Buffalo Rising Online

flyguy...once is enough.

They were going to put it in the Steelfields location, adjacent to the Buffalo River to serve South Buffalo. They have decided against it and will not build it there. It was part of their urban (distressed area) strategy/initiative. Again they pulled the plug on the project so don't worry about it.

ohh those people on the East just don't care about anything... amazing...

As for Walmart I have to agree that while it would provide a place for cheap goods it would do nothing but hurt other local businesses. The benefit of Elmwood is its convenience and you are willing to pay a small premium to have it close and to have it local. Bringing in a walmart would totally change the dynamic and I would be willing to bet put a death nail in many many many businesses around the city as a whole. The businesses practiced of walmart make even my dye hard republican friends squirm and refuse to go there.

If they for some reason do try to push into the city then there isn't much we would be able to do to get the kind of structure that would be nice. The smaller the footprint and the more stories it becomes would be the better. At least then it might act as an anchor to spur businesses to want to be near it.. Then again unlike a tops or wegmans it sells everything under the sun at a cheaper price so there isn't any competition.

DO NOT LET WALMART INTO THE CITY OF BUFFALO ANY MORE THAN IT ALREADY HAS....Walmart kills jobs, competition, wages, and cities..this would be the absolute haymaker to make Buffalo irreversibley f*(@# beyond help...stop buying chinese crap and learn how to reuse what you have....

oh great idea so k-mart goes out of business and there is an enormous empty box w/ a mile of parking

Target is already in the city om Deleware, correct?

Zero to negative population growth... Little disposable income. High sales taxes (thank you our elected idiots)Why would any store/chain want to locate themselves in Buffalo or WNY for that matter?

So RonR says: "Why not closer to the east side or smack dab in the middle of the east side. People over there do not care about the design. They would only care about the cheap products and jobs that would be a walking distance from where they live"

Ron, maybe the people on the East Side owe you an apology - thye have more pressing needs to worry about than design standards. Like putting food on the table. You see, worrying about whether or not a building is built up to the curb is a nice luxury that not everyone can afford.

If a WAL-MART was built on the East side..wouldnt it spur development arounf it? Housing, etc. People want an urban environment..they could walk to their store to do their shopping. But OH WAIT...IT WOULD PUT OUT OF BUSINESS THE 30 OR 40 ARAB OWNED STORES THAT CELL 2 WEEK OLD BREAD AND OTHER EXPIRED COMMODITIES!!!!!

I don't really understand why Walmart should be required to change it's design to fit strict urban guidelines, while we permit stores like Wegmans to build whatever they want. Wegmans is just as much a Big Box store surrounded by a sea of parking. Seems like a double standard.

Personally I think all stores in the city should adhere to urban design guidelines. But I don't think it's fair to single out certain companies, while giving other companies a free pass.

as a small business owner myself, i appreciate, but don't buy the small business defense. Small businesses can very well compete with big box retailers by carving out their own unique niche and perfecting their business model. Small business can't compete with big box at their game, volume... but can excel at service and expertise. If a small business is put under, then they most likely didn't play the game correctly. America is capitalist folks, and the business world has always been about competition. A good businessperson understands their strengths, market, and is able to evolve. Besides, Buffalonians are very loyal people.

I'm not a big fan of Walmart but lots of people are. As a life long Buffalo resident and current N.Bflo'er, I'm not opposed to Walmart as long as it's placed appropriatly. I support the former Hills/Big Lots site on Delaware. The site is an eyesore in North BUffalo and could easily support a big box retailer with minor disruption to the surrounding neighborhoods. As far as whether or not it would hurt small businesses, we already have Target, Home Depot, etc so the precedence is there and Hertel is doing better than it did before these stores came to the neighborhood. Someone who is shopping at Conley Furniture is not going to look at Walmart.

I have to say, I am not a fan of Wal Mart, have only been to the store once. Also have to say, what is the difference between them and Costco, Target and other big box retailers. If they must put a store in the city, I hope they do it on Main St, perhaps near West Ferry? That would give access to the East and West sides and perhaps reshape the street which once was thriving (years ago).

Hey Toodeeptilnow - you forgot to mention that the multi-story White Plains Walmart is an old Sears store that was built in the 1960's. And the mutli-story parking garage was also built in the 1960's. Walmart would NEVER have built that building from the ground up. They wanted a presence is lower Westchester County, and this was the only available spot.

Shopping at Walmart is a miserable enough experience. But having to drive up three flights of parking and figure you way around a 3-story store is nightmarish.

Having said that, the notion that Walmart destroys jobs and communities is ridiculous. They provide low-cost merchandise to low-income people. And the so-called "mom and pop" stores that they will allegedly put out of business are already out of business. So build the damn thing. Require high-end landscaping in the parking lot and everything will be fine.

