The City of Buffalo is seeking a developer for the Mohawk Ramp site. The 1.1 site is located at the corner of East Mohawk and Ellicott streets. The city is seeking proposals for a developer or development team to acquire and redevelop the site, which is currently home to the 629-space parking ramp, which was built in 1959. The proposed development must incorporate transportation and the City has a strong preference for proposals that incorporate housing.
On Friday, Mayor Byron W. Brown jump-started the City of Buffalo’s Future of Mobility pilot program by releasing two Requests for Proposals (RFP) that are seen as key to creating a new Mobility and Innovation Zone along Lower Main Street. The second RFP seeks an organization that will create a detailed Transportation Demand Management Strategy Implementation Plan that includes how the organization will manage the City of Buffalo’s parking ramps in downtown.
Historically, the organization that manages the city of Buffalo’s parking assets has been almost exclusively focused on single occupancy vehicle transportation. The RFP seeks an organization that will not only professionally manage the city’s parking ramps, but more deeply consider and support mobility strategies for all modes of transportation, including emerging modes of transportation such as Electronic Micro Mobility (EMM) and transportation software solutions.
“Mobility innovation is more than just finding ways to incorporate next generation transportation technology into our city’s future plans. It is going to require an entirely new approach to how we manage our parking infrastructure, traffic flow, and transportation demand. These RFPs are a critical first step in achieving that vision,” Mayor Brown said.
A project at the Mohawk Parking Ramp site could tie some downtown nodes together. It is located between Lafayette Square and Fountain Plaza/Theater District. It is also located east of Main Street’s 500 block with its mix of restaurants and bars. And finally, it is one block from a light rail station and adjoins two of downtown’s larger residential projects- Holling Place Lofts and The Sinclair.
According to the RFP, proposals for redevelopment of the site with the following will be given preference:
- Mixed-use developments that incorporate affordable housing.
- Proposals that envision creative and cost-effective solutions for structured parking.
- Submissions that have a strong community engagement plan and plan to meet or exceed MWBE goals.
- Submissions that consider an activation of the street level, and an increase to urban vibrancy, while facilitating pedestrian, bicycle, and micromoblity friendly streetscapes.
- Submissions that consider improvement to the public realm.
“We expect respondents to both of these proposals to reflect our vision of a City that views mobility as a means of achieving equity for all of our residents. The respondents’ approach must be consistent with the direction that has been outlined today and be ready to act as partners with the City as the field of mobility evolves with the advent of new technologies,” Mayor Brown said.
Proposals are due April 30.