Yesterday I paid a visit to University at Buffalo's Amherst Campus to sit down and chat with Bob Shibley, AIA - AICP - Senior Advisor to the President, and Bradshaw Hovey, Ph.D - Associate Director, The Urban Design Project. While I was waiting to speak to them, I picked up a copy of the UB Reporter and read the headline, "UB buying M. Wile Co. Building - Purchase to increase university's investment, presence in downtown Buffalo." I sat back and thought about the students that were reading the paper all over campus. Were they excited as to the prospect of an increased presence for the university in a downtown setting? Did the article spark (for them) an interest for some as to the university's role in working towards an urban renaissance? Or was the article reporting on a distant land, the likes of which they never intended to visit during their stay in WNY?
Those were some of the questions that I wanted to find out by speaking to Bob (left) and Bradshaw (right). Some of the questions that I had on my mind pertained to the issue of ‘campus connectivity’. How efficiently could the three campuses operate, and which campuses were going to see the greatest benefit from the UB 2020 plan? Obviously, there had been some positive news this year regarding investments into the South Campus - long overdue investments. And UB's increased presence at the Medical District satiated many urban supporters, while merely whetted the appetite of others. It was funny to be situated on the bustling campus for the interview... all the while trying to imagine what downtown Buffalo would be like if these thousands of students and professors were milling about the central core of the city.
But what's done is done for the most part… and the sentiments seem to say, “Let’s move forward and make this region the best that it can be using the assets that we have… and the assets that we’re building.” Bob and Bradshaw expressed to me that there was absolutely no chance that the Amherst campus would ever pull up from its roots and relocate to downtown Buffalo. The university could never sell the land and the properties to be able to afford the transition. Because of that, the plan is to make the Amherst campus the best that it can be in its current location. The UB 2020 40% growth plan will play a key role in continued growth at the Medical District along with capital improvements and lateral growth at the South and Amherst campuses. The long-range plan is to connect the campuses. Of course this idea has been floated around for a long time, but there has never been more of a sense of urgency as there is now. With the burgeoning Medical Campus, the renaissance of the University District and the Amherst Campus stronghold there needs to be Light Rail connectivity. Student isolation on the Amherst Campus is a huge problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. UB's growth goals, along with heightened environmental concerns, should be used as leverage to push for additional Light Rail routes to UB Amherst (and the airport). We must face the facts that the best way to get more UB Amherst students to interact with the city… to engage the city… is to make it as easy as possible to access the urban resources. Without Light Rail connectivity we will continue to spin our wheels.
Featured in the podcast is a discussion revolving around the progress of the urban core, and how UB is in the process of planning a "very robust presence downtown".