Creating a Downtown Neighborhood
When Rocco Termini purchased his first property on Ellicott Street in 2002 he envisioned creating a new downtown neighborhood east of the Theater District. As wholesale florists and other service businesses moved out, the small-scale buildings lining Ellicott and Oak Streets between Genesee and Tupper Street were ripe for redevelopment. It was a calculated gamble since at that time the appetite for downtown living was a relative unknown. First Amherst’s Elk Terminal Lofts had opened earlier that year in the Cobblestone District to an overwhelming response. Termini’s leap of faith has paid off.
Ellicott Lofts opened in April 2003 at 489 Ellicott Street bringing 38 units to the former Frontier Water & Steam warehouse and were quickly leased. Twenty-three of the lofts are two-story units with 21-foot ceilings and a mezzanine level. 5,000 sq.ft. of commercial space was also created, leased by Alternative Information Systems, a computer support services firm.
Ellicott Lofts was an adaptive reuse. Though built in 1890, the Frontier building was nondescript. An adjacent single-level building was torn down and replaced with a new two-story building. The new and the old have been given a unified brick exterior and are separated by a narrow courtyard. Units are 1,100 to 1,350 sq.ft. and rent for $795 to $1300.
Termini purchased the adjoining Wehle Electric complex in 2004 to develop Ellicott Commons. The first phase involved demolishing much of the Wehle property, renovating the historic three-story Lang Meats building at 461 Ellicott, and constructing a new building that was sympathetic in design to its older neighbor. These two buildings totaling 32,000 sq.ft. of space contain retail and office tenants including Washington Market and Copy Fax Technologies on the ground floor.
Two other projects have followed: The Oak School Lofts, 29 units in the former Buffalo Alternative School at 266 Oak Street, and ‘IS’ Lofts, 24 apartments in the former Kastings Flower Warehouse at 362 Oak Street that is currently under construction. Next up for the developer in the neighborhood is a second phase of Ellicott Commons which will bring approximately 30 more residences in a new building connecting Washington Market and Ellicott Lofts.
Encouraged by the success of his projects in the area, Termini can foresee renovations on other buildings on the block south towards Genesee Street. His schematic design shown above incorporates the historic warehouses but adds residential amenities such as balconies to create an edgy, industrial feel. Future expansion is uncertain however. Termini and Buffalo officials have been frustrated that some property owners have set high price tags on their properties, effectively letting their buildings sit vacant for years. The City has bought into Termini’s vision by creating a redevelopment plan for the neighborhood, the first step in designating it an urban renewal area. This designation could open the way to City acquisition of property for eventual development by Termini or others.
Termini is building a new base of residential occupancy, adding new life to a sleepy, somewhat gritty section of downtown, and helping to support the public’s investment in the Theater District. The market has been proven and there is opportunity to expand the residential enclave. The Genesee Block next to Oak School Lofts remains dormant and surface parking lots throughout the neighborhood which take away from the rhythm of the city are ripe for infill construction. Development of the vacant lot across from ‘IS’ Lofts, owned by Uniland Development at the entrance to the Kensington Expressway, can help connect downtown to the east side. M&T Bank’s surface parking lots behind the Market Arcade are possibly the most suitable sites downtown for new residential development. As development spreads, Termini’s vision for a functioning, vital, mixed-use downtown neighborhood is being realized.
Coming Soon: Joan Fedyszyn’s interview with a couple living at Ellicott Lofts.
Rocco has done a great job creating a new urban neighborhood. I just hope the City has the backbone to lean on the property owners that are not capable of redeveloping thier properties, especially Mr. Genrich. His row of buildings on Genesee should be put in the hands of a capable developer. This was Masiello's promise, and it is now Brown's responsibilty.
