies. Oh, the stories! For one matter, most if not all of the homes had NO tubs or showers--in those days, bathhouses were not only found at the beach...

Now then, do you also remember when U.B. was the University OF Buffalo, a college IN Buffalo, NY? Then, in the 60s, it became a part of the State of NY and became the State University of New York AT Buffalo (SUNY).

Most people old enough to read here at BR should remember "St. Joe's" Hospital as a neighborhood/suburban hospital. Then it became St. Joseph Intercommunity Hospital. Now it is St. Joseph Campus, an extended part of a hospital system throughout WNY.

Well, the same goes for the Central Terminal/Buffalo Central Terminal. It's future will be included in a much larger transportaion system than its original intention. Although it will remain IN Buffalo, NY, it will not be OF Buffalo, NY any longer. It will become something like the State of NY Central Terminal AT Buffalo!

And even further into the future, as the really rapid transit grows across this USA, it will probably be the NATIONAL CENTRAL TERMINAL AT BUFFALO, NEW YORK!!! no lol

As innovative as guys like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are, stuff like this makes me think they are missing out on part of a legacy they could be leaving. Most of the new age companies, that rival the behemoaths of the past, are in large surburban office parks, no character as much parking lot as green space.

Most of these companies want to be "green like" and give back to offset their percieved bullish business habits. I can't help but feel that as building like this languish across the country, companies that essentailly print money could be reinvesting instead of bull dozer virgil land. There is nothing more green than using already developed land and infrastructure.

The argument of large floor plan and efficiency is also a farce, outside of its easier to run cables. It certainly does not make a person sitting in a 5X5 cube any more productive. People can be equally as productive or worthless in a skyscaper or a 2 story box.

Lofts, a green business incubator and rail travel are all part of the mix envisioned for restoring the Central Terminal.

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/buffalo/article362547.ece

Here are the highlights:

The tower would be designed as market-rate residential space to be determined by market analysis. The units could range from large work/live spaces on the lower floors and medium-sized loft-style units on the middle floors, to large penthouse suites on the upper floors. Affordable housing also would be considered.

The historic elevators and lobbies would be refurbished to provide uninterrupted access from the parking garage. Renovation of the former water tank room at the top of the tower would allow 360-degree views of the city and Western New York.

The baggage building would become a green business incubator facility that would accommodate small business and light industrial operations.

The concourse would continue as publicly accessible space, used -- as it has been in recent years -- for museum exhibitions, art shows and other public purposes. The interior would be restored, and seasonal kiosks would be operated alongside other commercial and educational ventures.

Train service would resume by tying into New York State's portion of the high-speed rail system, and connecting with Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority light rail if it were expanded.

It's available
http://buffalocentralterminal.org/about/master-plan-overview/