How Artspace Can Help Turnaround Midtown Buffalo

by FIGMO

In June of 04, in an letter published in The News, Sen. Hillary Clinton wrote:

Have you ever stumbled upon a neighborhood that just feels alive -- with cafes and coffee shops pouring out onto the street; restaurants on every corner; studio apartments a flight of steps up from the busy sidewalk? Look close enough and you usually find a theater, a museum or arts center in the middle of the action.

And that’s why the Buffalo Artspace project is so exciting. Artspace Projects mission is to create, foster and preserve affordable space for artists and arts organizations. They pursue this mission through “development projects, asset management activities, consulting services, and community-building activities that serve artists and arts organizations of all disciplines, cultures, and economic circumstances.”

David at fixbuffalo reports that folks “in City Hall are developing a comprehensive investment impact manual for the area surrounding Artspace” and that Commissioner of Strategic Planning, Timothy Wannamaker “has placed the Artspace project on the top of his list.”

This project has actually been on the top of Wannamaker’s list for a while now. Almost a year an a half ago, he said:

"Typically what happens is you get arts-related business - graphic designers, architecture firms - that want to be around," said Wanamaker, who contacted the national arts group Artspace about coming to Buffalo. "The spinoff is our biggest bang for the buck."

Midtown Buffalo is poised for for arts-based growth. We’re already ranked as the eighth art travel destination in the country. We’re a city rich with talent, highly regarded museums and architecturally significant buildings waiting for renewed purpose.

And to make that real, here’s just a first pass at proposals and Recommendations for the neighborhood in the immediate radius of the Artspace project. Other projects that have required significant effort to woo and sizable concessions to secure would be hard-pressed to demonstrate the ability to generate this type of meaningful growth an opportunity.

• The Utica and Summer/Best Metro stations would be ideal places for entrepreneurial activity, in the form of vendor carts and kiosks that would add to the vitality of Main Street.
• The former Packard Showroom will soon be renovated to create 40 new mixed-income residential units, signifying a $9MM investment. It is the latest example of spin-off investment spurred by the Artspace project, something the City will continue to encourage.
• The City is proposing significant new streetscape improvements for Main Street, such as a proposed landscaped median, new sidewalks, brick crosswalks, and a restored tree canopy.
• Coe Place is the most historically and urbanistically significant street in the Midtown neighborhood. Coe Place is a charming, very narrow street, originally no more than fifteen feet wide, lined with a collection of close-knit Queen Anne-style houses. The City is proposing that the street be reconstructed in brick, in a diagonal herringbone pattern, as part of a housing rehabilitation and preservation program for the street.
• Old Best Street would be reclaimed as a functional vehicular and pedestrian connection from Main Street to the "new" Best Street. The connection would open up new development opportyunities and focus for Transit-Oriented Development on blighted vacant land. The street could be renamed Lourdes Lane to honor the existence of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, an architectural landmark and pillar of the immigrant community.
• Elicott Street would be converted to two-way traffic north of Goodell Street, slowing vehicle speeds, encouraging pedestrian activity, and making the street's architectural and scenic assets more accessible.
• A new brick alleyway is proposed between Dodge and Southhampton streets to encourage mid-block development, enhance character and charm, and improve pedestrian connectivity.
• The corner of Ellicott and Northampton streets would sport a landscaped roundabout to calm traffic, and create emphasis for this corner as a center of gravity for Midtown.
• The former St. Vincent's Convent will be a focus of the City's revitalization efforts. Long abandoned, it is a solid and architecturally significant structure with enormous potential for new loft living spaces. The former playground next to the building would also become a revived public space.
• The former Joseph Denzel's Tavern at the corner of Riley and Michigan, would be a revitalized as a mixed-use project under the City's revitalization program.
• The brick former livery stable at 65 Riley is a small building with vast potential as a placeholder for the corner of Holland and Riley. The City hopes to find an active reuse for the unique property, perhaps as a conversion to retail or gallery space.