(rshsdepot) Latest Plan for Buffalo DL&W Terminal

[jdent1_@_optonline.net]

From the EL List...

Subject (erielack) Latest Plan for Buffalo DL&W Terminal  

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DLW_Term_First_Level.jpg (image/jpeg, 1326x890 109996 bytes, BF: 10.73 ppb)
DLW_Term_Upper_Deck_Inside.jpg (image/jpeg, 1299x853 269634 bytes, BF: 4.11 ppb)
DLW_Term_Upper_Deck.jpg (image/jpeg, 1318x886 308308 bytes, BF: 3.79 ppb)

List,

Here is Plan # 63 for the Buffalo DL&W Terminal. Don't put much stock
in it. The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) produces
2 or 3 plans a year for the past 25 years. Their motto and Mission Statement
reads: "PLANNING, NOT DOING". Late last year - a gambling casino. Earlier
last year - home to the Buffalo & Erie County Historiacal Society. Before that - 
a railroad museum. Before that - a hotel, etc. etc. etc.

Attached are 3 photos I took back in the early 80's when the terminal was
being converted to storage sheds and a maintenance facility for the NFTA
light rail. My friend was construction manager for the site and I gained rare
access and information.

Main Street may see revival - 2 ideas entertained for 3-block section

By SHARON LINSTEDT 
Buffalo News Staff Reporter
8/26/2006 

The former DL&W train terminal at the foot of Main Street could become a convention center, and the nearby HSBC Atrium office building could be converted to a hotel under a long-term vision to revitalize Buffalo's Lower Main Street. 
The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. on Friday confirmed that those two high-concept reuses are being contemplated as part of its effort to transform a three-block section of Main Street, from the Buffalo River to Exchange Street. The goal is to turn it into a place to work, live and play, anchored by a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store in the Aud. 

"I would categorize these as early concepts of what could be," said Larry Quinn, vice president of the harbor development panel. 

The convention center and hotel ideas are "extremely preliminary, but intriguing," he added. 

"We haven't talked to the [Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which owns the DL&W terminal] and have had a brief conversation with HSBC Bank. We're only at the point where we're dreaming several years out about what could happen on Lower Main Street," he said. 

In March, the harbor panel unveiled a multiphase blueprint for some $1.4 billion in development aimed at harnessing the momentum of Bass Pro, the Erie Canal Harbor restoration and the emerging Cobblestone District to create a neighborhood along Main Street. These latest ideas are part of a "fleshing out" process, Quinn said. 

"We're continuing to work on specifics for the first phase, but we also need to look out into the future. Both the DL&W and HSBC buildings are in the footprint of the project, so we can't ignore them. We need to consider both short-term and long-range possibilities," he said. 

He noted that the plan unveiled in March included housing across the Buffalo River on the outer harbor, accessed via a two-lane lift bridge that hasn't been built. 

"That's another example of contemplating what's possible. We're exploring the "what ifs' to make sure this is the best project it can be," Quinn added. 

Ronald R. Dukarm
rdukarm_@_adelphia.net

Jim Dent
Oakland, NJ
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1414
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org