We can’t save anything!

Another great article on Buffalo Rising, this time showing just how little of the core of downtown has actually been preserved since circa 1960.

The fact is, one of the few bright spots in Buffalo’s economy has been the power of the city’s high quality historic architecture and a recent wave of restorations to stimulate growth. Buffalo’s historic Allentown, Elmwood Village, and several north Buffalo neighborhoods have leveraged the power of their unique architecture and urbanism to fuel major renewal in the city. Much of downtown’s new residential growth is taking place in historic loft buildings that were recently slated to be demolished for a now tabled convention center. This renewal has even started to attract developers who plan new buildings. Almost every major renovation in Buffalo has met with indignation by those who would claim that it was a waste of money, not feasible, and not worth the effort. Yet time after time these projects have proven successful while those cherished shovel ready sites languish in their emptiness.

I hope that the shovel-ready trend is finally over and the city “leadership” recognizes that Buffalo’s niche in the incredibly expensive New York State is it’s heritage. Of course we want to attract businesses and need economic development for this area to survive, but to do that Buffalo needs to leverage every advantage it has. Nice people and cheap housing aren’t enough.