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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 25, 2011

Buffalo Building Reuse Project Launched by Partnership

COMPOSITION OF PROJECT TEAMS ANNOUNCED

Project to focus on how to encourage building redevelopment today that will yield downtown space that meets business needs of the future and creates vibrancy in region’s core 

(BUFFALO, NY) – In the midst of questions about the fate of individual buildings in downtown Buffalo, and within the broader context of regional office space vacancy rates, changes in the use of the central business district and increased investment outside the traditionally defined downtown core, details of the Buffalo Building Reuse Project were announced today by Buffalo Niagara Partnership President and CEO Andrew J. Rudnick. 

The Partnership accepted Mayor Brown’s December 13 request to lead this initiative, which will evaluate who is and will be 21st century tenants of downtown Buffalo, what they need from downtown mixed-use space, and how developers and building owners can be encouraged and assisted to adapt their properties to meet those needs, and do so consistently with the city’s Queen City Hub Plan.

“I am very pleased the Buffalo Niagara Partnership has agreed to take on this extremely important task and that so many experienced stakeholders in Buffalo’s downtown community have agreed to volunteer their time to this effort,” said Mayor Brown. “We are all committed to ensuring that downtown Buffalo’s commercial, residential and retail needs are maximized to their greatest potential. To that end, the participants in the Buffalo Building Reuse Project will work on a focused, but fast-track to make informed recommendations on how best to utilize the existing infrastructure in downtown based on tenant demand. In addition, as I stated when I first announced my request of the Partnership this past December, we need to develop a cohesive and compelling marketing strategy for our downtown properties. We have tremendous assets in the city’s downtown core, they can be competitive and they can be used to support a more vibrant and dynamic central business district.”

The project will have two teams of volunteers working simultaneously. The first team, led by Robert Shibley, dean of the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, and James Morrell, director of route planning for the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority and chair of the Buffalo Planning Board, will make recommendations on the area to be considered for targeted redevelopment, develop criteria to evaluate structures, and evaluate the space specifications required by employers in our region’s target industry sectors. Out of this process, it will make recommendations of what changes to the current inventory should be made to meet tenant demand, now and in the future, and contribute to overall vibrancy downtown.

Members of this team include:

·         Walter Allen, G.A.R Associates

·         Paul Brown, Building Trades Union

·         Jonathan Dandes, Rich Baseball Operations, Buffalo Niagara Partnership Board Chair

·         Al Grabowski, Director, Greater Buffalo BOMA

·         Kevin Helfer, Buffalo Parking Commissioner

·         Joe Kunkemoeller, Buffalo Preservation Board

·         Jim Militello, President, Militello Realty

·         Carolyn Murray, President, Working for Downtown

·         Alphonso O’Neil-White, President and CEO, Health Now

·         Steve Ricca, Partner, Jaeckle Fleishmann

·         Mike Schmand, Executive Director, Buffalo Place

The second project team, led by Ben Obletz, president of First Amherst Development and Christina Orsi, regional director of Empire State Development Corporation, will focus on what type of loans, gap financing or other tools are needed to help make redevelopment investments in downtown make competitive business sense. It will also determine what oversight or management structure needs to be in place to ensure the recommendations are implemented and redevelopment occurs as planned. 

Members of this team include:

·         Keith Belanger, M&T Bank, Buffalo Place board member     

·         Gary Bichler, partner, R&P Oak Hill Development

·         Paul Ciminelli, president and CEO, Ciminelli Development Corporation        

·         Carl Montante Jr., vice president, Uniland Development Corporation

·         Rocco Termini, president, Signature Development

·         Howard Zemsky, managing partner, CityView Properties                  

Executive Director of the City of Buffalo’s Office of Strategic Planning, Brendan Mehaffy, and Buffalo Niagara Partnership Vice President, Laura Smith, will oversee the project’s progress along with Mayor Brown and Rudnick.

Recommendations are expected to be released late summer/early fall of 2011.

“Reactionary responses to individual building projects or tenant moves aren’t in the best interest of downtown Buffalo, and therefore not the region’s,” said Rudnick. “Our community needs to focus more holistically, on broader, largely employer-driven space needs to help define downtown’s overall future development path. And we need to explore how best to ensure investments in redevelopment occur. The Partnership is pleased to take on this project, which is consistent with the Partnership’s mission and is the kind of work we’ve done throughout the past five decades in downtown Buffalo.”

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ABOUT THE BUFFALO NIAGARA PARTNERSHIP

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership includes nearly 2,500 employer members, working for improved business competitiveness and expanded economic activity in the region. The Partnership advocates, locally, and in Albany, and Washington, D.C., for policies and resources to increase private sector investment and jobs. The Partnership also offers programs and services to its members to increase their chances for business success.