A New, Regular Post by Contributors of Preservation-Ready Sites:
Buffalo is a city on the move. After 50 years of stagnancy, neighborhoods, buildings and parks are coming back to life. However, there remain many sites throughout the city, whether they be individual properties or public spaces, that need some creative and forward-thinking inspiration.
Preservation-Ready Sites, an independent/grassroots media watchdog group comprised of citizens interested in architectural preservation and quality new design opportunities in Buffalo, has launched Buffalo Revised as a way to engage the public, from armchair urban planners to accredited architects, in the discussion around better uses for these sites.
The concept of Buffalo Revised is to engage BRO readers in discussion around adaptive re-use, design and/or preservation of the sites in question. Readers are encouraged to post feedback in this forum and/or post designs, concepts in Preservation-Ready Sites’ group on Facebook. Preservation-Ready will, in turn, compile the feedback and forward it to the actual site owners as a way to instigate a dialogue and/or inform a decision on the future use of the site.
Our first Buffalo Revised sites, as highlighted by the accompanying photo (credit: Steve Siegel), are two surface parking lots at the intersection of Washington and Chippewa (which are owned by M&T Bank). As many know, this was once the site of the Chippewa Market (history).
Now, it is your turn. What grand plan would you come up for the site? Be creative, be lofty. Or, if you prefer, be pragmatic and, in addition to offering a design suggestion, provide a sense of the budget and how you would envision paying for said re-design.
We look forward to your feedback.
