Author: Caitlin B. Moriarty

Caitlin is an architectural and cultural historian, and she works for a local historic preservation consulting firm. She moved to Buffalo in 2011 to pursue dissertation research about post-World War II neighborhood identity on the West Side. She is interested in contextualizing change over time in the built environment to learn how people and communities use places to create identities and meaning. Caitlin lives in North Buffalo with her husband and two sons.

It has been a busy year for the Kevin Guest House (KGH), a hospital hospitality house located on Ellicott Street near the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC). Recently the site of the Junior League of Buffalo’s Decorators’ Show House, KGH launched its “Who’s Kevin?” campaign this summer to promote the growing organization, which celebrated its 45th anniversary in July. Ongoing fundraising efforts include the $700,000 needed to open a new guest facility on its campus in early 2018. The Garvey Family and the First Hospital Hospitality House in America Today, over 600 hospitality houses across the country serve patients and…

Read More

Plans for Tim and Morgan Stevens’ new restaurant are underway, but eager fans will have to wait for details about the venture coming to 318 Pearl Street. Most recently home to the Century Grill and prior to that, the Macaroni Company, the historic building will soon host a new restaurant from the owners of Ballyhoo (211 South Park Ave). Tim is hesitant to divulge any details prematurely while Block Club finalizes branding and marketing concepts, but he can say with certainty that the new restaurant will depart from Ballyhoo’s ambiance and menu. “I like to let the building do the…

Read More

Wendel Companies, a local design and construction firm, received two Engineering Excellence awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) New York. They will be recognized with all of the award winners in April 2017 at the annual gala. ACEC New York selected the Niagara Falls Intermodal Transportation Center and the Peace Bridge U.S. Commercial Warehouse for Platinum and Gold awards, respectively, based on the quality and significance of each project. In both projects, Wendel worked in conjunction with the owner and multiple stakeholders and regulatory bodies to produce energy efficient buildings with top security measures to serve at…

Read More

In light of several high-profile development projects in the Elmwood Village, the local satellite of the Urban Land Institute hosted a presentation on Wednesday night about how densification and transit-oriented development foster sustainable community growth. George Grasser, Executive Director of Partners for a Livable Western New York, moderated the panel, which consisted of Lisa Sturtevant, Senior Fellow at the Terwilliger Center for Housing, and Joe Minicozzi, Principal at Urban3, a real estate consulting company. Each speaker used statistics and anecdotes from communities across the country to argue that density increases both qualitative and quantitative measures of socially and economically sustainable…

Read More

Shannon Kielich is excited to join the momentum of new business development on Hertel Avenue. She opened the doors to Mink Salon in early October in a completely remodeled storefront at 1858 Hertel Ave, near the intersection of Parker. Her enthusiasm for the business and the neighborhood is evident, and it drove the quick two-month turn around from the time she decided to start the business to her opening day. “When you love something, you make it happen,” she explains. Shannon’s attitude and the salon décor reflect her goal of bringing high style fashion to Hertel while contributing to the…

Read More