JMNY83
October 14th, 2007, 6:29:47 PM
The construction crane might soon stand with the chicken wing and snow as a defining Buffalo symbol.
And forget ice boom, think building boom.
Based on a growing stack of blueprints, building permits and construction documents, downtown Buffalo is poised to see more than $1.2 billion in new buildings, plus at least another $250 million in freshly renovated structures within the next five years.
“There’s no question we’re at a tipping point where good things are happening,” said developer Carl J. Montante Sr., chairman of Uniland Development Co. “I love what I’m seeing in the city.” In the past 10 days alone:
• The Seneca Nation of Indians unveiled plans for a $333 million casino/hotel complex in the Cobblestone District.
• Bass Pro Stores signaled intent to build a massive Outdoor World store on the site of Memorial Auditorium and anchor the $275 million Canal Side redevelopment project.
• Ground was broken for the $123 million federal courthouse project in Niagara Square.
That hat trick of high-profile projects is expected to debut nearly simultaneously in 2010.
“We’ve turned the corner, and now we’re prepared to step around the block,” Mayor Byron W. Brown said.
By his tally, the mayor said, total upcoming investment citywide will exceed $4 billion — if every currently proposed city project goes from blueprints to ribbon-cutting.
“Even with the challenges we still face, the new word on Buffalo is that it’s a city on the rise, a city on the upswing,” Brown said.
Buffalo Niagara Partnership President Andrew J. Rudnick shares that view, noting that the overall economic climate is more favorable than it has been during his 20 years here.
“I think there’s probably more investment happening now than in the entire past 20 years. It seems our time is now,” Rudnick said.
..more.. http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/183881.html
And forget ice boom, think building boom.
Based on a growing stack of blueprints, building permits and construction documents, downtown Buffalo is poised to see more than $1.2 billion in new buildings, plus at least another $250 million in freshly renovated structures within the next five years.
“There’s no question we’re at a tipping point where good things are happening,” said developer Carl J. Montante Sr., chairman of Uniland Development Co. “I love what I’m seeing in the city.” In the past 10 days alone:
• The Seneca Nation of Indians unveiled plans for a $333 million casino/hotel complex in the Cobblestone District.
• Bass Pro Stores signaled intent to build a massive Outdoor World store on the site of Memorial Auditorium and anchor the $275 million Canal Side redevelopment project.
• Ground was broken for the $123 million federal courthouse project in Niagara Square.
That hat trick of high-profile projects is expected to debut nearly simultaneously in 2010.
“We’ve turned the corner, and now we’re prepared to step around the block,” Mayor Byron W. Brown said.
By his tally, the mayor said, total upcoming investment citywide will exceed $4 billion — if every currently proposed city project goes from blueprints to ribbon-cutting.
“Even with the challenges we still face, the new word on Buffalo is that it’s a city on the rise, a city on the upswing,” Brown said.
Buffalo Niagara Partnership President Andrew J. Rudnick shares that view, noting that the overall economic climate is more favorable than it has been during his 20 years here.
“I think there’s probably more investment happening now than in the entire past 20 years. It seems our time is now,” Rudnick said.
..more.. http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/183881.html