By Matthew Ricchiazzi:
Despite the Bass Pro debacle of the last decade, the development of Canalside has begun to take its formative shape – brimming with vibrancy, and seemingly a success before its full fruition. But as beautiful as I am sure that it will become once completed, let’s be clear: two blocks is not good enough.
There is too much opportunity – too much potential – staring us in the face. Canalside, as it stands:
There are too many surface parking lots yearning to be developed. There are two highways that sever the city from its waterfront, and should be replaced with a streetscape fully emerged in the urban core. There are historic structures calling out for new life – like the DL&W. And there is an enormously proud citizenry demanding excellence from a government that has long been immersed in a culture of less-than-mediocre complacency.
So let me propose this vision for the second decade of Canalside development: a densely populated – primarily residential – mixed use neighborhood built tightly around restored canalscapes, pedestrian alleyways, narrow streets, and mass transit. Demolishing the Marine Drive Apartments and rebuilding Dante Place would be only the beginning:
While I’m not a fan of stadium driven economic development, since it seems all but inevitable that New York State will be building the Buffalo Bills a new stadium, let’s do it as right as it can be done. It goes without saying that a stadium on the Outer Harbor is an unpalatable proposal that offends our civic sensibilities. The Outer Harbor should be preserved as a massive Harborfront Park with maximum waterfront access.
There is no more suitable location for the Buffalo Bills than just east of Canalside. Broad swaths of surface parking lots, access to mass transit, and proximity to downtown food and entertainment venues presents an invaluable opportunity:
The point that I’m making is this: Canalside can be so much more than the vision that ECHDC is working on today. We should be prodding them to articulate a fuller vision for our inner harbor – beyond the eventual completion of the Aud block.
Matthew Ricchiazzi holds an MBA in Finance and Private Equity, and a BS in Urban Planning, both from Cornell University. He founded Change Buffalo PAC to promote issues of new urbanism in Western New York. He can be reached atchangebuffalo.org.