Buffalo Rising Online

I remember seeing those panels going up

I never thought it looked that bad to be honest....I just wish they built the first 1-2-3 floors out to the sidewalk

I will feel alot better when Iskalo Midrise, Court Street Midrise, Seneca Creek Casino Hotel and Issas City Tower go up because this city needs those buildings.

and lets hope that that building next to Redjacket with the hole in the roof, the Greystone with the hole in the roof and other desperate buildings get their lifeline in 2008

Liberty, Hyatt and LaFayette should all go residential in the near future....which will open up downtown to new office buildings

huge waste of time and money

chris69,

Don't forget Gates Circle condo tower!

LOLOLOL Going to look GREAT. The new courthouse (glass exterior), New Era and this will change the entire landscape of Delaware. Don't listen to Sleep, he's just one of those on here trying to start a fire. It'll all look phenom...

urban - this is a serious matter.......just kidding. This building, after the face lift is going to look great. Is Buffalo, finally, moving into the 20th century?

While my money is not going into the project (unless it's subsidized, or I own stock in the company), it seems like a waste of energy and materials to be putting all that work into taking down what looks like it can last for a long time.

Sleepl8: have you ever been to another city? all the building look like this now.

RonR...I know my opinion doesnt matter but since this is a forum for expressing our own opinions I figured I would go ahead do that. I want to see developments, or in ths case redevelopments be successfull. I think it will be difficult to get a return on the huge investment on the facelift of this building. I think the exterior could have been left alone and the money would be better spent on the interior space. Sorry if you disagree.

Greetingcard...yes I have been to other cities. I am not against the glass facade on a new build, I just dont think it is necessary in this case. It is overkill in my opinion. I am sure it will look awesome but will the cost be offset by the gain?

Chris69. I wish the city could support all that at once but I don't think it can. For once the slow and steady mantra has worked to the city's favor. Other cities that had large amounts of downtown residential come on line in the past 5-7 years are being really hurt by the housing downturn. Buffalo, at least not the more stable areas, hasn't seen that. Even boomtowns like Miami are seeing it. If Dulski and Statler come on line and are absorbed into the market then if I had my way I'd like to see the endangered buildings go next. Graystone is such a cool building that it is a shame that it may not by financially viable to save it without public money. Of course if a developer with money wants to move forward on this stuff then that is their call. I just worry about the fallout for the market in general.

I am completely lost on the argument that the money spent on the exterior of this building would have been better spent on the interior. The interior and exterior are both being gutted so what was lost by skinning the building? I liked it for what it was when it was an office building but the glass facade will suit it better for a hotel/condo/office tower.

The progress downtown is wonderful, and if half of what is on the table comes to pass we will have made great strides.

While talking about changing "skin" - the court building to the south of City Hall has to be one of the ugliest buildings in our City. Wonder what it would take to make its look fit into a city with a lot of great architecture?

I concur

I'm sure these two companies did their homework in determining whether or not the facade should be replaced. Micky Mouse isn't running these two companies. Lets leave the decision making to the pros!

BRO... for the record.. a large percentage of remodels and renovations done in the country are subsidized by state and local governments.... thats what happens when you have asbestos and no will to demolish.. just for the record

Well when you figure the cost of doing business in NYS is so high and out of wack when they do subsidize a project like this they are just bringing it back down to the level of cost the rest of the country enjoys. So in a sense it is not a subsidy at all.

RonR...good point. (not the monument thing but the one before) I guess i shouldn't criticize without knowing the exact cost of the facelift and the rental income once the units are leased....and really...my opinion doesn't matter but I am OK with that.

I wonder what it would have looked like if a few bands of the existing facade was left an incorporated as "detail"?

I thought this building would have sat for a while. I'm pleasently surprised to see it moving along so quickly.

I'm pretty sure he was joking ;)

Need not criticize any more peeps, copied and pasted from wkbw.com: This will give the building a fresh contemporary look, but it's also a practical change. "The panels are not efficient from an operation standpoint," explains Montante, "There's a lot of heat loss, not much insulation. So the new façade will be much better insulated," says Montante.