Elmwood Avenue has always been a mainstay commercial district in Buffalo. From the days when it was known as The Elmwood Strip, with all of the funky blue neon lighting, to today, a time when the street is shifting into a bold new era, the street has always been, and will always be, one of the lifebloods of the city.
Elmwood is currently going through some growing pains, which is natural in the course of a commercial district. The corner of Elmwood and Forest will help to transform the north end of the street into something that we can all be proud of (see here). Then there’s all of the excitement surrounding the former Children’s Hospital site. Some day, that massive project will be an anchor for that section of the street.
As Elmwood grows up and changes, there’s a new energy about the street. There are also a lot of questions surrounding those changes. What will Elmwood become? What will it look like? What new stores will find their way onto the street? How will shopping trends change? What eateries will pop up? What about public art? And how will the Green Code dictate what happens?
Recently, the National Main Street Center’s UrbanMain program launched an online poll, asking people what their thoughts are, pertaining to Elmwood Avenue from Forest Avenue to North Street.
What is UrbanMain? UrbanMain is a program designed to help restore economic vitality and promote quality of life for residents in under-resourced older and historic commercial districts. The program utilizes a set of community-driven economic development tools and services to bring back sustainable growth back to these traditional neighborhood centers.
The responses that are collected will help to “enhance efforts to reinvigorate the local business environment, advance economic opportunity for residents and position Elmwood Ave. as a destination for existing and new residents while attracting newcomers to the district.”
The survey will close on Friday, September 28th at 5pm, so be sure to take a few minutes to answer the questions. The results will help to shape Elmwood yet again, into a thriving commercial district that we can only imagine at this point in time.