The huge M&T lot that sits between Washington and Ellicot has great potential for green space. In Post Office park in Boston the city eliminated a surface lot and burried two levels of parking underneath a large green space. It was hearlded in urban planning circles around the nation as a victory for pedestrians and residential developement. M&T Bank can double their parking and at the same time give a great gift to the City. Millinium Park in Chicago is packed with art, culture, water fountains, open green space, an rice rink and cafes. This could easily be a mini Millinium Park. Residential and commercial developement already flanks the perimeter of the site and this space will allow residents and workers to enjoy a great urban park as well as serving as a gateway from the near eastside to Main Street and the Theater District. Being able to walk thru a beautiful park and not around a 10 foot iron fence makes Rocco's block closer to Main Street and more viable for commercial activity.
I like the idea of a park in place of the M&T parking lot! As a former Portlander I must say I miss the parks, trees and flowers that make downtown Portland so pleasing and elegant. Portland has more parks than any other US city, including many that are only one city block in size, and Portland's blocks are smaller than the average American city block.
While Buffalo's architecture is extremely beautiful I find downtown to be a bit stark and I think it's due to the lack of good-sized trees and landscaped parks. I'm all for incorporating urban parks with gardens, fountains, art, etc. wherever we can downtown. We certainly have enough blank spaces that could asily be converted to wonderful small parks.
We should be planting trees throughout the downtown - carefully selected trees that are appropriate for urban streets.
Think how glorious downtown could be with spring blossoms and fall foliage complementing the amazing architecture we have here!
Larry
Downtown Buffalo appears stark becasue it is lacking in activity. To get that activity it needs density and lots of it. A park on the M&T laot would be a big msitake. The new neighborhood developing on its eastern edge does not need to be separated from main street. It needs to be reconnected to main street. There is so much open space in the form of parking in downtown Buffalo that a new "green space" would be just another wide open space that does not feed the need for more people.
Rocco Termini isn't nearly as great as WestCoastPerspective says. He was about to tear down a community garden on the corner of West and Hudson streets on the West Side. There was no public comment period and the house to be built was a HUD house. It seems inappropriate to build on a parcel that is developed if only by a garden if there are empty lots 2 houses down the street. Termini did however back off, but may come back and build there. Let's hope we can keep some of the beauty in Buffalo.
Larry....you are so right about that M&T lot.....this lot as a park could be a nice bridge of sorts to the Ellicott corridor downtown....
I agree with Steel. Build buildings on those M&T lots, incorporate some green space if you must, but a park that big would not be the best use of the land.
While there could always be more Larry, you should know that the City has planted a couple of hundred trees around Downtown over the last few years (a good many of them around the M&T lots) the vast majority of which are doing quite well. There are also several public spaces with trees very close to the lots (Roosevelt Plaza, Fountain Plaza, and Lafayette Square).
Kirk, I would really like to know whether Rocco knew anything about the community garden when he agreed with BMHA to develop it. I seriously doubt he began the process by deciding that was a good place for a house and went from there. He probably answered some RFP from BMHA saying, "We want someone to build a house on a vacant lot." You frame the issue to make him the bad guy, but one could say that when he found out the community was opposed to his plan he respected that and changed course.
Termini is a GREAT guy, the type of developer Buffalo needs more of. A Park would be a phenomenal link between a new downtown neighborhood and Main Street. I do question one the size of the entire lot, nevertheless one could be incorporated into a housing/mixed-use plan for the site.
Larry--I think there are more trees and gardens in Buffalo than you realize. We may have different notions of what constitutes downtown, but I think Buffalo is one of the greenest places I know in summer. Allentown (which I consider a downtown neighborhood) is swimming in trees and pocket parks and gardens. But we have lost some of our downtown green space, this is true. But the heritage is there, and we can certainly make Buffalo as green as Portland. The waterfront, I think, deserves a better rap--I think it lovely.
I agree that Termini is doing a good job in that section of downtown. I think before we start worrying about what to do with open lots or anything else in that area, something needs to be done about the row of buildings on Genesee. I am not sure what the complete story is with those buildings but something needs to be done and done SOON. That building in its current state sets a negative tone for anyone taking the 33 into downtown. It is one of the first sights that is seen when getting off and heading down oak street.
