I recall the state of this section of Main Street only 10 - 15 years ago. I used to make frequent stops at Buffalo Medical to pick-up supplies for my wife, before she passed away. The neighborhood was dark and dreary, and there were many homeless, beggars, junkies, and others who lined the doorways. They didn't harass or even bother me, they were just there. Over the years the neighborhood has been cleaned up. The buildings repaired and the street feels safer and more welcoming. I love what they have done with the Granite Works, and I hope that this continues, I only wish it never got as bad as it did in the early 90s.

If only we can do something about that ugly one story medical building across the street and promote this area for more Retail and other businesses to liven up the street a bit. It looks empty (no cars and only two pedestrians)

I think the plants in front of this building and the others in this row look puny and silly. It looks small town. The first floor windows in these buildings are not residential. They are commercial. The plants detract from the street scape in my opinion. They don't enhance the functionality of the windows, they don't look attractive, they don't create a sense of space. Just because it is green does not make it good. They should have invested in some decent sized street trees instead. Use living material to create and enhance space instead of just plopping around the edges of the building. My friends in the architecture world have a very descriptive but vulgar term for this kind of planting which I wish I could use here.

Great project other wise and this small negative is easily corrected.

Shrubs/trees are great when well kept - compare this to the trees that have not been taken care of on Hertel - They look like ass.

"Lets be thankful that the obstructionists did not get there wish for more shovel ready property here"

So to developers the Preservationists are obstructionists, but to Preservationists the developers or demolishers are obstructionists? Which one is it? :-)

Just kidding... I love this building and I am so glad to see the rest of the neighborhood improving. Well, it is improving on that side of Main Street, as the projects off Best Street are a guarantee that development will only progress so far up that block.

WCP - when was your picture taken? It looks like a bright and sunny day; yet there are no cars driving on Main Street.

The picture was taken about one year ago...it was mid-week. I toured the building just before tenants started moving in prior to last year's Downtown Housing Tour.

Another pic, at least there's another parked car in this one. I wish I could say I purposely waited for no cars to enter the frame, but that wasn't the case.

Steel,

I have absolutely LOVED this building my whole life. The materials; the scale; the wonder of it! The facade so reminds me (now) of 19th-century city-directory ads. My brother and I used to read the inscriptions as boys visiting my grandparents. We always used to ask each other what Quincy Mass has to do with it. Thank you for such a special highlight on BRO, at least for me.

I shop here all the time, I like the savings I enjoy with every non-purchase

I would have guessed that the building was constructed to the property line so that these planting strips are actually on city property unless the city changed the property boundaries. In any case its not a huge deal, but it does change the context of the property from its historical look. I'm sure the attacks will come for the comment but this buliding I believe received the HP Investment Tax Credit so the historic context does matter.

If the owners like plants more than concrete, then the 'Guaranty' (Prudential) Building could use plants, yes. There's no reason "urban" should always mean "paved dead space" . This particular building no longer has "commercial display windows", as it's now residential, and the planted areas help to keep passers-by away from the glass.

"Connect with the ground" would involve actual ground, no? Not just concrete?

Trying to find fault with plants is a bit stupid. Hooray for ANY kind of greenery in cities.

Victrola man,

The first floor windows are commercial. No one lives or will live on the first floor.

100 years ago , those windows were "commercial'. Today, they are residential..

And how much "commerce" is in evidence in that photo of Main St? Zero. Your friends in the "architecture world" should join the real world, because they are now in their own little world where they design for each other's approval while crapping on the rest of us.

i heart granite works. best residential project in buffalo. ever.

In one of the original proposal drawings a large tree on the right side of the project blocked some of the building. For those who 'loved' the original building, you'll remember all the windows on the right side, I assume they had something today with onsite production, moving granite in and out of the building.

When I first saw the drawing I thought, great, they're going to keep those windows. Well, the windows are gone, and the tree that blocked the view is in place. I've looked online for that picture, and can't find it. It was also part of the banner that hung on the site during construction.

Irregardless, the project has brought life back to the corner, and I'd think we'd all agree that's a good thing.

I like the shrubs... as long as they remain well cared for. I think that the first floor is still vacant (though I haven't walked past in a little while and could be wrong) but when I toured the project and saw the model unit the residential units were largely filled. The place is gorgeous on the inside as well as out.

My two cents: I like the strip of landscaping as long as it is maintained, it breaks up the sidewalk. But if I were a retailer- I'd want folks to get right up to my window to gaze. The landscaping here may have the unintended result of conveying "look (from a distance) but do not touch." Any retailers want to chime in?

Two lucky residents at Granite Works share the roof of the building- it contains a patio overlooking Main Street.

since i moved into the wv area two years ago it is very rare the Binks has his sidewalks free of snow. talk about it, does nothing.

lol...a discussion about shrubs? Thanks for my morning giggle

About ten years ago, a business owner in this area told me that installation of these planting strips transfered the reponsibility of sidewalk maintenance/snow plowing from the property owner to the city. Can anyone verify whether this is true? If so, it would explain why many of the newer adaptive reuse projects around downtown include these planting strips. Either way, I kind of like them if they're maintained because they tend to "soften" the pedestrian experience.