And working at Walmart is better than staying home and collecting welfare, even if the net income gain from working is minimal (we can have a discussion on the welfare problem another day).

bison - having moved here from Orlando, I have first-hand seen Wal Mart destroy upper middle class neighborhoods and turn them into crime-ridden holes. I had to move to escape the crime one Wal Mart brought with it. Wal Mart is completely different from Target in the clientele (sp?) it attracts. It does act as a vacuum that destroys small business and brings the wrong element in with it, not to mention traffic and congestion. Of course the stores in FL were Supercenters, but I have never seen a "good" Wal Mart.

One thing to consider is that many people in the City of Buffalo already do shop at Wal-Mart, they just travel to the suburbs to do so. If people are going to shop at Wal-Mart anyway, why not provide the option of doing so in the city? Nobody can honestly believe that those who shop at Target on Delaware would be purchasing the same items at a small business on Elmwood if that store wasn't there. No, they'd be driving out to Niagara Falls Boulevard. Also, I'd be willing to bet that Target draws in some shoppers from Kenmore and Tonawanda who otherwise wouldn't be shopping in the city. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for supporting small businesses, and I personally try to do so, but everyone isn't necessarily thinking that way. Most of my family lives in the city, and driving out to the Boulevard to go shopping was always the natural thing to do for much of my life. Once the stores at the Delaware Consumer Square opened, a good portion of their shopping was done there instead.

I couldn’t agree more w/ r129. While I’m not a wal-mart fan I have to admit that the people who shop at small stores on Elmwood, Hertel or wherever aren’t going to stop going there b/c "oh dang lets just go to that new wal-mart down the road and do it all in one store". People shop at those stores do it for the experience, an experience that cannot be achieved at wal-mart. Additionally those that do shop at wal-mart are going to continue to shop there no matter what. This is a very similar situation to the Buffalo Creek Casino.

I already see lawsuits flying... Mr. Lippes andd Tielman...start stretching out

1) They all sell overseas items. Kmart, Target, Etc. The american people have voted for cheap imported goods over the past 40 years. I can remember the clothing commercials as a kid around 1980 saying please buy made-in-the-USA. We see where that went. We want everything disposible and want to pay disposible prices for it. Even our homes and neighborhoods are these days.

2) Best bet would be a city financed mega-block in that area with leases to the tenants. A common parking area garage/surface interior to the block with large big box locations facing the street. Mandate at least two entrances, one to the street and one to the parking area. Walmarts exist in Canada attached to malls with up to four entances (two outside, two inside) so it has been established already. Integrate smaller store fronts along the street.

3) I go to Walmart for paper towels etc. because they are consumable necessities and I want them cheap. I separately go to Wegmans for food for the atmophere coupled with the fair prices. What I save is freed up to spend at local stores for higher end durable goods. Gong to Tops to pay 2x as much for paper towels only decreases what I can spend locally on other goods and services. People shopping for picture frames for example are going to Walmart for $2.50 frames regardless of where the walmart is if thats what they want to spend on them. Those that want $30 higher quality ones will be going more local regardless. Give the city the option and make its design unique to the city.

4) For a far reach commnet: What would be the results of converting the first floor of the Main Place mall to lease for a Super Center. Underground parking and direct transit access already exist. Think it would spur more around it in an area that now has nothing?

5) And for the love of all that is holy, stop acting like a sovergn nation with a sweet heart deal for a monopoly on an already high-porfit enterprise is some kind of buisness prodigy. If that deal was open to any private casino operators in the country, we would have had even bigger results. Hell, the ones in PA were even willing to build a new arena for the NHL Penguins if they got that deal. If the Seneca's were so buisness savy why is this their only endevour besides gas and cigarettes and why did they need a compact to accomplish it (excluding the gaming)? Some what coincedental that those other two are becasue of tax free status too? Now inmagine if we gave them a monopoly on them. We'd have some high rollin gas stations. ;)

BuffaloCook - the documentary is union funded. Why are the unions so mad? Because they can't unionize ONE Walmart in the entire United States, even in leftoid places like Ithaca. And Walmart is the #1 employer in the United States. IF WALMART IS SO HORRIBLE, WHY ISN'T ONE OF THE STORES UNIONIZED?

WalMart is no different than the vast majority of retail chains, large and small. Retail pays low because the skill level is low, the margins are small and the competition is tremendous.

And as R129 said, residents of Buffalo drive to the suburbs to shop at WalMart. Might as well let them shop in Buffalo.

Why is it that everyone's ethical standards come into play only when shopping at WalMart? Is it because you've heard the rhetoric over and over again? Check out the tags on the clothes at Target, Kohl's, etc - see how many of the countries you've barely even heard of.

this is typical Buffalo people complaining... Stop the big guys, stop progress, we want an old General Store... Obviously you cant fight a free market enterprise, this is globalism people and the cities who embrace it will thrive and Buffalo has not...thus we are where we are...

ew. wal-mart. worst of any cookie cutter big box retailer.

I remember reading in AdAge that Target has become more demanding from a supplier standpoint than Wal-Mart. It seems that Target is looking to match Wal-Mart on price, while retaining their perceived superior design.

Agree I luvNickelCity... Architecture can blend, but lets not try to impede progress because people will show by their patronage whether a WalMart is needed and wanted...