Action Plan: Living

Purpose

To outline a strategic approach to developing the Downtown neighborhood and strengthening the existing surrounding neighborhoods.

Context

The 1999 Strategic Plan for Downtown calls for an active Downtown, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The best means of achieving this goal is to increase the residential population through the development of market-rate housing. Currently there are 3,200 people living in the Central Business District (2000 Census). However there is no sense of an overall Downtown “neighborhood”. This may in part be due to the confusion surrounding the definition of Downtown. To some, the Central Business District bounded by Elmwood, Edward/Goodell, Michigan and the Waterfront is Downtown – others have a broader definition.

Until now, the greatest inhibitor of the development of new housing stock in Downtown Buffalo has been the lack of gap financing, generally defined in terms of the difference between the cost to rehabilitate and the amount of revenue that can be generated by a project. Finding the dollars to fill this gap is difficult given current market conditions. In addition, the process for developing housing remains difficult and unorganized. It is critical that a framework for organizing and making decisions relating to public subsidy be defined.

The demand for market-rate housing in Downtown Buffalo appears strong; people are looking for a unique product, e.g. the “cool” or “wow” factor. What is less clear is the depth of this market and how long the demand can be sustained. Other issues that could potentially inhibit housing development in Downtown Buffalo include the ongoing potential for a severe economic downturn, unchecked suburban housing development, land speculation, and developers accustomed to seeking incentives without equity investment.

(back to the top)