50 High Street: Coming Down With a Bang
The site will be used for parking until a development plan is formulated. Kaleida has named Ciminelli preferred developer for properties stretching along the north side of High Street between Ellicott and Main streets.
The last implosion of a major downtown building occurred in November 1998. Benderson Development demolished the twelve-story former Ford Hotel at 210 Delaware Avenue to make way for parking for its Hampton Hotel project.
Photo credit: Joe Cascio
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jstraubinger
At last, and shovel ready too.
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TonyD
At least some notice has been sent out to prospective heart attack victims at the sound of this implosion. 6:00 am? Thanks for the head's up. Now we'll know it's not a terrorist attack! :-)
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bbvdm
Where are the preservationists?? Oh my...the horror of it all!!
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ecj
I watched the implosion on Delaware a few years ago and it was intense. I thought, gee, this is awful early, I'd rather sleep in, but being just a few blocks away in the Fruitbelt, who am I kidding? It will wake me up anyway, so I might as well get the kids packed up and go down there. Thank you, anyone who has anything to do with this building coming down! It has been such a scar in the area.
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SLEEPL8
This is outrageous! Herbert Hoover's great grandson's college roomate's best friend's aunt's hair stylist once used the ladies room in that building! They cannot knock it down it is a landmark! I will be laying on the sidewalk in protest and I encourage everyone on Elmwood to join me.
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BSJava
To bad it wasn't the whole East Side
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Sal
Actually the building hasn't "been vacant since 1993." Several homeless people sleep there regularly. Make sure you have the right to evict them before Saturday morning!
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zen
Those are some lame (though predictable) attmepts at humor regarding historic preservation, that's not what it's all about dims.
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bflorox
I wish there was legislation that would maintain the total number of building stories in the city. Meaning that if you raze a building, the replacement has to contain at least as many stories as the one coming down. You could tweak that requirement a little to allow the new structure to be located someplace else that made more business sense. It also would be nice if you could impose a timeframe for redevelopment too so we don't have to wait a generation for something new to go up. I'm glad to see an eyesore go but since the whole effort takes only a few months, I don't see how this shows the developers are serious about this site when new "plans" won't be revealed for two years.
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carlmalone
If you enacted such legislation it would not only fail but would scare off developers. Double trouble. But on a different note, that building has got to be one of the ugliest structures ever built. It looks like a giant turd on stilts. With that said, we must save it, right Elmwood.
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excop
The most noteworthy event for this location was a huge anti-abortion rally and protest that saw the arrest and detainment of more than 100 right-to-lifers. Maybe we should save it on the grounds that Jerry Fallwell encouraged his entourage to participate at this event, causing more than 1,000 protesters from across the country to attend.
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MisterChips
They say that the site will be used for future medical campus development, but since no concrete (pun intended) plans are on the table, I predict that this site will permanently join our celebrated, generous collection of surface lots. The building was nothing to write home about, but neither are city-deadening parking lots. When was the last time downtown surface parking was converted into a building?
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tinker
MIster Chips - I agree with you, but in my opinion I would much rather see a city with parcels that are ready for development, than a city that is full of decaying and crumbling buildings. When we finally cross that tipping point and the city begins to thrive again (much like Atlanta did), the time it takes to turn a parcel sale into a new building will be much lower than if the building was still intact. I think that demolition, of this magnitude, would scare many investors away from building on this spot. The parking lots aren't hurting anything except our pride at this time. I know that there is an argument for reuse and refurbishing these old buildings, but with nothing on the horizon for 5 - 10 more years, it is probably best that we approach this from a logical, instead of emotional, frame of mind.
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SLEEPL8
zen - maybe you are a lame predictable whining conservationist?
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knowledgedableone
Tinker I applaud your response and awareness that development follows the path of least resistance and the path of least resistance implies the removal of asbestos-laden, infrastructurally challenged, poorly constructed ,vacant buildings. Asbestos abatement and demolition are expensive endeavors and risky. Likewise, upon further investigation one would see that the footprint of the building is currently surrounded by surface lots. Any interim use will be subject to the Code requirements of the City of Buffalo and will improve on existing conditions surrounding the site. I see a plethora of building renovation and new construction occurring on and around the medical campus. I am confident this parcel will only enjoy cars sitting on top of it for a short period.
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MRodgers
Quite a simulcast on Channel 4 this morning! Decided to stay put and hold on to my little guy so he wouldn't freak out too badly. The sound of the implosion was pretty loud here on JP and watching it on the news just added to the effect. Ding, dong, the building's dead!
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Ladymoondancer
I watched the implosion from the 15th floor of Buffalo General, where I work. It was impressive, but sad at the same time. Preservationists? Yeah, right, the building was full of asbestos, it had low ceilings and narrow corridors. Some buildings need to come down. um, to the remark about tearing down the rest of the East Side? Have you looked at the West side lately? Face it. thousands of houses and buildings in Buffalo are full of lead based paint, and have deterioted to the point of no-return. Too much nostalgia, a lack of vision and the lack of enthusiasm for change is what is holding back this city. Some buildings, due to their archtecture should be preserved, but we should not be afraid of change and progress. And really, when you look at it, 50 High St. was not a very good looking building. And yeah, for now, the plans call for a additional parking lot for BGH employees and some "parkland" for us. Probably some green space and some nice flowers. And that sounds nice.
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