There has been significant progress in establishing the Urban Habitat Project (UHP) on the grounds of the Buffalo Central Terminal. Project lead Dave Majewski has confirmation from Paul Hogan of the Oishei Foundation that their board has approved a $15,000 grant for the UHP. The project also is receiving $10,000 from the Buffalo Green Fund and another $10,000 in in-kind services from Dore Landscaping and Wendel Companies. UHP is a component of the master development plan and vision recently unveiled by the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation (CTRC).
The Town of West Seneca is donating 700 cubic yards of compost valued at over $21,000. An additional $5,000 is coming from the Vogt Family Foundation and Katie Schneider. Mark Mistretta from Wendel architecture and engineering donated the required site survey by the firm's engineers valued around $3,500 that was completed last week (right). To date, the total of in-kind products and services is over $80,000 - and growing.
This is a major step forward for the project which aims to establish a living inner-city demonstration classroom that features habitat restoration, native plants, and sustainable site development/construction while explaining the benefits of bio-diversity. It will encompass three acres of land on the Central Terminal site. Dave Majewski and his team are on a mission to complete the project this year and have been busy meeting with potential supporters for the past few months.
Not only will the project be a big visual improvement, it also serves as a way to remediate the land and stands as a model for what shrinking cities can do with vacant lots. Majewski is more than excited for the project to begin saying, "This is going to invariably start the virtual domino effect, I'm anxious to see how National Fuel, HSBC, and M&T Bank respond to this. We also have other funding applications out there pending as well. This could be huge. After tomorrow, we may realistically start to approach significant funding plateaus that could help get this project in the ground sooner rather than later."
The idea of the project as an education model is already taking hold in the area. "I think significant here also is the news recently received from Marlies Wesolowski, Executive Director of the local Matt Urban Center, and from the County," says Majewski. "The SNAP Program (welfare to work) will be able to provide their weekly employees on site to assist in building and also to receive training from myself and my staff. We will then provide them with a certificate and also a professional letter of referral."
The early funding has allowed the team to move forward with the first phase and beyond. Work completed to date includes EPA-certified lab soil testing, professional site design and specifications development, tractor repair, trucking for the donated compost, and the site survey by Wendel Engineering. Those advising the project include the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Buffalo Audubon Society, Prof. Brenda Young, UB's Brad Wales, and Tifft Farm Nature Preserve Ecologist David Spiering.
The budget has been re-tooled so that the physical progress made will only be in line with funding that is received. Majewski, Matt Dore of Buffalo Horticulture, and Yuri Hreshchyshyn and Paul Lang along with the CTRC UHP Committee discussed at length the significance of formulating a plan that will take in to account an "opt-out" plan if necessary, while being able to restore the site to a minimal and acceptable condition. The UHP, at every phase of development, will have a "Plan B" in case sufficient funding is not received. There will be no "hole in the ground" so to speak, after something is started and then funds are no longer available for a considerable length of time.
Also, with the recent media exposure, more and more volunteers are contacting Dave and the CTRC to offer services when building time begins - and also after the site is completed and needs to be maintained. Project organizers have briefed the Lombard Street Block Club on the developments and look forward to the local community's leadership in assisting with the UHP.
UHP planners have spent time searching the web to see how other cities or regions have done this. So far, it has not been done to this scale or with these specifications. There are some somewhat similar projects in Chicago, Portland, Canada, but nothing of this scope and with these objectives. This could very well not only be a Buffalo, WNY and New York State first, it could also be a regional or even national first.
The UHP is still in need of major funding. Ideally, there is one generous and visionary philanthropist out there that would support this project and donate $100K to their city and environment to help foster bio-diversity, ecology, employment, training and education. In the meantime, Majewski and his team are pushing forward.
Get Connected: Dave Majewski, 716.432.2960, email
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This is great news and a great project-so, congrats to Dave and team. I wonder, however, is this is putting the cart before the horse (and, I do look forward to others' input on this): why prioritize development around the Terminal when the Terminal itself is at-risk structurally (needs new roof, etc)? Or, is this just an outward tentacle of the entire project, and any progress is progress?