Buffalo Rising Online

three comments in 7 minutes? I doubt any new mega pie in the sky project will be announced for a while especially with the current financial industry woes

The Senecas will have the Casino and Tower built in record time; they get sh!t done.

Will be a fine addition to our skyline.

well in my opinion the next project is probably going to be Palladinos 8-11 story court street building (though it wont change the skyline)

there is also the 2nd waterfront condo tower....which will add to the skyline but not change it significantly

and the project that the Seneca Casino and the Federal Courthouse have in common that no one is talking about? In case you have not guessed it. The Federal Courthouse is going to make the current location of the Convention Center persona non-grata no matter what Snyder says. Once the Federal Court House is complete the current site of the Convention Center is going to be more valuable as an office building in what has become the government district.

furthermore, once the Seneca Hotel is built....we will need a new convention / conference center or the Senecas can easily convert their space for conventions and conferences. The only real way to stop that is to have a private sector CVB that has sufficient space that the Senecas will not be tempted...and not locate it so close to the Wharf, BassPro & Casino that it cant expand.

No one is talking about it now because these two buildings arent finished but when they are....the big topic of conversation will be fighting Snyder's Hyatt so we can build a new convention/conference center.

Snyder was stupid...he should have converted the Hyatt into a smaller hotel, opened up former hotel rooms during the remodel for residential or office space, then demolished the Atrium to reopen Genessee. Now he is utterly dependent on an obsolete convention center that no one wants located there.

Oh, one other thing boys and girls. The starts are aligning for the new convention center. Now is the time to ask the county to allocate the bed tax for a new facility because for the first time we can ask the state and the city of buffalo to allocate money from the casino revenue sharing....meaning this is the first time we can ask the city, county and state (not for money from the general budget which they may not have) for monies that are generated in our region to be allocated to our region!

If we are smart we would start thinking of more projects to keep the states share of the casino revenue to finance local projects...such as reconstructing the wharf district and maybe the DL&W Concourse, the Central Terminal, a light rail extension, an expansion of the ECC downtown campus, a small business incubator park for Buffalo State, etc.

Sheer unadulterated ba//s!

I was just driving down there, checking things out last nite. It's really starting to look good in that area, esp. with the revamped buildings lit up at night just east of the arena. Gives much better an impression of the area to arena-goers than in years past when the buildings were empty and dark. We need to link the soon-to-be-open casino, to cobblestone, to the Central Wharf. That entire stretch could and should capitalize on the traffic driven by each.

Any news on the condo project at the former AND still standing Park Lane ? TY

^^last i heard next spring is a possible start date. Right now uniland has their hands pretty full, Avant and that enormous new building by the airport @ airborne parkway. I have faith in them, they do a good job.

The federal building's steel is labeled as made in Erie PA, where is the Seneca's steel from? China, Japan? Might account for the slow \ faster rate of construction. Just an idea.

Wow - All the building going on - call us Charlotte???

Thats rich...steel hard to come by in a rust belt city built on steel...lol

Question to anyone here:

Are the Senecas building the entire 23 story hotel tower right now as well?

I thought I read where they are building the casino first - then the hotel tower later.

Just curious -

- It is nice to see steel rising!

The answer to Newell's question is easy - the Seneca's.

I've done construction management in other parts of the country, and I'm always amazed HOW LONG it takes for things in Buffalo to get built. And I'm not talking about planning and funding. I mean, steel going up once the first dirt is turned. It took almost two years for the current Commercial Slip to get finished. And its a 100 foot ditch, a two story building, and a boardwalk!

The key is, no one is losing money if construction is slow around here. So it drags out. In Vegas, they can throw up a 2000 room hotel/casino in the same length of time as it took for our Erie Canal project. And its because every minute that the casino is closed, investors are losing $$$.

The Seneca's have the incentive to get the Casino open quick. They know how to get s%^t done. The Federal Courthouse will lag.

hamp, I respectfully disagree. The winter slows down exterior work, but interior finishings take an inordinate amount of time as well. One reason construction takes so long is that many contractors use the fewest workers possible, trading time for lower labor costs. Bashar Issa is a terrible example, but he had 12 people renovating the Statler. 12! How do you get anything done with 12 workers.

