A Message from the Director of
Downtown Buffalo 2002!

There is a story of a man who lost his wallet at night on the street and chose to look for it under the street lamp because “that is where the light is.” In many ways the Downtown Strategic Plan is developing projects where much of the planning work has been done and there is already significant developer interest and constituent support. In short, we are implementing projects “where the light is.”

The hard work is to bring new light to the search, building on the vision and framing the next steps in accord with immediate possibility and strategic impact. The primary tasks in this effort have been identified by the reviews of the strategic plan to date and from our learning based on attempts to implement it. The most important tasks at hand are to enhance the plan specifically in the areas of housing and business development.

We have come a long way in housing with the assistance of the R/UDAT report described in this newsletter and in the development of a revised Urban Renewal Plan for the 700 block of Main Street. Mayor Masiello and the Office of Strategic Planning are also convening all parties in his administration responsible for housing on a regular basis to remove obstacles to the development of housing units in existing as well as new buildings in downtown. Groups like the New Millennium Group are organizing lists of potential occupants for such housing to further demonstrate the market need and to lower the risk for developers. We have much of the vision and we have the constituent, developer, and political will needed to bring a residential population downtown. It is now time to seek the wisdom of the financial and philanthropic community, constructing creative ways to finance residential development that make sense for the downtown.

The Business Development Strategy for downtown is by necessity part of a much larger regional conversation about our economy. A task group of Downtown Buffalo 2002! is currently working to relate the range of regional initiatives to the conditions of our downtown. In addition, they also have the task of looking for unique solutions to downtown business development that are not simply where the light of regional initiatives resides. It is clear, for example, that retail does not “just happen” or simply follow office and housing development. Certainly such developments help, but it will also take a focused effort like that currently being undertaken by Benderson Development Company to fill the 18,000 square feet of retail space in the new Hampton Inn. Success by them in that endeavor will breed success both north and south on Delaware and Elmwood. It will also demonstrate the possibility of success, reducing perceived risk and improving the chances for further retail development downtown.

There is a great deal of exciting work left to do as we shape the strategic plan over the coming six months. The results of that effort are driven by past reviews and will, of course, be subject to another round of full public, professional, stakeholder, and policy reviews.