Look everyone it's Disneyland in a box! the newest craze, make a custom city center for your suburb!! coming to a sprawlway near you.








From Buffalo Rising

Benderson Development is planning a 'lifestyle center' for 30 acres recently purchased from the Buffalo Shooting Club on Maple Road in Amherst. Preliminary plans call for a mix of office, retail and residential space.

Lifestyle centers are one of the biggest trends in retailing today. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers (yes there is such an organization), a lifestyle center is most often located near affluent residential neighborhoods, and caters to the retail needs and "lifestyle" pursuits of consumers in its trading area. It has an open-air configuration and typically includes 150,000 to 500,000 square feet of retail space occupied by upscale national chain specialty stores. Other elements differentiate the lifestyle center in its role as a multi-purpose leisure-time destination including restaurants, entertainment, and amenities such as fountains and parks. Many are designed as a 'Main Street' with nostalgic building facades, including residences above stores, office space and even hotels. In other words, a fancy strip mall.

From the Buffalo News

Benderson Development Co. has purchased the Buffalo Shooting Club on Maple Road in Amherst and plans to build a $40 million-plus "town center," with upscale retail, housing, office space and hotel.

Benderson, which is best known for strip plazas and big box retail centers, acquired the 32-acre gun club property on Maple Road, between Millersport Highway and North Forest Road, for $3.1 million. The developer envisions a small village ambience, with attractive buildings and heavily landscaped streets.

"We want to create a one-of-a-kind development that will be as aesthetically pleasing for its tenants and visitors as it will be for the Maple Road community," said Benderson's Eric L. Recoon. "From the architecture, to the landscaping, to the tenant mix, we want to do something very special."

I absolutely love this idea, a mock pro-casino parade, awesome. except i think they should get a permit and do it in the street. realy cool.

From the No casino Erie Listserv

Calling actors, artists, creative people of all kinds, to become part
of a mock pro-casino procession down Elmwood at 10:00 am, on Saturday,
May 6, from Bidwell Parkway to Allen Street.

Next planning session, Thursday, March 30, 6:00-7:00 pm. Rust Belt
Books, Allen Street near Elmwood.

The central focus of the procession will be a rolling Casino created by
Franklin LaVoie--in the center of which will be a toilet, down which
vast amounts of money will be thrown.

The procession will include characters excited about the coming of the
casino to Buffalo, possibly Politicians, Gambling Addicts, Pimps,
Prostitutes, Gluttonous Buffet Eaters, Dealers, Cab Drivers, Lady Luck,
Sandwich-Board wearers, Casino Cheer Leaders, and the Great
Hypnotist/Great Mesmerizer who goes around telling people that "This
will be good for the economy, this will bring in jobs, this is a done
deal, you are getting very sleepy, this will be good for the
economy..." Creative possibilities for characters, handouts, etc. are
endless. We hope to have a lot of fun, and even to get a message
across.

If you are interested in participating, but can't attend the next
meeting, or if you want more information, call Anna Kay at 812-8292.

The plan, incidentally, is to do this in a way that is completely
legal, and requires no permits. I.e., we will be walking along the
sidewalk, crossing the street only at intersections, with the lights,
not blocking pedestrian traffic or access to any buildings, and not
using megaphones or any sound amplification. Wearing costumes,
carrying signs, and doing street theatre along the way is fine.

Please spread the word.

I agree with Jenks [inlink]jenks,86[/inlink] that those buildings aren't as inviting as others on the strip. Stores like, Everything Elmwood, Urban, and etc have a real advantage over the businesses in these homes, one reason is that they have big windows right on the sidewalk. They're more inviting because when you walk by you can see what's in the store, and therefore you feel more comfortable walking in and hopefully purchasing something from them.

How many more college students would be spending their beer money at these stores if they could easily see what the place is selling,and who is inside, right from the sidewalk?

furthermore, think of the parents coming to visit their sons and daughters at the college. Many of us went to college, I went to Fredonia, it was far away enough to be your own person, but close enough that mom can come down for lunch. How many students from Elma, Clarance, Hamburg, Rochester, batavia, and elsewhere have parents coming to visit them at Buff State? and how many take their children out for lunch at some nearby restaurant, and wander down the street? With a big new commercial building on the corner, this shopping district will look a lot more attractive to visiting parents who may not have ventured down there to shop yet. and the businesses would really appreciate visiting parents because they are likely to spend money with their children while in town. A new 4 story building would create a grand commercial gateway, and make this part of the city seem as active as it really is.

