I think something like Broadway at the beach in myrtle beach SC would be cool for that site. It would have to be done on a more buffalo scale and the touristy stuff would need to be toned down but I think it would be a great location for something like that.
This site has lots of potential. Great location, and an interesting building. I can imagine lofts, galleries, live/work and MORE. Could have a great name too: "Freezer Queen Lofts".
hamp - just a play on words here from your comment- Another name could be "The Queen City Lofts."
has anyone ever thought about a golf course by the water?....I don't like golf and it does use up a lot of real estate but it could look really nice sitting by the lake. I wish Delaware park could just move theirs there
I've had very similar thoughts as I sat at Dug's Dive and checked out the property. Can you imagine if the building was converted into luxury condos with its own private waterfront park? I would think that they could potentially sell for millions per unit (if Uniland thinks they can sell $2mill units on Delaware, why can't similar units on such beautiful real estate reach a similar price bracket?). Of course a public park would be more fun for all of us, but there must be some developers out there licking their chops at the thought of buying this parcel for $2.5mill.
I don't normally focus on in word usage or things like that but Queenseyes, could you try to use cardinal directions instead of Left of, or Right of. I don't really know where you were standing when looking at this site and if you think about the graphics associated with the article it makes it even less understandable, especially for those people new to Buffalo or unfamiliar with some of the hidden corners of it.
As for the site and the building it is a tough call. I have been to many cities where they use large piers like this for tourism or events. Navy Pier in Chicago, Boston, Baltimore all have them and use them in one fashion or another. I feel that this site as for everything west of Route 5 wont benefit from its waterfront location until the highway is downgraded and a better connection to downtown is made, aka local streets and several bridges and not the skyway.
But until that happens I think this could be a great location for waterfront lofts, they could have their own parking lot, docks, park, and feel very secure being on a peninsula. Obviously public access to the waters edge is paramount but even so It could work. All depends on the costs for the building's renovation. They amenities are great to bring in suburbanites who are just going to drive everywhere anyhow but want easier access to Downtown and the city.
Once the highway and skyway go away then the site and rest of the waterfront could rid itself of the parking lots and start creating it own identity as a neighborhood more self sufficient and less auto-oriented. Then again if we extended the current subway south, over a new bridge and down route 5 we could improve access more to spur developments even with the existing highway.
Golf course on the water...GREAT idea. A "broadway at the Beach" ... GREAT idea. I have been to Myrtle Beach many times. Add a "House of Blues" and I'll be happy ! How about a race track? Lancaster Speedway may be closing this year.
Or how about a driving range? I always thought having one downtown would be great on one of the many empty lots. But right here on the waterfront would be just as good too.
Broadway at the Beach is an awesome place and it would be really cool to have some place like that on our waterfront. There are so many possibilites, I just hope they come to fruition in my lifetime.
Unless the Skyway comes down and Fuhrmann Blvd actually becomes a Blvd, nothing like Broadway at the Beach, House of Blues, Condos or a Bass Pro is going to happen.
This has the same access as the Pier and we all know what happened there. Also, we have yet to hear from the preservationists on this building. Most likely they will find it historic and fight to keep it up as it is a symbol of Buffalo's glory days in the frozen food business. /sarcasm.
Even if the building can come down, why would a developer develop a site that needs demo when there is plenty of shovel ready land close by?
Sadly, unless infrastructure changes are made, these 20 acres are only going to be used for industry and we all know how much new industry comes to Buffalo....... :(
I would be interested in the sites historic industrial uses because essentially this site is a brownfield. Before any reuse of the property can be considered you'd have to find out the level of contamination, that's a huge reason why uniland's proposal got shot down. Digging up anything on the outer harbor is gonna bring something bubbling to the surface.
Golf Courses....man get a foot in reality
Residential is a little closer to reality but not much.
In case others seem to have forgotten Buffalo Nanodynamics is just a short distance away at another former Ford Pier Factory and they are doing very very well.
The Freezer Queen Building and the ADM Building (which hasnt got much attention on Buffalo Rising) both need to follow the Larkin@Exchange. Knock out those bricks and replace them with big windows. The views will be incredible.
As far as waiting for downtown to connect to the piers....you dont have to wait. The Southtowns are doing very well for themselves with some very successful companies.....enough companies that might consider moving or expanding with a short commute over to furhmann boulevard.
We give so little attention to South Buffalo, Hamburg, East Aurora, Orchard Park, West Seneca but they are a part of our community also!
People forget how those large floorplates over at the Larkin were sought after and that was in an eastside location that NO ONE believed in.......Freezer Queen and the ADM building both offer incredible waterfront views with the large floor plates of the Larkin@exchange. I think corporations will make the trip for that...just like they currently do for Nanodynamics.
Wow.. looks like an excellant spot for cruise ships to dock. Hate to say it, but lofts here would be a waste, this location would be better off with something new
Icecreamsub... I do believe there is a plan thats currently in the works for a new golf course of old Bethlehem steel land a little further down the road on the waterfront.
