Buffalo Rising Online

"The architect and designer from Uniland"

Did Uniland design really this building??? I think it was a shared effort between HHL and a firm in Toronto.

I really don't understand why BuffaloRising only names developers and community organizations and not architects and architecture firms.

memo to the park lane residents and their attorney: this new project WILL increase traffic. that's what happens when you replace a bogus restaurant with a 68-unit condo. imagine that? thought the City wanted more, not less people. oh, i fogot, the traffic might keep judge elvin up at night. sorry; project is doomed.

Actually a restaurant will have more traffic than a residence. The study will show that traffic is reduced by removal of the restaurant in favor of this condo. A restaurant like this one that was here can hold several hundred guests plus employees plus deliveries and garbage removal. That several hundred people changes over sevral times throughout an day and evening. That means the restaurant can generate 1000's of trips in and out daily.

The condo tower will have a small staff of maybe 3 or 4 people versus maybe 75 for the restaurant. The 68 units (probably fewer once people combine some into larger units) will probably average less than 2 per unit. Lets say there are 2 people per unit. That is only 136 people total for the whole day. They may not even drive their car for several days. The restaurant probably turns over 120 people every hour! Name me one person who thinks it would be quieter living next to a restaurant instead of a residence.

The anti crowd seem to have a very week front at this meeting. An architect from Rhode Island with an anti statement, I will supply an Illinois pro statement if anyone wants to bring it in. Side yards will be only 35 feet...haha...As opposed to the typical city side yard that is only 5 feet wide! Not enough time to prepare...what have they been doing for 6 months

Hey Prick! The design is what is being discussed and I think that the designers respondsible for it should be named in a "report" like this one. I'm not asking for a whole recap.

The past is our future? Are you kidding me?

What has the past 50 years in Buffalo been? Declining population.....job loss....???

Thats what you're telling us our future is?

Great argument Lippeshits.

Steel, my friend, I was being a little facetious by suggesting that there would be more traffic than the restaurant; even though the last year or so of the restaurant was pretty quiet. And Hal9000, sorry, but I'm not as smart as you so please show some patience. Anyway, my overall point is: even if the condo adds to traffic, what's wrong with more traffic in a town that's losing people? and, as has been pointed out in previous articles about this project, shouldn't the "anti's" who are concerned about the fabric of this city (or "the past") be more concerned with the corner down the street (Delaware & W. Delavan?) with its vacant lots/shops, pharmacies, and crappy gas stations?

This got to be built! It can be a whole new dawn for the city of Buffalo. I am not sure if everybody realizes how many investors/developers are monitoring the situation very closely.

Please let us know when the next meeting is. Let's be there earlier and more aggressive.

Let drop the whole "Young VS Old" crap. It's ignorant. Not everyone at the Park Lane condos is old. And not everyone that supports the new tower is young. I know several retirees that like the new project, and I know at least one younger person that hates the new project.

We need to focus on getting our ideas heard and not sound like highschool freshmen. Attack the idea, not the person.

Are there any residents of this condo that are in support of this project? Who are the 2,000 souls that signs the petition to kill this project? I find it hard to believe that 2,000 people would knowingly sign such a petition against breathing new life into that location.

I will now put Richard Lippes even with Jim Pitts as one of the most destructive citizens in recent Buffalo history.

as stated in previous posts - - - i'll buy two units off plan - who's the realtor?

Richard Lippes is a hairy crotch blue blood.

I fully agree with "outsidelookingin" - there are more investors/developers than you realize that are just waiting to pounce on this region. Too cheap for too long - good schools, good people, cheap labor.

As I always said, one good project will act as a catalst for the rest. It always has to start somwhere, sometime; that is why this particular project is significant.

I've seen it myself in other cities that are now boomin.

When development occurs, and it will at some point in the future, the preservationists and obstructionists will silently go away as they see ther property values double. Then we can all get on the same page. Money talks, it always does.

I guess the online, pro-development petition will be presented in 2 weeks?