It is a commercial strip, that is it's purpose, and if the businesses there succeed and expand, then the area is doing well. If you don't like living on an active commercial strip, move to linwood, richmond, colvin, ashland, or any one of the million Buffalo streets that are residential. the greatest challenge for the city today is for it to reestablish itself as the commercial center of WNY, and take some of the money away from the big box chains, which are trampling our farms and forests as the suburbs sprawl ever outward. You know?

That corner deserves more, and this hotel is far better than anything I expected, someone is really willing to put some serious money into that corner. it never had a great corner building like some of those in my neighborhood and around the city. this is an awesome step in the right direction.

I live in Buffalo, Allentown to be exact, and I plan on staying here. Because my future is here in Buffalo I spend a lot of time worrying over the various developments, and disasters affecting the city.

Fighting against the hotel is the wrong battle. Please let's put our energy toward stopping the downtown Casino, preventing the anti-pedestrian federal courthouse from being built on Niagara Square, Let's fight the new Health now building and demand it be more urban and pedestrian oriented, let's extend metro rail to UB North and the Airport, lets help expand the good areas of the city and make it somewhere people want to live and visit.

I want to address some of the myths surrounding this hotel issue. Many of which have been covered in great detail in the newest Artvoice, a fantastic read for anyone looking to investigate this issue.

1) The hotel will not get enough business and is doomed to fail:
The Albright Knox, and Buffalo State administrators are ecstatic about the prospects of a nearby hotel. When Albright Knox has an art opening the place will be full, currently the mansion on Delaware fills up, and after that the Hampton inn downtown, the next option is by the airport. Nobody traveling in from out of town to go see an art exhibit wants to stay next to the airport with a room overlooking highways and drainage ditches. right? They want to stay in the city and see what the city has to offer, this part of Buffalo is a great introduction for out-of-towners who know little about Buffalo besides that it snows here. There are about 10 art openings per year, that's at least 10 times that the hotel will definitely reach maximum capacity. Buff State attracts visitors for graduation and the many events it hosts at the Burchfield, their new performing arts center, and elsewhere on campus. Not to mention prospective students coming for open house, and par rents coming to town to visit their child and participate in the various planned activities that colleges do with students families, homecoming, and etc. Both the Albright and Buff State reserve rooms for their guests, donors speakers and artists that are invited to town. Savarino knows that this is a safe bet.

2) The Hotel will destroy the urban setting and feel of Elmwood:
This is the definition of friendly urban design. It's a mixed use building with retail on the first floor and people on the upper floors to patronize the businesses. That criticism is the most baffling thing about this. It seems that no matter what is proposed the public is against it. It's like the boy who cried wolf, we're opposing every project that is proposed, so when something really dangerous is about to happen, like a downtown casino, nobody will take us seriously because we ALWAYS complain. And we don't just raise the very legitimate concerns like parking and property values, we say "NO, put it elsewhere, how about in the suburbs" ... I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings, but that's really bad. It hurts the city, Our city. Don't build it, put it in the suburbs? I hope nobody takes you seriously.

I have a 4 story building on my corner (pictures below), what's the problem? Dense residential is great, it helps the businesses survive. I have a big grocery store on the other side of Elmwood that I use about 3 times per week, it couldn't survive without the dense residential buildings across the street from it. Having that Grocery store there makes life in Allentown better. You need more people and more density up there in the village, it would be a change for the better.

3) Building or not building this hotel will not effect the rest of the city.
I'll simplify it this way; Buffalo has 2 main objectives, 1) to keep people from moving out of depressed areas and leaving the city, and 2) encouraging people to move into and expand the good areas. Millions of possibilities exist to accomplish these goals, the hotel is a big step toward encouraging and expanding the good areas of the city. investment follows investment, if developers see success they know that if they invest in the area they will be safe too.

The reason I live in Allentown instead of further north on Elmwood is because you just don't have the businesses necessary to live an urban lifestyle. When I come home from work I park my car, and I don't need to move it until I go back to work. I walk to get everything I need, that is the appeal of cities, and it's what makes Buffalo better than West Seneca or Amherst. It's what some people are looking for, and when they realize they can pay $500 per month in Buffalo for what costs $1700 in NYC, or $1300 in Chicago there is a huge incentive to choose Buffalo. But so far Buffalo has few really walkable and pleasant urban areas.