Sbrof... I enjoyed the building that bass pro was proposing for the waterfront.. historic re-creation... I didn't however support bass pro. going there, along with its parking spaces. But looking at that building I couldn't help but think of it at the Buffaloanian equivalent of Navy Pier in Chicago... and then you factor in Freezer queen which seems that it could easily be converted into a place to dock larger and small boat... with this widespread landscaping and parkland thats proposed. Man... you've got quite a little destination right here.
But none of this matters.. not freezer queen... the waterfront... nor basspro... if the skyway stands or isn't lowered and boulevarded.... this is the part of the equation that is essential for things to work.
I think this site would be perfect for a NASCAR track. You could even incorporate a golf course into the track, kind of like what they have at Indy.
The Larkin@Exchange is 600,000 sqft
The Freezer Queen Wharehouse is 300,000 sqft
Does anyone know the size of the ADM building?
If Nanodyanamics can take advantage of the large footprint of the former Ford Factory on a shipping pier and a 600,000 sqft Larkin Warehouse could be fully leased, and the Fairmont Cremery can be rehabbed into residences then the Freezer Queen and ADM Buildings should be easy rehabs into large footprint commercial office space.
Lets get off the lunacy of golf courses, driving ranges and Nascar tracks.....Buffalo needs large footprint office space to attract high value / high wage / high technology jobs to our city.
ADM and Freezer Queen may not be integrated into downtown but neither is the Larkin or the Fairmont Cremery and a host of other Buffalo rehabs.
well, all those professionals with their high tech jobs are going to want to play golf somewhere....why not close to where they live?.....assuming they will live be living in one of those waterfront condos or downtown lofts. I want my waterfront to be useful... a place that is vibrant, and attractive...not some crappy business park.
you dont put golf on your most valuable irreplaceable asset....there is plenty of generic land all over wny for that
you use valuable waterfront property for water sports, water recreation and high value residential and commercial development.
You don't put golf on valuable waterfront property?
Chris69 - I'd think a racist like yourself would have a better sense of the great golf courses in America - Pebble Beach, Shinnecock, Whistling Straits. And those places generate a whole lot of economic activity for their surrounding areas.
Golf? Lofts? This was once a cold storage facility and at over 300,000 sq ft, it could be reused as...a massive new archive. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? But the remoteness of the site and it's design function make it ideal for a company that archives valuable documents or even a server farm. Employment would be minimal but there are so many other incredible sites around Buffalo to stoke those fires that surely the city could get this property into turnaround quickly and without all the fuss and struggle of realizing the ultimate out of every old structure. Who archives, you ask? The Bettmann/Corbis Archive, owned by Bill Gates, is housed underground in West Virginia where millions of incredibly important photographs are maintained at -5 degrees for preservation. If Buffalo could snatch this prize away from those unsuspecting hillbillies,we would have one of the world's pre-eminent collections which would enhance the A K and attract scholars from all over the globe.
racism is your opinion....what I believe is in the sovereignty of the United States which means I am not a globalist, I do not support illegal immigration and I believe that patriotism to our country and loyalty to your community and family is a higher moral responsibility than constantly crying minority victimization so one can get an unfair advantage from the government at the expense of others. If thats racist to you....then up yours!
in case you dont read between the lines..being patriotic to the United States means that you are not in this country earning money while spying and lobbying for another such as the #1 foreign lobby in the US: Israel
(which wants your sons in Afghanistan, Iraq and soon Iran and thats not exactly respecting our sovereignty)
i wish someone would buy this up and make it into an Amphitheatre. Im tired of seeing all the great shows go out to darien lake. Id love to see a concert on the lake erie
YOu don't put golf on your most valuable land... but you put private lofts and residential development there... ya.. you make plenty of sense chris69.
Regardless of the floor plans it doesn't make sense to have a development like this that far away from downtown.... the entire waterfront is going to be public access.. should be public access ( let me rephrase). Outdoor performance center would be nice...dpbflo.. darien lake really blows.
How can you fill all these new housing developments without jobs being created? We really need something that is going to create jobs and bring money to the tax-base....I wouldn't mind a golf course or Ampitheatre but realistically how much money is that going to generate for the area? We need business to come back to this area or all the residential development is for nothing. This is just my opinion though. I still like the idea of the Broadway at the Beach idea....that place generates a ton of cash!
This could easily be another Larkin @ Exchange....it has the large footprint that companies love and its half the sqft of the Larkin at 300,000 sqft ..... I think this has excellent industrial and commercial potential, especially with Nanodynamics next door.
chris69 - you forgot about Amherst, Cheektowaga, Kenmore, Tonawanda as the City neighbors to the North and East. In the light of new building developments in the City which, as of now, seem numerous, a park with a boardwalk type of environment like the Erie Basin Marina would be a pleasant place. My thoughts are that the City needs to fill in the empty space in the buildings it already has. I remember walking though just about all the skyscrapers in the City one summer and there was a lot of empty office space. Although I would like to see more buillding going on in the City, I would also like to see an effort to fill in the empty space also.
halljd39,
I agree with you about the space that we already have that is unused. It seems like a lot of the older buildings are being purchased so hopefully the trend will continue and the office space in the high rises fills up as well. I have high hopes!
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