Will Buffalo someday be known for being a great place to park a car? If some out-of-the-box planners have their way it may be possible. When I first met with Bashar Issa about the issue of parking in Downtown Buffalo he had just begun to work on The Statler. He told me that parking at the city's core was not a huge problem yet, but the issue had already been affecting workers and visitors to City Hall. Combined with the addition of the new Federal Building, the rebirth of The Statler, and the possibility of the future Buffalo City Tower, he mentioned that it might behoove The City to look into studying public parking for future growth.
Later, when I asked Bashar what he had in mind, he answered that he was looking into an enormous parking structure under Niagara Square. The first question that came to mind was whether that sort of vision was even possible. He answered that it was, and he added that The City was taking a serious look at the idea. Knowing that the monetary nut would be a tough one to crack, I inquired as to where the money would come from. Bashar described a plan that would encompass a working relationship between his BSC Group and the City of Buffalo. If Bashar could come up with the money to fund the underground parking structure, then he would obtain the funds generated from parking for a certain number of years. It would be a win for The City and its future parking woes, and it would benefit Bashar's two projects.
The supplied rendering was generated by the Cannon Design group as part of the Buffalo Urban Design Plan.