AMENDED with my comment to Paul's concerns about the gentrification of the Elmwood Village:
"Home of the Hits is actually NOT being torn down. The buildings north of it are. I was excited to hear that since it is probably the best and most useful business on that strip.

Yours is a very real concern, it's the flipside of a city that is improving, prices go up. But I would rather have my city improve, than see Buffalo's urban real estate stay one of the lowest priced in the nation. It will grow from Elmwood outward toward Grant and Main St, and I for one am willing pioneer into the edges of a neighborhood and invest in a home.

I want to buy a home on the lower west side, or just west of Richmond and help the Elmwood / Allen areas further improve by being involved in my community. I'll take a hands on approach to bettering my neighborhood, because I think this community is great and I want other people to come in and appreciate it too. When new businesses and new people feel secure moving into the area, that means I have succeeded.

If you're worried about low cost housing and amenities there are other ways to address the issue. The Co-op Mansion on North and Elmwood is a good housing solution, or move into an apartment building instead of a two family home. As for retail, the demand for inexpensive rents will always be there, and building owners will take the opportunity to start opening basement and side-street commercial spaces.

It is possible for upscale visitors to coexist with the current environment. We should at least give them a chance."



Compare My corner, which is very comfortable and welcoming in my eyes.



to the hotel corner


also looks like a great spot to live or visit.




I'm going to close with a quote from Tim Tillman as published in the Artvoice article. For those who don't know Tillman could well be described as "THE" Preservationist of Buffalo, he heads the Campaign for Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture, and is constantly sticking his neck out for Buffalo's history and future.

"I support the hotel," said Tielman. "We did have concerns about the project initially, and when we spoke to them they addressed our concerns on a number of issues-scale, mass, the color of the building. I met with Karl Frizlen, the architect, and Savarino and explained our concerns about the bulkiness of the building, sound, light, issues like that. And they did address them. So it's not like we looked at it uncritically-it's not like we just went 'Yahoo, we're getting a hotel.'

"This project expresses things we've been preaching. It exchanges retail for retail and it adds to the number of people occupying the block. Instead of residents they happen to be hotel guests, but it's putting more people on the sidewalk, which we like.

"And demolishing those buildings Hans Mobius owns is different than the Atwater case," Tielman added, referring to the fight he led against restaurateur Pano Giorgiadis' plan to demolish the Atwater house, which is on the same block. "What makes the Atwater case different is that it's the oldest house on the block, it's rare, architecturally significant and compelling."

Speaking of the Atwater, it's worth noting that an online petition to stop the hotel project had only 72 signatures as of Wednesday, March 1. Compare that to the online petition against the demolition of the Atwater, which more than 6,000 people signed.

"But one of the things I like most about the proposed hotel project," Tielman continued, "is the process that Savarino has engaged in. Having attended both the meeting for the proposed new Buff State Burchfield-Penney Art Center on Saturday and the one for the Elmwood Village Hotel on the following Tuesday, I can't tell you how different these two meetings were. The difference was day and night.

"On Saturday, Buffalo State was arrogant; they didn't want to entertain any idea that somehow their design wasn't the best. Their attitude was that their architect is an Olympian figure and, heaven forbid, they didn't want to change anything that this person very close to God had come up with. It was unimaginable to them.

"On the other hand, Savarino established that their meeting was to get information from the community; that they want to build a hotel and what do you people think? I was just amazed, and I told city officials who were there, I said, 'Man, I just can't believe the difference between these two meetings.' And the Tuesday meeting with Savarino was much better attended and there were a lot of emotions. But things played out much better at the meeting for the hotel, and that had a lot to do with the receptivity of the developer to making changes."

This is one of the things I love about the internet, you can go to the primary source and get the information for yourself. You don't have to rely on cnn and radio show hosts to reinterpret it. I've been reading news articles and listening to people talk about this stuff all day.

Here's the video.
It's hosted by Crooks and Liars, my new favorite website. also check out the video of John Stewart on Lary King, and Arianna Huffington, and Bush interviewed about Katrina on ABC .


"Federal officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief of possible devastation just before Hurricane Katrina struck. Six days of video footage from briefings and transcripts were obtained by The Associated Press. The warnings were that the storm could breach levees, risk lives in the New Orleans Superdome and overwhelm rescuers.A-P reports Bush didn't ask any questions during the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck on August 29th"