City September 25, 2012 11:15 AM

Oishei Gifts $10 Million Towards New Children's Hospital

WCPerspective 25

Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo is getting a new name. Kaleida Health announced this morning that the John R. Oishei Foundation is donating $10 million towards the new hospital planned for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The facility will be named the John R. Oishei Children's Hospital.

The 12-story, approximately 400,000 square foot hospital will be built at the corner of Ellicott and High Streets, across from the Buffalo General Hospital and across the street from the planned University at Buffalo Medical School. Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott of Boston, MA, one of the country's top pediatric healthcare architects, is designing the facility that is expected to open in late-2015.

The John R. Oishei Foundation strives to be a catalyst for change to enhance economic vitality and the quality of life for the Buffalo Niagara region. John R. Oishei established the Foundation that bears his name in 1940 with the mandate to concentrate support on medical research, healthcare and education in the Buffalo area along with cultural and social needs. John R. Oishei founded Trico Products Corporation which eventually became one of the world's leading manufacturers of automotive windshield wiping equipment.

View image

Comments

25 Comments Leave a comment

Mark_Hitchcock

September 25, 2012 12:11 PM

@milkman: I was going to say the same thing. You have to be quick to the snark here on Buffalo Rising. Its pretty cool though

[ Reply ]

Score: 2 ( 16 votes )

North Park

September 25, 2012 12:57 PM

They should spend that money to knock down the old Children's Hospital.

Imagine what a good developer could do with that much prime real estate in the Elmwood Village?

[ Reply ]

Score: -1 ( 15 votes )

NorthBuf

September 25, 2012 1:06 PM

WHOLE FOODS!

[ Reply ]

replied to North Park

Score: -13 ( 25 votes )

Rand503

September 25, 2012 1:07 PM

Hopefully a dense mixture of residence and shopping. If we could add another few hundred people living there, it will really make the Village pop.

[ Reply ]

replied to North Park

Score: 9 ( 15 votes )

North Park

September 25, 2012 1:29 PM

Dense Residential with a Mixed use building on the current parking lot on the corner of Elmwood and Bryant would be perfect.

Honestly, I'm fine with townhouses (for purchase) on the rest. I bet they would sell fast.

[ Reply ]

replied to Rand503

Score: 11 ( 13 votes )

Cam33r4

September 25, 2012 2:44 PM

Make it a park. Put in some playgrounds to attract local families. Delaware Park is kind of far away for people to walk to from down in that section of Elmwood.

[ Reply ]

replied to North Park

Score: -15 ( 23 votes )

elmdog

September 25, 2012 3:26 PM

I like the idea of a park component as a part of the overall concept....but it wont happen...Tennis courts, basketball, volleyball and green space, along with a kids area and housing...

[ Reply ]

replied to Cam33r4

Score: -5 ( 9 votes )

North Park

September 25, 2012 3:28 PM

There are so many parks in Buffalo already. Parks are not the solution for all vacant land.

Excessive parks are a drain on the city's resources, taxbase, and economy. I'd rather see this land developed into dense housing and put back on the tax rolls. Dense housing will also help to mitigate the loss to local business caused by the departure of the neighborhood's largest employer.

Townhouses (or condos) on Bryant, Utica, and Hodge, and mixed use on the corner of Elmwood and Bryant is the highest and best use of that land (in my opinion). Also, the ramp should stay to serve the bsuinesses/offices in the area.

[ Reply ]

replied to Cam33r4

Score: 15 ( 17 votes )

Cam33r4

September 25, 2012 4:14 PM

Okay, parks aren't the solution. But neither is more retail space when there are already empty spaces for retail on Elmwood...

[ Reply ]

replied to North Park

Score: 3 ( 7 votes )

North Park

September 25, 2012 4:23 PM

We need to keep filling the missing teeth on Elmwood. . .and that means first floor retail.

With more residential behind the new building there will be more customers/foot traffic. it will also make it more likely to get tenants in the buildings on the other two corners.

Retail on a city street needs to be dense and continuous (similar to a . . .gasp. . .mall (why do you think they design malls that way?)). A dense and continuous stretch of retail makes that area more appealing to shoppers and businesses and thus more successful.

We continue to see Elmwood filling in, so there must be demand for these spaces. At the very least there is demand for apartments above the stores.

[ Reply ]

replied to Cam33r4

Score: 6 ( 6 votes )

Sheldon S. Kornpett, D.D.S.