Also, there are financial incentives for construction taking longer. Tax avoidance and grant delays. If my building doesn't exist, I am avoiding massive property tax assessments at the time I can least afford them. And on the grant side, The Buffalo Zoo is still waiting (I believe) for their check from Erie County. They are incurring borrowing costs while waiting for government grants to go through. Slow roll the construction, and maybe the $$$ will show up in time.

Having a project funded by taxpayers doesnt make it any less of a progress, its still private investment into the city with just added funding from us. Itll be a lot easier to rationalize destroying old buildings for new ones once areas start getting fixed up than tearing them down for random lots to be constructed.

The Federal Courthouse is the perfect example of government wasting taxpayers' money. It is probably the biggest waste of money since the MetroRail was built.

UNREAL - RonR and Mike.....

People like you are never pleased. Nothing happens - you complain that nothing is happening. Something is happening - you complain it isn't happening fast enough ore it is not good enough.

Wow - talk about doom and gloom! Mike - guess what? The feds either build the court house in Buffalo - or they spend the money on another city. The Metro Rail is fine - it just needs to be expanded to the burbs and airport.

Other people's perception of a city starts with that city's residents. I am convinced that Buffalo residents are their own worst enemy. Most put out a negative vibe and as you can see it resonates throughout the country in how people see Buffalo.

What is funny is when you hear of people who visit Buffalo for the first time - they always say that they were suprised at how nice it is comapared to what they have heard.

Bison716 - I admire your attitude. I wish more people in Buffalo thought like you. Keep spreading the good word!

UNREAL - RonR and Mike.....

People like you are never pleased. Nothing happens - you complain that nothing is happening. Something is happening - you complain it isn't happening fast enough ore it is not good enough.

Wow - talk about doom and gloom! Mike - guess what? The feds either build the court house in Buffalo - or they spend the money on another city. The Metro Rail is fine - it just needs to be expanded to the burbs and airport.

Other people's perception of a city starts with that city's residents. I am convinced that Buffalo residents are their own worst enemy. Most put out a negative vibe and as you can see it resonates throughout the country in how people see Buffalo.

What is funny is when you hear of people who visit Buffalo for the first time - they always say that they were suprised at how nice it is comapared to what they have heard.

Bison716 - I admire your attitude. I wish more people in Buffalo thought like you. Keep spreading the good word!

Contrary to what you think, chevy, my complaint is that government is the most inefficient means by which to spur development and economic renaissance. One of the biggest problems with government spending is shown by your solution for the metrorail - expand it. Government frequently resorts to a plan which involves "escalation of commitment". If something isn't working, pour more money into it. We see it happening everyday in the failed public school system, government intervention in health care, the war on drugs, public transportation - I could go on and on. The only way to allocate resources to the highest use is to let a private, fair and free market determine what people really want and or need.

If the Senecas can't beat a legitimate construction project that is subject to building permits and codes, they would be really lame.

I'm sure that it is not a race because we all know they don't pay any attention to court houses.

ron r you shoul see how governmet throws money at private companies down in the southern states to try to lure bussiness down there. this is what large companies do. pitting one city against another in an atempt to extort as much money as possible from the taxbase to put in their own pockets. this is considered "good" bussiness and commonplace in the private sector.. why do you have a problem with it in buffalo? it is no differant any where else. I i wouldnt call you negative but i think you are calling some progress no progress when this simply isnt true. there are projects that will benefit the city and to say that they wont just because the goverment is involved simply isnt true. asking the tuff questions and praising what has been done can be done at the same time . by the wording of your questions they sound more like accusation rather than anything you would actually want an answer to. mabey im misreading???

RonR is right but he is only half right if that much. Government is inefficent because it is purposely so. When they build say municipal housing....those burocrats spend more per apartment on municipal housing that an entire home single or duplex is worth in Buffalo. However, most of government is as much a welfare program for business as it is for the welfare recipients.