All great thoughts. One I would like to add is that Termini puts his money where his mouth is and actually gets his projects done 1-2-3.
That, in my mind, is the epitome of a consciencious developer. And, his work is good and fits in with the urban landscape for the future.
Rocco is a great guy and has balls, let's not forget though that it was not Rocco Termini that had the initial vision for the Ellicot Lofts project, but rather it was David Burke of Burke Bros. and EF Burke, the largest residential developer in the SOuthtowns area of Buffalo. Termini works for Burke Bros and is a partner in all of these new developments, Burke is the one putting in all the money for all of the aforementioned projects in the City. I love Rocco but let's give credit where credit is due. The Burkes, Father and Son Eddie and David are the ones who put their money where their mouths were...and continue to.
Rocco is wonderful, but caution is prudent on using eminent domain. Many of the other building owners on the block are very responsible. The owner of the Maureen's Flower Shop building already contains two renovated apartments on the upper floors, but they don't recieve the same attention as Termini's glamorous lofts. Even the Golden Swan, arguably a dive, contains hotel rooms on the upper floors that a new owner (probably not Termini) could turn into something interesting.
It's unwise to allow a single developer to determine the fate of an entire block. Multiple responsible owners will assure the best community development for Oak and Ellicott streets. Termini's vision isn't perfect. Even the architectural renderings above appear to show the removal of a character one-story retail building anchoring the corner of Genesee and Oak streets, all for the sake of a second floor balcony.
this site needs a community billboard so i dont feel like a jerk when i post off topic...
either that or can somebody recommend an active message board on all things buffalo; political, life, our union bitch mayor, etc...i know of 'the buffalo range' but thats just a bunch of sabres fans who think they know whats going on...
im gonna copy and paste this in a couple more just incase no one reads this
...Turn the parking lot into a green space, there are SO MANY ugly and deserted buildings dowtown that it will take decades to renevate them all before we start thinking of new builds, then, when it is time for new build they can start with the usless mall and convention center or better yet and this is a novel idea buffalo...start building towards the water front and back into Blackrock and have a real city on the water. .and yes I know it is in the cards, but moving here from Atlanta, after three years of talk, Atlanta has midtown west [ a whole mini city ] and a new aquarium in the same time slot. I do like Buffalo, but get so tired of talk, I would rather see action...
How do we get on-line discussions and great ideas such as "M & T Park" to the movers and shakers who can actually DO something to make these things happen? (Or at least get them to start thinking about these ideas) I hear many wonderful suggestions about things that can be done to improve our city but wonder if the right people are getting the message. Who can I forward these ideas to?
The M&T lot is very USER UNFRIENDLY because of that horrible iron fence forcing everyone to walk all of the way around it. It would be great to be able to leave Market Arcade Theater, walk through a beautiful park and go to Washington Market for a little something. But when the weather is bad, you don't want to take that walk around the lot. Besides trees and green trump cars any day in my book.
Picture a wonderful park like in NYC @ 23rd & Fifth (Madison Park???); it's about the same size and has been redesigned recently into an asset for that very urban neighborhood.
Buffalo needs to begin thinking in a USER FRIENDLY way; on Main St and the surrounding areas.
I'm talking about a park, not merely "greenspace". I don't think a park would divide or separate the city at all; quite the contrary. Central Park knits Manhattan's neighborhoods together. It's full of life and vitality as are many parks in downtown Portland. These parks provide needed space for outdoor socialization, recreation, dog-walking, etc. Paris has tons of parks scattered throughout its urban density.
Parks add to a city's vitality, not subtract. The many residents who'll be living downtown will need these parks - they won't have yards or even outdoor balconies in many cases.
I don't think downtown Buffalo needs to be a completely solid mass of buildings. In this case, more (parks) is better!!
