My major concern about this residential project and other residential projects in Buffalo that are being built on former industrial sites is that they meet, and in my opinion exceed, environmental requirements. The Hickory Woods project in South Buffalo was a two phase project. Phase 1 was the development of new subsidized affordable houses on New Abby St and Phase 2 was the development of new market rate homes in the same vicinity.. About 6 or 7 of the Phase 2 houses were either built or under construction when the environmental crisis arose and that crisis killed Phase 2 and the Phase 1 houses became worthless. Sycamore Village is actually on its second start. Its earlier startup was halted during construction because of improper environmental remediation. West Coast has given us not only information about the Forge site development but he's tied it into contiguous and nearby developments. When you see the larger picture, you can see what one environmental problem at one site can do to the larger development picture

I would love to see a MIX of styles on the East Side for once. A few apartment buildings several stories high, brownstone style living spaces with the single family homes. How great it would be to have OPTIONS on this side of town instead of just a plain ol' houses. AND I hope we don't see more of these single home filling up spaces on the main avenues such as Broadway, Sycamore, Jefferson, etc. When we should be making a plan for a MIX of business and living again "Just in Case". Building just HOMES and no room for business (grocery stores, retail, restaurants, and so on) then the nieghborhood would NOT be such a neighborhood, just an isolated living space where a car is needed because their would be nothing to walk too.

1. A thriving city is first and foremost a place were people have JOBS, and CAN pay to be a part of it. I'm all for creating a sense of place, but economics is the engie that drives that process, and everything else for that matter.

2. The details of this development are unknown, but Sycamore Village at $170-200k is hardly "catering to the lower classes."

1. A thriving city is first and foremost a place were people have JOBS, and CAN pay to be a part of it. I'm all for creating a sense of place, but economics is the engie that drives that process, and everything else for that matter.

2. The details of this development are unknown, but Sycamore Village at $170-200k is hardly "catering to the lower classes."

This is BuffaloRising at its best...a discussion about an idea which has absolutly no chance of ever happening...

The purpose of the 33 is to provide a commuter highway into down town and provide a link between down town and the airport. The idea of breaking it up to divert traffic through the fruit belt is completely ridiculous

Biniszkiewicz hits the nail on the head in that "The ONLY thing ending the 33 at Jefferson would accomplish is dissuading businesses from locating downtown as we make the commute more of a hassle."

Good story, Belmont Shelter, PUSH, and other associations helping out on the west side should try and engage and encourage a collaborative on the east side so more developments like these can occur. Its also good that religious organizations are beginning to rebuild communities they have faith and pride in restoring. I know AD Price developments has held on to its value, and some have even appreciated since they were built. Who is footing the environmental bill on this site?

I think we all think that chris69 is crazy.

but this idea makes some sense. i think this would greatly improve this section of the east side and allow more growth to happen in the city. ease of access is very important to a business. most people in wny live by....if i can't convienently drive there.....i aint going.

This is my opinion - People want to live in the City, but people don't want the burden of purchasing a "fixerupper." Some people do and most people don't. Yes, the city has a surplus of homes, but people want to purchase a new build - the buyer should have some say as to how the house looks.

Can I once again say what is all to obvious!!!!!

If the Kensington were truncated at Jefferson and the traffic distributed to streets like spring, cherry, jefferson, genesee, broadway, etc....infact...jefferson should replace the elm-oak arterial.....you would see the entire near eastside not just stabilize but gentrify and infill.

why traffic supports business, business supports employees, employees support tenants for rent and property owners for homes.....but redirect traffic to the kensington and you get what we have now.....and for what....less than 5 minutes of travel time as highway access routes are moved further away from downtown and the inner city. Is the kensington really worth the cost to our inner city....absolutely not!

As mentioned in a few postings above, the 33 and other highways going through the city are a REAL problem for development. These highways have destroyed communities and discourage development. Property values drop when you have a highway going pass the front of your house. Highways should link cities together not go through cities. Imagine what would happen to elmowood avenue if we converted it to a highway...I doubt many of those shops would survive for long. Until we turn the 190 and the 33 into boulevards then the areas near those highways will have a difficult time prospering. The only area near the highway in Buffalo that is doing ok is the water front condominiums, and that is because the highway acts as a barrier to cut them off from the projects off of niagara street on the other side of the highway...pathetic.

Biniszkiewicz: Let me explain my "logic". The I-90 and I-290 were build before the areas around it were as developed as they are today. So as a result the development occurred with the highway in mind. In other words, when the galleria mall was build they build it with the highway in mind and chose the location because of the proximity to the highway. However, the 33 and the I-190 were build thorugh developed neighborhoods. Imagine if the DOT decided today to turn Main St. Williamsville into a 33 style highway to connect the I-290 to Transit road. I am sure that the residents of Williamsville would not be too happy about that, and if the construction occurred the businesses on main street would not last very long after. That is what happend to the neighborhoods in buffalo where these highways were built. The area was already developed and already had RESIDENTIAL neighborhoods established there. The 33 came and destroyed that. Nex time you drive on the I-90 look around you and see how many nice houses are set right along the highway....very few...and those that are tend to have a big wall between them and the highway. You mostly have business and cross streets...most of which experienced development after the highway was constructed and people from Buffalo left the city to the suburbs. I have traveled to Europe and to many cities throught the USA and I can tell you that the few cities that actually build a highway through an already established neighborhood destroyed that area. Imagine building a 33 style highway in lower manhattan to make traffic easier for outsiders. In fact look at Boston and their "big dig" where they realized that the highway they build in the city destroyed many neighborhoods and now had to move the highways underground to be able to revitalize the area. Buffalo has 2 options with the 33 area....convert the 33 to a boulevard (more like what it used to be) or tear down all the neighborhoods around the 33 (which would require massive emminent domain and massive costs) and redevelop with a highway in mind.

It's all about density here and an appropriate mix of income classes. They look like they are on the right path.