Buffalo Rising Online

Oct 11th 2007, 11:40am By Steve Stipanovich

Over the past year, Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. has presented a total of three plans for the Canalside development, which is to be anchored by Bass Pro. Plan #1 had Bass Pro in a retrofitted Aud, Plan #2 put Bass Pro on the historic Central Wharf, and now Plan #3 locates Bass Pro on the site of a demolished Aud. So what has changed other than the location of Bass Pro? Quite a lot.

For starters, there is the recreation and/or interpretation of the historic canals that once existed over the whole Canal District. The model presented at yesterday’s press conference was not highly detailed when it came to structures and landscaping, and there is a reason behind this. The model presented what the layout and possible density of development is likely to be, but not individual developments themselves, which will be more greatly fleshed out in the public environmental review process.

The expansion of the canal system is as follows: the Commercial Slip is to be extended to it’s full length into the Aud site where it terminates at the Erie Canal which is likely to be navigable by boats, the Erie Canal is to be excavated and recreated across the Aud and Donovan Building sites which based on the model is likely to be just an interpretation, and finally the Prime Slip is to be recreated as an interpretation much as it was in the previous two plans. This is significant because it, even if it is just by interpretation, truly recreates the Canal District and adds the opportunity for the majority of the development to be on the water. This opens the opportunity for shops and cafes throughout the site to be facing a water feature, which will significantly add to the appeal of the development.

Another significant change is parking. In previous plans, parking has encroached on the historic Erie Canal Terminus site, which has been one of the major points of contention that the preservation community has rallied against. In the new plan parking is mostly to be created under the proposed Bass Pro store as well as in mixed-use structures across Main Street and on the current Marine Drive surface parking lot sites. What this effectively does is to provide convenient parking on the outskirts of the site while getting pedestrians to walk across the site, similar to that of a mall, but outdoors with limited street parking allowing one to park quickly if they are just grabbing something from a store, while those looking to spend time wandering Canalside can park in the ramps at the outskirts. This follows current lifestyle development design practices, but better than most in that most of the new buildings will be mixed-use.

Finally, a few odds and ends. The Bass Pro store itself will, like Plan #2, be owned by ECHDC and leased to Bass Pro. That’s why ECHDC is spending $35 million to build the structure to its’ specifications so that if Bass Pro fails, the building can be more easily reused. Interesting to note, the $600,000 a year lease will almost cover the cost outlaid by ECHDC for the building over the length of the 49-year lease. This is a much better deal that the previous two proposals.

The proposal, as planned is fully funded, except for the bridge to the Outer Harbor at the foot of Main Street. Funding for infrastructure will come from the New York State Power Authority funds earmarked for waterfront development. The rest of the buildings in the development will be built using private funds by Benderson Development, the designated developer for Canalside. This is mostly carried over from the previous plans. Also, very important to note is that buildings in the Canalside development will be held to the design guidelines spelled out in the 2004 EIS for the Inner Harbor development. This is very important in creating a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood throughout the whole development site.

Overall, it would seem that the third time is the charm for the Canalside development. The ECHDC has taken public input and modified the plan to appease the greater majority of groups involved. Final details on the plan will be worked out with full public input through the State’s Environmental Review Process. Don’t fret about this languishing under that process since new buildings cannot start going up until the Aud and Donovan Buildings come down which will not be completed until mid-2009. So there is plenty of time for the process to occur so that shovels can go in the ground as soon as the sites are cleared. In the case of Canalside, it’s a win for all.