Now, lowly Buffalo isnt going tochange the Federal Government. Whatever we refuse will simply get reallocated by some other greedy politician in some other state. In modern times since LBJ created the Great Society at the same time he fought Vietnam our nation has never had a surplus of trade. We have been in constant debt disquised only by dollar devaluation, off budget items and bonds devalued via deflation.

Now, lowly Buffalo isnt going to change Albany. Albany is run entirely by downstate. The governor isnt from Buffalo or Upstate, neither is the LT Governor, neither is the leader of the senate and assembly. Albany is going to write the rules for downstate and then issue bandaids for the rest of the state to limp along. Now if Buffalo refuses a dollar from the state of new york...it wont lower our taxes or our buracracy...albany will just reallocate it to another project in another district.

That means whatever happens in Erie County and our own municipalities is what we can have control...right! Nope because all our local regional institutions like the Power Authority, Water, Sewar, GBNRTC, NFTA are largely controlled via funding through Albany.....but what about those other programs...well they are controlled by albany by buracracy which we politely call unfunded mandates. Meaning Albany sets the rules without our input but we have to pay for them.

So while Ron is right..he is niaive because the system has to be changed globally. This is one situation where a one step altruitic program doesnt yield result but just allows someone else to engorge themselves in a feast of gluttony at our expense.

Whatever Buffalo gets from the federal government, it should be doubled. Whatever Buffalo gets from the state, it should be doubled.

I say this only with respect to infrastructure. There is very little lowly Buffalo can do upon federal or state buracracy...but we can counter that to a great deal by focussing on a value added economy, a knowledge economy, a ceative economy, a family oriented economy WITH FIRST RATE INFRASTRUCTURE.

New Convention / Conference Center

Pre/Post Production facility for the Film Commission

Lift Bridges to the Inner/Outer Harbor

Upgrading our Rail Yards

Double Tracking so Freight and Passenger no longer share tracks

extending our light rail for inexpensive convenient mass transit that links our regional growth centers: Niagara Falls, Amherst, Airport/Lancaster

Small Business Incubators at our local colleges

additional centers for excellence

expansion of artspace to St Vincents and Notre Dame

new sewars, water mains, curbs, street lights, sidewalks and repaved/rebricked streets

freight rail, truck and air cargo at Niagara Falls airport

brownfield remediation and reconstructing our urban office parks

reconstruction initiatives for in-danger properties (residential and commercial)

There is already a social safety net....which is irresponsible...but infrastructure will help everyone not for weeks but for decades. Once built, Albany cannot take away!

Paterson was asking for a property tax cap but the teachers union wouldnt let him have it. They said any member of the state and senate who supported a property tax cap would have the teachers union support their oponent.

Paterson wanted 1 billion in budget cuts...in a $10 billion state budget. Thats 1% for those not good at math. What did he get 1/2% this year and 1/2% next year?

This is one governor that Im gaining some respect. He may be blind but his tax caps and tax cuts show that he can see whats important.

sonyactivision and I agree....Buffalo has its dysfunctions but on the whole its pretty business friendly...alot of Buffalos screwups had more to do with Albany than with Buffalo.

goverment is not exactly a fair context these days, how many cities could have their own olympic village?(i bet canton could even get one with the money we R'''' spending) Buffalo is a don't taze me bro kind of place. We need to be less dependant on our image and more progressive towards what it means to be here. Someday someone will figure out how to acentuate our imagionation. I can see an urban description of contemplation and a harbor for relaxation.

all and all i am waiting for the magnificance to change macho into considerate.

hamp- don't forget Rock Harbor student housing, the Center for Religous Art, the proposed Black Rock Historic District, Squaw Island Park, and all the small but important restorations and renovations of Buffalos old housing stock.

hamp...thanks for the positive summary!! I know the pessimists will say that you are settling for "better something than nothing", but lets face it, some people will never be happy.

With all these things being done I am personally submitting a handwritten petition to the IOC to host the summer games here in 2020. If you've really lived in the city all your life there's a natural tendency to be skeptical, it's not negativity.

Most of the projects on that list are not only publicly funded, but will require public funding to keep operating. Meanwhile, the pool of money for sustainable private projects will continue to shrink. Get example of progress!