Mark Croce's bumpy pursuit of the Statler is coming to an end.  The tireless developer is finally closing on the property Wednesday.  Despite calls for abandonment and demolition, Croce always saw big potential in the Niagara Square landmark.  To celebrate the new ownership and stewardship of the property, Croce is hosting a reception at the Statler at 2 PM Wednesday.  The Buffalo Rising community is invited to watch as Trustee Morris L. Horwitz executes the Trustee's deed officially transferring the ownership.  Refeshments will be provided by Buffalo Chophouse.

Re-Tree WNY, an organization formed after the "October Storm" of 2006, is postponing plans for it's ninth seasonal planting event to just one fall planting on the storm's fifth anniversary later this year.   A better survival rate for trees planted in the fall as well a shortage of funding are among the reasons for the change. "We are confident that this is a positive move on many counts," stated Paul D. Maurer, Chairman of Re-Tree, who authored the e-mail message.  "We've been monitoring each of our plantings and the results show that spring plantings have

St. Vincent's at 1140 Ellicott Street will potentially see new life as early as this year. The Health Sciences Charter School (HSCS) is seeking approval from the State Education Department to move from their current home in the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District to the E.B. Green-designed former orphanage, St. Vincent's. HSCS is expecting final approval from the state after the board of Regents meets in April.

The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) today outlined the actions it is taking to fulfill its pledge to revitalize Buffalo's waterfront this summer. Visitors to the Inner Harbor will be able to stroll or bike along an extended Central Wharf, take in a wide range of cultural programming, and enjoy a meal on the water's edge. These changes are the direct result of a process that began last fall, when ECHDC Chairman Jordan Levy called for a series of open houses, where the public was invited to provide input into the process of developing the waterfront.  Three additional

This beauty at the corner of Main and Virginia had sunk to a very sad state by the early 80's as seen in this 'before' image.  It was built in the mid 1890s as the Catholic Institute Public Library.  The Institute was established in the 1860s as the first Catholic Library in the country.  It was open to people of all denominations. By the late 1970's funds were scarce for running the institute and the building was closed.  I believe it sat mostly empty for several years.  If memory serves me it may have had some

In partnership with the Project for Public Spaces (PPS), the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) will be holding three public workshops where attendees can express their ideas and visions for the waterfront this summer. In attendance will be Fred Kent, President of PPS, who was one of the keynote speakers at last fall's Aspirations and Inspirations event at City Honors

Great news from George Grasser and the Partners for a Liveable Western New York: Congress for the New Urbanism will be holding its 2014 annual conference, or "congress," right here in Buffalo.  Planned for June, 2014 (date not yet selected), the conference will bring advocates for "New Urbanism" and sustainable development from all over the world.   Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) was founded by Andres

Last night I spoke with a young guy who had recently moved here from New Jersey in order to live with his girlfriend. The couple settled into Allentown this past August and immediately embarked upon a mission to comb the streets of the West Side in search of the things that they would come to rely on as they adjusted to their new home. As we talked, I became more and more intrigued that the two had come to know Buffalo in a way that was very refreshing. He described the West Side neighborhoods with a passion that I rarely hear from anyone - his words took me up and down familiar and not-so-familiar

The GLF Elevator is not coming down just yet, at least at the hands of a wrecking ball.  The Campaign for Greater Buffalo has petitioned State Supreme Court to stop the demolition of portions of the Ganson Street grain elevator complex.  A Temporary Restraining Order was granted earlier in the week by Judge Timothy Walker.  The parties, which include James Comerford, Commissioner of the Department of Permit and Inspection Services and owner Ontario Specialty Contracting,

Sugar City will be hosting a slew of local literary figures, along with New Hampshire native author Al Burian on Thursday, March 17. The evening will consist of a reading by Burian and work by Buffalo's own poet Margaret Konkol.