September 25, 2012 3:12 PM

[Deleted- off topic]

[ Reply ]

replied to North Park

Score: -3 ( 5 votes )

Buffalo All Star

September 25, 2012 1:01 PM

ZING...LOL..

[ Reply ]

Score: 1 ( 9 votes )

Travelrrr

September 25, 2012 1:05 PM

This is fantastic--where would Buffalo be without the Oishei?

Now, think it is time for our Fortune 1k companies--from Rich's to Greatbatch to Moog to CTG--to start to really invest in Buffalo.

One of the biggest differentiators between Buffalo and Pittsburgh, aka the Golden Child of the Rust Belt, is the corporate leadership--Pittsburgh has tons.

M&T and FNFG are doing a lot of great work in the community--let's see some of the other major players step up in a really meaningful way (moving a suburban headquarters downtown would be a great start).

[ Reply ]

Score: 20 ( 24 votes )

impressingagent

September 25, 2012 1:39 PM

Ah.. About the design. Lately that has been the case. Also not too big a fan of the Webster block design.

[ Reply ]

Score: -19 ( 19 votes )

flyguy

September 25, 2012 3:00 PM

Greatbach suburban headquarters now technically based in Texas. After decades of other examples the paranoia just gets to you that a clock somewhere is counting down on Greatbach in WNY. Trico relocated plants and then pulled its HQ, HSBC changed its official US headquarters location to Delaware or wherever and now who knows about them, Greatbach to Texas...im sure a whole host of others out there in WNY with similar stories.

[ Reply ]

Score: 0 ( 0 votes )

bernicebuffalove

September 25, 2012 3:50 PM

It would be great to see the $10 million going towards the building that made John Oishei his millions... aka TRICO.

Yes, I did just go there.

[ Reply ]

Score: 0 ( 20 votes )

informedone

September 25, 2012 5:39 PM

I think the Oishie Foundation is concerned about return on investment and social benefit and this may explain why they chose to invest in a Women and Children's Hospital as opposed to a remnant of yesterday's economy.

[ Reply ]

replied to bernicebuffalove

Score: 8 ( 14 votes )

bernicebuffalove

September 26, 2012 2:20 PM

Oishei has the ability to do both - invest in the new hospital and invest in Trico.
Oishei can easily use their leverage with BNMC to nudge the BNMC to take leadership on a building that founded their existence. It is unfortunate that Trico has been abandoned but it is not too late to reuse it. If Oishei and the BNMC came together to save Trico, they would expand our medical campus while reusing a significant existing building.
Of course we all want a bigger / better childrens hospital but Oishei could/should preserve their heritage while helping to expand our community. Invest in the hospital and invest in Trico. That's all I'm saying.

[ Reply ]

replied to informedone

Score: -2 ( 2 votes )

whatever

September 26, 2012 10:11 PM

Okay, although how your first comment said 'the $10 million', not 'another $10 million' looked like how informedone and I had interpreted it (along with 'Yes, I did just go there.').

Perhaps the 'the' was just a typo, or maybe you've reconsidered. It should go without say that you've a right to any opinion or to modify it.

Anyhow, if Oishei is interested in advice from the public, my part of it would say focusing future donations on more directly human needs is more important than the Trico.
They should do what they decide is best, of course.
If they donate to help save the Trico building I won't criticize them for it, but it's also fine if they decide on different priorities or even if they decide to donate for its demolition or cleanup costs, &/or to support something in a new building on the site.

[ Reply ]

replied to bernicebuffalove

Score: 0 ( 0 votes )

whatever

September 25, 2012 6:57 PM

"would be great to see the $10 million going towards the building that made John Oishei his millions... aka TRICO"

Really? A vacant old factory building should be a higher priority for Oishei than helping to improve hospital facilities for women & children? Wow.

[ Reply ]

replied to bernicebuffalove

Score: 7 ( 11 votes )

grad94

September 25, 2012 5:46 PM

wow, ten mil. to quote a certain car dealer, "this is huge, buffalo, huge!" i can think of a few institutions who are proably fighting back pangs of envy.

[ Reply ]

Score: 2 ( 4 votes )

RaChaCha

September 26, 2012 6:03 AM

Who will be buying naming rights for the airship landing pad (given the illustration)--?

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that if you're in such a condition that they have to airlift you to W&C and you have to wait for the blimp...game over.

[ Reply ]

Score: 1 ( 1 votes )

armyof100clowns

September 26, 2012 7:47 AM