wow....impressive!
Carl Paladino gets things done. Period. We need more developers like him regardless of what the hippies say. He's a huge asset to Buffalo
Assaroni, he didn't get anything done with the Webb building, the graystone or the parking lot on court.. he bought his way into this project over another development. By getting things done, you mean pulling strings of puppet politicians to keep himself out of housing court and above the law and securing the easy deals for himself alone then sure. Nothing different than the old boys club playing another round of golf and deciding what's best for themselves and the city.I am not against this project really but the manor for which he conducts business is FAR from something we would want emulated by others.
Thank you sbrof!!!
Carl Paladino is a joke. People like him need to be run out of this town. But I guess we need corrupt developers like we need our corrupt and inept politicians.
And great, we have more shuffling around of residents with this project. How do new residences, regardless of price, keep getting built if we are losing 7 people a day in the city?
Because million dollar homes bring in more tax dollars than filling that vacant lot on the east side. Rich people spend more money and do more for the city than poor people. Look at the clientele and its a big difference.
Jesus Christ or the Beatles could come back and re-develop the water front and there would still be people on this site bitching!
CPL - great job in talking down developers whom are completing projects within the city. You must be all-pro Buffalo.....
Carl Paladino has done more for Buffalo development than any city politician.
If it wasn't for Mr. Paladino there would still be toll booths to enter the city.
What about thte vacant lots of the rest of Buffalo (West side, North, Black Rock/Riverside, etc.) I am also not too sure about the economic impact of Buffalo's western most suburb...
Didn't Paladino get massive tax breaks for this property?
Imagine that view of Genesee without the city court parking ramp blocking the way into Niagara square. then imagine it without the Convention Center and Hyatt Atrium not blocking the view down it off into the horizon...
I love how you critique anything in Buffalo and your just one of the crowd, but you critique any type of development and all hell breaks loose and your anti-Buffalo and anti-development...
sbrof - Paladino didn't buy his way into this project over another development." This Waterfront Village property was bid on publicly with other developers. New York State already included it in the Empire Zone to entice business to occur on the land. Ellicott Development should be applauded, not criticized here.
Assaroni your right bro!
Cant wait till the second tower goes up! {deleted- off topic}
The condos that will have the view of the new casino will be the best!!!
CPL - shuffling the deck?! Residents that are moving in from wealthy suburbs i.e. Clarence, Orchard Park, Amherst..are all places that still should be habitat and recreational space for the rest of the county. These are not people from existing city neighborhoods moving into this residence. Sprawl needs to stop, and the day will come when the core of the city is wealthier than the suburbs, its happening all over America albeit at a much more slower pace here.
Sorry Urbanborder but the News just ran a story today that says Buffalo lost a little bit more population over the last year while those wealthy suburbs you mentioned gained residents. I dunno where they're coming from but it isn't OP and Clarence.
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/388818.html?imw=Y
Population decline is no longer a city thing. The first and even second ring suburbs are also starting to decline here, even the “wealthy suburb” of Amherst. Core is wealthier than the suburb? All over America? Where are you getting your information from? A simple Google search will show you cities are once again in decline and bleeding population for "sunnier pastures" (i.e. third ring suburbs, South/South West, etc.). I am not against this development. It’s great. I’m not a big fan of Paladino, so what. I don't think my opinion of him is changing his development or quest to remove WNY tolls. Its just with all the recent news of the population decline and demolition and vacancy that is rampant, this just seems surreal to me…
Oh well…
Too many people here that are blind to what is going on around them. I understand that the purpose of this site is to promote positives on what is happening in Buffalo, but ignoring the problems and getting excited about bike paths and condos is ridiculous. I see that no article was posted about the recent Census reports and the continual decline in population. Even in this poor national economy, city governments are out promoting their areas for business development. Only in Buffalo does a condo building get so much press. The only ones benifitting from these buildings are out of towners that are looking for alternatives to the tapped out California market. Just like the only people who wopuld have benefitted from a casino would have been the Senecas.
The city needs to look at plans like Youngstown Ohio has. Be realistic and realize that Buffalo isn't and never will be a major city and keep what it has by bringing jobs to the area.
