Construction Watch: 496 Main Street

so that means i cant get chinese fast food over there anymore??

Ambulance chasing is paying off well for Ricotta and Visco. A few more malpractice suits and they'll be able to buy the place next door.

That has a chance to be a really stunning building.

A beautiful building, I really like the stone Italianate window trim on the Mohawk side (same as on Carr building). Another restored and reusable success story. Thank you to everyone involved.

Okay, not better lighting on Main Street so people can feel comfortable about walking down it at night....Light it up so that during the summer you can feel great about walking from restaurant to cafe etc...........It has the potential to be an amazing place for residential, commercial etc.......I envision many cafes, restaurants, condos, apartments, businesess etc....Ah a real city at some point...Is Canvas Lounge and art gallery still being worked on?

A dozen more like this could seriously change things on the lower end of Main st. Any word on the status of the cafe going in on Roosevelt Square?

I was wondering what was moving in across the street at 487 Main. Glad it's a cafe and not another first floor office space. Any word on the former Wendy's? It was suppost to be converted into offices (and cleaned up), but it's still boarded up 2 years later.

PS - please burn the for sale sign!

Is there any chance the reconstruction is going to include changing that godawful pink on the facade?

another great project and I'm glad to see more happening on this section of Main. But what to do about the blight of the homeless (and drunk) that continue to hang out in Mohawk park (both sides of Main), Roosesvelt Sq and the area behind the surface lot on Mohawk and Washington. I pass this way many times daily and they are drinking, singing, peeing and harassing people. I'm sure this image does not bode well for any tourist that might be walking this way from the Hyatt. Nor does it promote a positive image to the suburbanite that might think of coming back into the city after work for dinner and a show.
If the Mayor is so keen on promoting our city, he should get out of his ivory tower and see this part of the city.

need cars otherwise a blank and usually empty intimidating stretch of Main St

I'd love to see the entire Mohawk Street Strip (what's left of it), turned into a burgeoning music club district. With the anchor tenant of Mohawk Place (our own CBGB's) for many years.You also have Club Diablo within earshot and the newer lofts of the Holling Press Building.
When I lived in Orlando,FL...there was a small side street off the main drag in downtown that had cool music venues such as the Sapphire Supper Club. I think Mohawk Street, as it is now will be and remain a pedestrian path, would benefit from this eclectic rebirth if you will.
I'd suggest a "reconstruction" of the Mohawk Ramp, making it more viewer friendly. We know the Allpro Parking and/or BCAR will not remove these cash cows, so lets make them more eye appealing. I suggest planters, architectural lighting,etc.I'd even call on one or two sides to be painted by local artists, even taggers. It'd be unique and different.

The corner vacant lot at Washington & Mohawk would make an awesome small park (green space), with a small outdoor stage/amphitheater to allow any of the local music clubs the ability to have an concert there.
Cleaning up the portion of Mohawk between Washington & Ellicott, with new street lighting, sidewalks, and perhaps even resurfacing it as a brick/cobblestone roadway. The possibilities are endless with this little strip.

If you want to get rid of the vagrancy issue on Main Street, I believe the Buffalo Police, Transit Police, Buffalo place Rangers, even involve our auxiliary police forces (Buffalo Police Reserves, Buffalo Special Police) into forming roving patrols during specific hours. We have to be the only city in the free world who have people VOLUNTEERING there time as auxiliary police officers, only not to USE THEM. I have never seen a city that acts as though "Well Buffalo is different". Really?
Why is it that the 800 lbs. Gorilla of New York City we all love to hate can utilize their volunteer force, NYPD Auxiliary, of over 4,000 members without any issue. Their auxiliary is heavily integrated with the NYPD, well trained, and add another element of eyes and ears to the streets.
New York City still even has 10 volunteer fire companies within the city limits (with exception of Manhattan). Think of that Buffalo. We did have at one time a volunteer Buffalo Fire Auxiliary Corps, but that was thrown to the wayside to barter to the union leadership at the time. Rochester still has one full time company, The Protectives, who are a ALL volunteer salvage corps to help and assist the active department. Oh wait, how stupid of me...were in Buffalo, we can't do that. Oh streetcars share the same lane of traffic in Toronto with it's 3-4 million people...yeah but were different in Buffalo, we can't.
We need to use out of the box thinking here, rather than listening to this status quo which has ruined this city and metro area over the last 50 years.