I think that’s what we’re up to, right?
And now this.
BuffaloGeek was at the unveiling, and has exactly the right kind of cynicism about the whole thing. This is the boy who cried wolf. The 6th-ish iteration of a master plan and for what?
Look – I love the design, and I love the plan. I think they’re all great. Then again, I thought plans 3-5 were great, too. So, at this point I have very heavy CanalSide fatigue and have as much confidence that plan 6 will get built as-promised as I did that plans 1-5 would. Also, can we cut the cord to Bass Pro, already? It’s been what – 5 years – since all those dummies held a press conference all decked out in flannel promising a new Bass Pro in the Aud by 2007 or so. Well, it’s 2008 and there’s still no binding agreement. So, if CanalSide insists on having an anchor tenant, go ahead and plan for it, but don’t give Bass Pro the free publicity, looking all the while like Buffalo’s some needy, deluded, psycho ex-girlfriend.
The economy is a much different place today than it was one or two years ago, and there is a poignant desperation in presenting a sweeping, gorgeous wish-list of a plan for renovating a fading downtown in decline when the whole rest of the country is facing economic decline, too. Who will get the mortgage to pay for a swanky condo there? What business will get the line of credit it needs, or be able to make the financial case that downtown Buffalo is absolutely the best place ever for XYZ Corp?
Again – I know the NYPA money is there, and the design is just dandy. I also know that some group or person somewhere is going to balk at this design because there’s a brick out of place or a street being rebuilt is off by 3 feet and .01 degrees off-angle from its historical predecessor.
So, again I say sure, build it. It looks fantastic. I can’t wait to walk out the back of Bass Pro, walk along the canal, sip a triple cappuccino, window-shop, and stay at the hotel overlooking the whole bricked-and-cobbled thing.
And I’ll say the same thing when version 7.0 is unveiled sometime in early 2010.
The Buffalo Record 
It’s beautiful, but I wonder if they had all the money back that they spent on plans and models and studies and press conferences for versions 1-6 if we couldn’t have built and stocked our own version of Bass Pro from ground up. Maybe we could make Larry Quinn manager of that too, since he is doing such fine work on the CanalSide project and the Sabres…..
This presentation was referred to in Geek’s post as a “Steaming Pile of Horseshit”.
Unfortunately for Geek and those who love WNY, it’s the 6th steaming pile of horseshit that’s been offered, and just as likely to be replaced by Steaming Pile of Horseshit version 7.0, which is now in the pre-planning stages.
I can’t help seeing it this way.
I was born in 1957, and that part of the city looked exactly the way it does 51 years later– save some small recent attempts—Aud still there, Skyway was there, open spaces were there.
Chances are I won’t live to be 100, but if I do, It won’t surprise me one bit if on my 100th Birthday, Geek’s grandchildren will be blogging about Steaming Pile of Horse Shit Version 108.
I think its brilliant.
They’ll take down the Aud as fast as they can, BP, and then we’ll see some construction.
It’s development via press conference. I think they have all have reminders built into their Outlook calendars that tell them, “hey, it’s been a while since you said anything about Bass Pro, better do a press event.”
I also think they unveil new models when they think other projects are getting more attention. This community is coming to realize that UB2020 and not Bass Pro offers hope for a better tomorrow. It’s the one project that has near-unanimous suppot and stands a chance of happening. Plus, it has some real momentum behind it.
But the waterfront crowd can’t stand to lose the spotlight to something else, hence another meaningless press event, plan and model to take pictures of.
So I am going to throw out a theory just for kicks.
President Elect Obama and company have floated the idea of a $700Billion to $1Trillion infrastructure investment to spark the economy. President Elect Obama has also said he is a fan of High Speed Rail. Democrats like Higgins and local Democrats have also said they are in favor of the removal of the skyway. So what if….
Bass Pro is no longer the plan and this is nothing more than a stall.
The Aud site is feet away from the Donovan Building. The Donovan building is staying put but it used to be home to Lehigh Valley Terminal. The rail lines for the old Lehigh Valley Railroad are pretty much in tack all the way to the Central Terminal. From the Central Terminal, there is existing rail line all the way to Rochester…..and down the line. Heading the other way, there is some existing rail lines North to the Peace Bridge, which could cross into Canada and head to Toronto.
What if the plan is to NOT build a Bass Pro but instead build a Downtown High Speed Rail Terminal? The end goal is connecting NYC to Toronto via Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany…
The Aud site would sit on top of the existing Metro line where passengers could get off and head north to UB or stay downtown. The Aud site is 50ft from HSBC Arena where passengers could come from Toronto or Rochester for a Sabres game or eventually a Bills game? It would be much easier to sell luxury boxes and raise ticket prices if you can draw from that far out. Can I point out that Larry Quinn works for both the Sabres and is the Chairman for Canal Side Development Committee?
Also, if you look at the evolution of the plans, less and less construction is being placed UNDER the skyway. As in making it easier to remove down the road.
Now I know a lot of people have said keep the skyway up…but the only logical reason outside of preservation of a commute time was the cost. But what if the Federal Government was going to pick up the tab? What if the cost was removed from the local taxpayer and spread out over the Federal taxpayer? It is not like President Elect Obama is going to be Gung-ho in building infrastructure in Texas or Arizona…for obvious reasons.
Added to this, Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State has a job description. One of which is to promote friendly relationships, economic trade and peace with the nations of the world. What if the trade is not product but workforce? What if Clinton views a reversal of outsourcing from Toronto to Buffalo as a healthy trade relationship with Canada?
Another way to look at it is this. If $700Billion is spent on infrastructure, the equal share for just Erie County, based on population, would be $2.3Billion. This is more than enough to fund the skyway removal and kick in to the $10B it would cost to bring a statewide HS rail network.
Crazy I know…but sure as hell is fun to think about it.
“CanalSide fatigue” –I like that.
@lefty—some good ideas.
But NYS should take care of NYS problems. Buffalo should take care of Buffalo problems. But it seems both always look to the Federal Government for help. I think MIKE calls this gimmegimmegimme.
God helps those that help themselves
Conservatives want to help people who want to help themselves
Liberals want to help people who refuse to help themselves.
Look around Buffalo—does it look like a place where self-reliance and stick-to-it-ivness thrives?
I’d say “stinking pile of horeshit” is a pretty accurate description of this plan. All the money that will be thrown at this pipe dream should be instead put to something useful…like say…rebuilding rail infrastructure as alluded to above.
“God helps those that help themselves
Conservatives want to help people who want to help themselves
Liberals want to help people who refuse to help themselves.”
I agree with the God part….
Conservatives help those who want to help Conservatives (make money)
Liberals recognize that money in the hands of the middle class makes it back into the economy quicker thus driving a healthy, prosperous economy.