Hey! look above, I posted that article... sorta.
But thats not a positive article Georged. And we're all positive people here on BRO. And if you don't like it they're going to tell you to leave!
I think that the causes for population decline in Buffalo and other older cities are not as dramatic as what everyone believes. For example, how many homes in Elmwood are occupied by couples with no kids or one kid, as compared to the 1960's, when they more likely would have been occupied by a Catholic couple with three, four or more children?
quit painting carl paladino as a savior of Buffalo. He's a greedy, scum bag developer. The praises that "he gets things done", what about 50 Court? [unsubstantiated claim] Thanks for fixing the lock Carl. Did you think we forgot? Go to hell Carl Paladino you greedy bastard.
I know this is off topic, but is anyone planning on doing some picture taking at the Taste this weekend?
Rubygreta,
Yeah, there is no population decrease. It is just a national conspiracy headed by the Census bureau to bring Buffalo down. Sad thing is there would be more people leaving if they could only sell their homes right now.
Don't diss these condos. I generally hate everything about Buffalo, but waterfront condos are a cool feature of every city with a waterfront, and I'm glad that they're finally coming together. I guarantee that any metro area with 900,000 people, even a pathetic one like Buffalo, will have some wealthy people who would not hesitate to spend a lot to live on the waterfront. Every other city that's tried this has succeeded. As the number of rich snobs on the waterfront goes up, there will also be more and more pressure to do something about the rest of the wasteland out by Lake Erie. And the population decrease isn't relevant, even if the area goes down to 800 or 700 thousand, there still will be a demand for this kind of property.
Damn right Genghis... it seems with every new development on that waterfront a knife is driven deeper into the hearts of many Buffaloanians who simply don't matter.
I.e. - We finally have something on the waterfront (Erie Canal).. but it sucks b/c theres shit in the water. Who is will buy condos in Buffalo.. thats silly we're loosing people did you see the news.. bla bla bla. the list goes on... Get it into your heads that waterfront is prime property and we're entering a new era of demographics and prices. ( gas)
I had a professor once who said that Buffalos greatest export is minds.. look at all the damn schools in the area man. Count them up: UB, Buff State, Canisus, Niagara, D'youville etc.. people come here, receive an education and leave. Its called the brain drain people..if things kept going the way they've been going, the whole area would have been empty a while ago. Not ignoring the fact that we are still shrinking.. just not to the extent played up in the Buffalo news and on the television.
Most of these studies are absolutely useless.. b/c they pay no attention to transiency (i.e. whos' not staying) and metropolitian incorporation.
"I think that the causes for population decline in Buffalo and other older cities are not as dramatic as what everyone believes. For example, how many homes in Elmwood are occupied by couples with no kids or one kid, as compared to the 1960's, when they more likely would have been occupied by a Catholic couple with three, four or more children?"
Actually this is a very valid point. A lot of population reduction in cities and the expansion of suburban sprawl is a direct result of shrinking household size. Big extended families used to inhabit old city houses. It wasn't unusual to have 2-3 kids sharing a bedroom.
From a year ago? I think over the past 50 or 60 years the household size is smaller, but not from a year. 2552 fewer people are in the city from 2006 to 2007. That's 7 people a day packing up and leaving the metro, not just the city.
Let's see the city is still Poor. Can't fix city owned pools for it's children yet telling people not to use fire hydrens. I don't blame those people on ch. 7 news the other day saying "We'll continue using these hydrins to cool off till the city fixes it's public pools". ...Crime is unreal here (if you don't feel confortable on most of the city blocks at certain times and NEVER a COP, yeah, it may not be a good thing here), people are still ignorant when it comes to "being different" as they live in a time warp, our downtown core is still DEAD after 5pm and weekends, you can bring in thousands upon thousands of people for a downtown event and the retail and restaurants along Main Street will still remain Closed for the weekend. It only takes 12 hillbillies to stop a Casino project in this town....Wow, and you wonder why this city continues to lose people everyday? And these are just some of the examples as to why this place is messed up.
The census data was actually fairly good news and not bad...and no I am not just listenining to the mayor's bs.... The loss of population was actually quite small both in absolute and percentage numbers. It was lower than what it has been in the past and may actually represent a bottoming out of the population loss trend.