Madison Park is a great example, so is Grammercy Park or Union Square. These are not green spaces for the sake of being green spaces, they function as social space for urban dwellers and an extention of their living spaces that tends to be quite small, not unlike the residential units downtown. Density is great, no question but there are plenty of corner lots to start building on all over the city. Pocket parks that are surrounded by dense developement is essential for urban residential quality of life. I am also talking about a park that has retail and cafe tents, concrete chess tables, live music pavillion, and maybe an outdoor movie like Bryant Park in NYC.
One key to creating development in this area is getting Mr Genrich to sell that row of buildings on Genesee Street. I know of three buyers over the years that walked away frustrated from dealing with him. The most recent had the capital and the gumption to make it happen.
I agree with MD pocket parks are essential for preserving quality of life in urban areas. We also should be pushing for developers to build downtown residences for purchase. Homeowners having a vested interest in the area would have a much better chance of convincing the city to create more mini parks, greenspaces etc.
This would make a horrible park. the parks you have been describing in NYC are much smaller in proportion to the built environment and density of people near them That is why they are lively. The M&T space as a park would be dead. Concentrate on densifying Buffalo not un-desifying. Buffalo needs people, stores and activity. It needs block after block of connectivity not stop and go development.
And in twenty years we might have that density. Until then we have a surface parking lot on an entire block of downtown land with a 10 foot fence around it. And this site happens to sit in front of the most progressive residential deveopemnt that downtown has seen in about 50 years. I agree with densifying the city, but until we start filling the corners with buildings and filling the vacant buildings at a more rapid clip I still believe an active urban park with small buildings is the best use. I would agree that building on the triangular M&T lot that sits across Chippewa Street is a good idea. A 5 story or higher building there as well as the lot on the corner of Genesee and Ellicott would create the scale and some density that you are questioning David S. This type of park with the residential base that is being created here will hardly make for a dead park. Not to mention lunch breaks and special events. How about a weekly BPO concert with fireworks in the summer. Symphony under the Stars they call it in San Diego and it is every Friday night. Post Office Park in Boston burried a few levels of parking under such a project too. M&T can give the gift of the park and double thier revenue of parking at the same time. Its to bad that City leaders can't spend time with such discussions.
Buffalo will not have to wait 20 years for the density it needs for the downtown corridor to thrive again. Once the secret is out that you can live so cheap there you'll have people from other regions of the country running to move there or at lease rent apartments there. When I tell my friends in Atl GA what you can rent an apartment in Bflo for they cannot believe it. For what you have there you'd have to pay 2 or 3 times as much in most cities. Look at all you baby boomers retiring early and with all that discretionary income.
I do not believe this block of new residents will create the mass needed to support a vibrant park on the huge surface lots in front of them. You'll need over a thousand residents for this to work, not a hundred. The housing units are under 3 stories tall and we still dont have new retail stores opening up anytime soon, so how can a park be vibrant here yet?
We need to continue with brining in residents and more high payin jobs in order for this city and region to thrive and become as vibrant as we wish.
Does anyone ever visit the park between N. Division & S. Division near ECC...of course not. It's run down, a 20+year old fountain that has been broke for years, and the benches full of homeless people sleeping on them. Who takes care of this park? This is right next to ECC, The Bus Terminal and near many office buildings, and yet, you still want another park so soon downtown?
Yes, I DO want a park downtown! I live right near the M&T lot and this lot would NOT be like the 'park' near the bus terminal. First of all, myself and my neighbors live here and would do everything we could to make this the type of park people would want to spend time in. It's all about location, location, location and at his point, this is becoming an area of critical mass. I'm tired of people who point at something negative and say that the same thing will happen here. Things CAN change and it's up to us to make sure that it does!
The benches are full of homeless people because you have the beautiful Lafayette Hotel being used as a flop house SRO, owned by some one who lives in NYC who doesn't give a ******, and is using it as a tax write off for property owned in other profitable cities.
Also, downtown is where all of Erie Counties social services are. I can't think of any on Main St in Snyder or Williamsville, can you?
There are MANY downtown buildings that are being used in this fashion, impedeing retail developement and some sucking up Empire zone money to boot!