Burian is a writer, artist and musician who is known for his comedic performance style. His reputation for being straightforward and, at times, confrontational with his audiences make for an interesting experience.  His book, Burn Collector, is a collection of

In the wake of renewed calls to merge the bridge authorities on the Niagara Frontier, I talked with the State Senate's sponsor of the pending merger legislation, Senator George Maziarz.  While we're all familiar with the

The Buffalo Central Terminal Restoration Corp. had a successful launch of their master plan yesterday at the Terminal itself. Various groups of business leaders, volunteers, politicians, and preservationists were all in attendance at the event. The master plan will act as a guideline for the restoration, preservation, and rehabilitation of the art deco landmark loved by many Buffalonians.

After many months of hard work by the dedicated Architectural Advisory Committee, led by board member Paul Lang, the public now has a clear idea of what the terminal should and will be in the future.

The Darwin Martin House sidelight window that was auctioned by Sotheby's this week sold at the high-end of the projected sales price.  An unknown buyer paid $8,125 for the window which included the buyer's premium.  Which begs the question, Does the Martin House Restoration Corporation chase these windows down when they hit the resale market? 

"We tend toward strategic acquisitions," says Mary Roberts, Executive Director of the Martin House Restoration

The Elmwood Village Association, CanCan Candy and Splash Panic! and a multitude of other businesses are in the midst of organizing an Easter Bonnet Parade that is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 24. I guess that it was only a matter of time before the candy and chocolate shops along the avenue dreamed up such an event. After all, parades appear to be the flavor of the month these days. We have the Mardi Gras parade, and the Saint Patrick's Day parade (x2), the Dyngus Day parade, a dog parade, a Juneteenth parade, a children's parade, a Puerto Rican Day parade, a Pride parade, a Dyke March

After being closed for about a week, Cafe 59 has reopened under new ownership. If you're familiar with Cafe 59, that might come as a bit of a shock considering that the cafe had pretty much been coasting along, relatively unchanged, for years. A couple years back, the previous owner expanded the footprint of the restaurant, but the food remained the same all the while. "That's not what we're about," owner Chris Connolly told me. "You'll notice that the menu has changed along with operations... we're even going to extend the hours. We're opening earlier in the morning (7am) and we're looking at

The second phase of the Porter Avenue Restoration Project is scheduled to start this spring, but neighborhood residents are hoping it is not too late for design changes.  Phase one of the project was started last year and covered the blocks from Niagara to the Thruway.  Phase two starts at Niagara Street and extends to Symphony Circle.

Last year, Watts Engineering, retained by the city

For those of you who can't make it to the weekly Common Council meeting, following is the briefing. From this week's meeting as provided by the council:
 
MEETING SUMMARY for MARCH 8, 2011

SAFETY MEETING WITH NIGHTCLUB OWNERS AND PROMOTERS--The Council adopted a resolution sponsored by Ellicott District Council Member Darius G. Pridgen requesting the City of Buffalo Department of Police ("BPD") to issue a report showing the amount of police calls to nightspots in the Ellicott District in the year 2011, the nature of such calls and the resolution of those

I was a big fan of comic books when I was younger. Eventually I packed them up, stored them in a closet and forgot about them. I never much thought about them again until yesterday, when I happened upon a new bookstore that opened on Main Street, between Delavan and Ferry (close to Record Theatre). It was a round the time that I first covered Art and Artifact Gallery, that I noticed the sign go up on the front of the building.

Back in early December Sothebys auctioned off a very rare art glass "laylight", which was designed for the Darwin Martin House in Buffalo.  The window was put up for auction by the estate of Margaret Herniman.  It was estimated that it would sell for up to $120,000 but actually went for over $200,000.  This is a testament to the high value of Wright artifacts and to Martin House objects in particular. 

The Sotheby's web site notes that the 26"

By John Rickus:

I'm also the Resident Lighting Designer for Road Less Traveled Theatre.  Working on the last production (Bitch Bares All) the video designer, Katie Menke, and I researched a lot of websites trolling for images.  One site I particularly liked was www.opacity.us.  This site has some amazing photography that focuses on urban exploration and documentation of buildings and structures that have outlived their intended lifespans.  There are some great links