Cobblestone Shadows Toronto’s Distillery District

One of the fringe benefits of heading to Toronto yesterday was meeting up with a group of urban planners in the Distillery District. Some of the members of the Buffalo contingent had never witnessed the transformation that has taken place in that part of the city. A few years ago I would have been very envious of the district, but during this visit I felt nothing but inspiration. Buffalo’s Cobblestone District has come a long way – that much is certain. Of course the Cobblestone District is a long way towards achieving the same success as the Distillery District, but Rome wasn’t built in a day either.
I guess it was due to recent conversations that I’ve had with Councilman David Franczyk that it dawned on me how fortunate we are. Even though many of the old buildings in that district were demolished (just look at the old maps), we still have the basis for building towards something that will, one day, be very exciting. David was one of the people responsible for securing the remaining building parcels when they were in jeopardy of being demolished (most likely for HSBC parking). Of course there are still vast parking lots to contend with… and a mostly vacant DL&W Terminal… and an infill problem, but the bones are there. We’re fortunate enough to have the Sabres playing, and concerts hosted, just a block away from where Dennis Brinkworth has opened Morrissey’s Irish Pub (in an old truck terminal). Developer Sam Savarino now has his four-storey former ice house fully occupied (corner of South Park and Mississippi) and is on his (along with Avalon Development) way to seeing the 5-storey sister building (corner of Perry and Mississippi) fully occupied as well. The Cobblestone Bar (corner of South Park and Mississippi) has become a regular watering hole for Sabres’ fans, and on Michigan Street the Swannie House still functions as a ‘best kept secret’ eatery and pub. Even The Malamute Tavern on South Park adds to the Cobblestone’s character (just don’t ring the ship bell above the bar). Think back to when it all started with the Elk Street Terminal lofts… people said that Obletz was crazy. For a couple of years IBC digital has called the converted terminal home. Milo’s diner opened up – a neat little place to grab some good, cheap food. The diner is right across from where the downtown Seneca Casino is to be built (like it or not). Let’s not forget The Cotter fireboat and the historic grain elevators.
Next summer visitors will be able to walk across the Whipple Truss Bridge while exploring the Inner Harbor. We’re still waiting to hear what will become of the Bunnytown buildings, but in order to gain speed, the vacant brick structures on Illinois Street need to get straightened out. It would be nice to see a plan put in place for the vacant parking lots… The BSC Group, Cannon Design, The City of Buffalo and Empire State Development have been looking at the potential building envelopes (converting parking to structures – more on that later). There has been momentum, and I would think that it would behoove anyone who is interested in The Cobblestone District to pay a visit to the Distillery District. With the right decisions being made, we could be a lot closer to something as awesome in years to come.