Canisius College has begun to demolish a dated Science Hall Parking Ramp at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and East Delavan Avenue.
While it’s great to see this tattered monstrosity eliminated, the future of the site is not very promising, in that it is the future home of a new “well-lit and attractively landscaped surface lot” that will provide for 420 parking spaces (see backstory). Hopefully, years down the line, a more constructive use for the lot will arise. A mixed-use project in tandem with the NFTA Metro Rail Delavan / Canisius College Station would have been a big win for the neighborhood.
- The “project” is being funded by the college’s sales of Griffin Hall and Main Humboldt apartment complexes to TDB Properties LLC. The funds are being used to raze the 60-year old parking ramp that was originally built to accommodate shoppers for a Sears Roebuck and Co. store. The ramp had 1,350 parking spots, but due to deteriorating conditions, Canisius was only able to utilize 550 of those spaces. The proceeds from the sale of the aforementioned buildings will – in part – fund the demolition of the ramp and construction of the surface lot.