The losses would have been bigger if people could sell their present homes. It was a major stumbling block for many people in the midwest/northeast who wanted to move west or south this year.
georged: and yet in the Buffalo region the home prices have continued to increase. The sales rates are down, but the median and average prices are up, unlike most other regions. So someone looking to jump ship from WNY has an excellent opportunity in that they can still command a relatively good price for their local property while simultaneously facing a buyer's market most other places they would wish to relocate. If anything those looking to leave should be capitalizing on the housing crash wherever it is they want to be.
You can't sell if there are no buyers! Population decreases, poor city, mortgage screenings tougher...not exactly a ripe time to be selling your house in WNY.
I've commented on this project several times before, but it's worth repeating: sbrof is correct. Paladino should not have been the developer for this project. The City of Buffalo asked Downtown Neighborhood Development, Inc. (DND) to develop a Request for Proposals for this project & we did (I was on the Board). Paladino submitted his proposal late, and addressed almost none of the selection criteria. The selection criteria included better access by extending Genesee St., mixed-use (small retail), a variety of price points so young professionals could buy in at $150k, sidewalks, interior parking, greenspace and public art. The Norstar proposal was submitted on time and addressed all of these points. Their design was bland, but DND had several distinguished architects on its board, so the design was easily improved.
The DND board unanimously recommended that the Paladino proposal not be considered, and that the project be awarded to Norstar. The Masiello administration awarded the project to Paladino, over the strong, written objections of DND. The DND board then voted to go out of business rather than continue a charade.
wow is it the heat or what. the comments on this article ane nothing but endless bitching. stop crying no one wants to hear it. if you think buffalo sucks so bad then stop posting on this site.
the 2nd tower is going to be a wonderful addition....ok Paladino...now start scoping land for the 3rd and 4th towers. (I think people will start to see bigger changes on Niagara Street and the west village once the 2nd tower is complete)
by the way did anyone ask him when the court street tower is suppoed to start construction?
or the graystone?
wasnt he supposed to already start the fairmont cremery
As far as downtown parking is concerned...its badly located....and what is built is much to small and their all at capacity. Better to do a parknride than bother with the parking garages.
It's too bad the only million dollar views this building will afford are from the inside looking out...
Georged - read my comment again and think about it. Unless you have an IQ under 50, you should understand what I was trying to say.
you pathetic people who constantly leave negative feedback. When is the last time you left your house? Take a ride around.... it does not matter who is doing it.. someone is. In the past 2 years this city has never seen so much action. give it another few years and you idiots will be jumping on the buffalo wagon. Wake up shit is getting done- it doesnt happen over night.
If the first tower sells out quickly, I hope that the design for the second will be gutsier and glassier.
how do u {deleted- filth} applaud a guy like Savarino, Termini and others when they are worse than Paladino in political connections and bribes? Termini had Massielo get him all the grants for his loft projects and Savarino is a huge contributor. Paladino just hasn't done a hippy lover project and u people don't like that he calls it like it really is.
Assaroni- Where are all these hippies? unless your talking about all the crazy liberals responsible for the good things happening in the elmwood village, allentown, and hertel ave.
this is classic buffalo rising, holy mole-y you people are insane, i hate the new england patriots but i dont go on patriots boards read every article on them and then rip them apart, i go on bills message boards and talk about the team i like. damn you people are insane
yeah elmwood and Allentown are booming! Not. Huge failure rate of small business and huge turnover of commercial tenants.
business looks pretty good on elmwood, of course some fail, but overall it is one of the most desirable neighborhoods in western new york and continues to grow.
When your top district only commands high end home prices of 300k...youre screwed...those homes will be drpping like stones as this recessionmoves forward... short the market
"300k" is a fairly respectable sum, my friend. It only pales in comparison to prices in other badly inflated, over-leveraged markets that are just now entering a long-term correction. In most of the country, $300k gets you a very nice home. And there are many homes in Buffalo that might command a much greater price if they were on the market. Buffalo is just fine. How're things in Vegas?
I don't believe these homes " will drop like stones", they never were overvalued and with gas prices will become even more desirable.
Report this