Buffalo & NYS should start looking at every tax dollar spent in relationship to "value added" instead of being wasted in this way.
I had heard that the M&T Greenspace that everyone is referring too is BACK on the front burner for the a new M&T Headquarters tower. Rumor has it that since the bank is currently spread throughout multiple buildings throughout the City of Buffalo and county...and Baltimore, the board is dusting off the old plan to build a new tower. They originally contratced HHL to do the study back in 1995. The tower was to include Commercial and retail space. The current rumor has a residential Condo componant as well. Here is the link to the original study.
http://www.hhlarchitects.com/projects/PDFs/M&T%20land%20use.pdf
Back in 95, M&T didnt have the size to sustain a new highrise tower, but with it's recent acquisition of AllFirst, it is now the 18th largest bank in the country (HSBC is 9th now) , and bursting at it's seams, so this rumor may have merit. It would definitely be a good addition to downtown. There are plenty of parking lots that could be converted into parkland, but seriously, this IS Buffalo, and a park available for use 3 months a year will not hold value compared to a 100 space parking lot generating $20,000 a month. Anyway, didn't know if you guys were aware of the M&T Project...
Who says the park will be used ONLY by residents of the housing on that block? And why this obsession with density of buildings and people? Buffalo will never be like Manhattan or SF - it doesn't need to be that dense to be successful or vibrant. I don't think Buffalonians want that, either. Buffalo is so livable and charming precisely because it's not an overly dense rat race. Again, most large cities have parks downtown - Buffalo has none that I'm aware of (I mean parks with grass and trees and gardens and water). They're needed for obvious reasons. They help the environment and they soothe the soul. I find it hard to believe people are arguing against parks!
One last point: Parks are not seasonal. They can be used year round, even in cold snowy Buffalo. Delaware Park doesn't close for the winter. Joggers, dog walkers, etc....
Hey John C, there are over 50,000 downtown workers and a projected influx of 1,500 new residents over the next two years in this area of downtown. If done right it will attract people from outside the immediate area, just like the tiny patches of green on the waterfront , Delaware Park and Laffayete Square at lunch time. It is starnge the detractors only refer to that park near ECC and not Arlington Park, Bidwell Park or Johnson Park. These neighborhood parks are well cared for and loved by the community and two of them are near pretty tough areas. There is plenty of vacant land for density all around the park and everywhere else in the city. I hope you are right Marcia, but I think rent is low because good jobs are scarce, there is always a trade off. Atlanta is expensive because peole are moving there and the same would happen here if the trend was to reverse.
I would love to see that parking lot being utilized on the weekends for something similar to the
26th St Flea Market in NYC, combined with a Farmer's Market.
The 26th St Flea Market took a part of town that was desolate on the weekends & created a vibrant destination. You find many tourists from all over the world there!
The Flea Market in Clarence has this type of reputation in WNY. This could be a great way to get tourists & suburbanites downtown on the weekends when workers are few and it's generally deserted!
Now that's what I'm talking about. Thank you Shopitall these are the kinds of venues that will draw people downtown . We have to look at these areas that are desolate as what they could be not what they are now. The possibilities are endless. There were dozens of sections of the city of Atl that were desolate until a few years ago. Those areas now are the main tourist attractions in the city . Speaking of city , they just created a new one (an instant city , check that out) It's called Atlantic Station in its former life it was a steel plant.
and it sits right on the Interstate of all places. It took maybe 2 years to build complete. Wake up Buffalo . To major developers and Investors Buffalo is a gold mine.
Flea Market in M&T Park. Good Idea.
From the illustrations, I dont see where retail/restuarants will fit in for any of these buildings. Would'nt that make this block alot more vibrant?
Gio,
You are looking at the site from Oak Street side on the 33 off ramp. The buildings facing the Ellicott Street and "M&T Park" have great commercial potential.
He also JUST proposed an alternative to the Elmwood Village (particularly elmwood and forest) He was at tonights meeting at BSC...Quite an impressive design.