Buffalo Rising Online

Sep 30th, 11:41am By queenseyes

Did you know that there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to convert part of a historic building to a Maritime Center? Yes, this idea was crafted by John Montague of the Maritime Center. It involves a large space, a truck, a boat and a dream. John wants to put the Maritime Center in part of the Colonel Ward Pumping Station. This is one of the biggest ‘no brainer’ ideas that I have heard in a long time. The space is there… the need is there… there are even people ready to go out and raise the money. So what will it take to get this plan put into action? From John Montague:

"This is what I understand - we've met with City officials and they say that it sounds good. But there is no official recognition that the space is free. The space at the pumping station (the former boiler room) is being used for one truck, which is parked in there. It's underutilized space. The modern building on Porter is also underutilized. I'm not sure how to get it to the next stage. At this point, the idea is just kinda dying on the vine. We don't want to be on the back burner. We know that The City is interested - this would revitalize the north end of LaSalle Park... it would make a huge difference as to how that section of the waterfront would function.

“Buffalo State College seems to want to move forward with it. We're looking from both sides – we can start planning the Maritime Center as soon as we get the green light from The City and the college. I would hope that The City would rent it to us for $1 a year rent. Then we can get people (funders) behind the project. We could connect the center with the rowing club and the Yacht Club. The main room is 20,000 sq.' and it's three storeys high - you could have all the boats in there with their masts up. We could have the Canadiana engine (being restored in Alexandria, NY) and the pilothouse in the space too. Our programs could be in there – that would keep a steady flow of people through the space. We could have finger piers running off of the sea wall to the west of the building - just like the Yacht Club has done. The water taxis could go there as one of the stops. The whole complex could be connected to the Inner Harbor. Cyclists could bike down there and take a water taxi to the Erie Basin Marina.

“The pumping station already looks like a museum. And there's plenty of space. It's underutilized space that wouldn't require much to convert - we were in the process of starting raise $4,000,000 to do this at the Porter Avenue site. If given room at the pumping station, that money could go into the infrastructure of the center and museum since the building is already there. This is very easy to imagine. We're waiting for The City to say that this is a good idea. And then we would need the final OK from Buff State to move forward and work together with The City. If those discussions don't move forward, then nothing is going to happen. We need commitment from the top down. We do have the support from other people who have been helping us and want to see this happen. I've been working on a home for the Maritime Center for eight years. We need a space so we can get moving on plans. I think that if people knew what the potential really is, then maybe we can get more momentum.

“We do have alternative locations in mind as well (DL&W Terminal). The pumping station would be a bigger project though – there is no real practical reason for that space not to be utilized. Can you imagine public activity in the building? It’s a historic building that should be open to the public. The guy who parks his truck in there is probably not thinking of the lofty public goals that the building offers. Somebody needs to take the lead on this one.”