Actually if this building gets built but doesn't market well, the City of Buffalo will buy out all unsold units like BURA did for City Centre. A lot of "friends and family" stole those units when they were re-sold at a fraudulent loss.

Maybe the city should find a bigger space for the next meeting.

I was at the meeting yesterday but unfortunately I arrived at 830 and was forced to stand in the hallway for most of the meeting and could barely hear a thing. However once I got inside I noticed a few things... if construction started tomorrow on the tower then the majority of the opponents would be dead before construction ended because most of them are 100. The biggest concerns of opponents are a curb cut, the side yard being to small, shadows and loss of view. Oh yeah and one park lane condo resident said the building was poorly designed and doesn’t fit in the area and would ruin gates circle "one of the prettiest circles in the city” I wanted to slap that hoe. The park lane condos are in contention for one of the UGLIEST buildings in the city... right up there w/ the convention center. So after the meeting adjourned I went up to the Uniland team and apologized for the bullshit they have to go through.

When I was leaving city hall it struck me that buffalo will probably miss out on a multi million dollar investment because of a sidewalk, grass and a few peoples views of the east side. Way to go crotchety old bastards. P.S. I think it was even the mayor who said, no one has a legal right to a view. I'm only 19 so I didn’t speak at the meeting because I wouldn’t be taken seriously but I wanted to say, "We are in the CITY of Buffalo... shit gets built in cities. Views get obstructed. When is Buffalo going to leave 1800 and enter 2007?

Christa

My numbers are based on (A) restaurant. Studies are based on the potential of a site based on its use. They are not based on how much traffic a poorly run unpopular restaurant generates. If my memory serves me correctly the Park Lane Restaurant seated 130 for dinner and another 250 for banquets. Potential traffic generated by a restaurant at this site is way way more than residential.

And the restaurant currently has 2 curb cuts on the circle and a driveway and a giant parking lot behind it. It was built in the 70's in a fake English Tudor style. It has Tudor detailing made of plastic. Anyone who thinks that is not damaging to the Circle is dilusional

Dear Lippes, you are a dickhead and one reason why Buffalo has been declining throughout your entire lifetime. There is alot of white hair in that picture. Is there anyone who can get a picture of the view that the old buzzards claim will be "lost" from the perspective of the park lane? Maybe we can bulldoze the park lane and all those miserable snow capped obstructionists can ride their power wheel chairs into the new east side old folks home when it goes up.

Aren't there "air rights" in NY state, or is that only in NYC? I know that in NYC an apartment building, for example, can buy the air rights from the property owner next door who owns, say, a shorter building. Thereby the property owner with a tall apartment building can ensure that views and "airflow" are never blocked because he or she owns the space over the neighbor's building. If Parklane Condos owned the air rights over the old Parklane Restaurant, then it would seem to me that they have a case. As it is, they have... well thin air - and their desire to hang on to it at all costs against the will of the wider public and the owner of the development site.

I couldn't agree more with 300miles. This issue has nothing to do with age. It's a mark of really weak thinking to assume that because many Park Lane residents are old AND oppose the project that ALL older people oppose the project.

Let's keep the conversation civil and not personalize it destructive ways.

i also am someone who lives w/in several blocks (what does that mean & who really cares?) and my fear is that lack of new development will further drive people away thus further damaging our city. as flyguy notes: city hall, the darwin martin house, etc., where once "modern/contemporary" buildings (as compared to their then surroundings) so are you saying that for this reason alone, we should oppose any modern design? as i have posted before, what is "unsuitable" for the Olmstead Cirlce area is the crappy corner at Delaware/Delevan. Or, how about the unbelievably run-down "cul-de-sac" of Linwood Terrace adjoining the circle? Or the general dilapitated condition of lower linwood? shouldn't something be done about these current problems/eyesores? i usually do not agree with uniland but, on this one, there are better fights to fight than opposing this new condo.

hjarvis. This is not a "grave issue" Times change. Uniland has taken into considration the landscape of the area and designed an asthetically pleasing building with a minimal footprint. It hurts nothing and no one to mix modern architecture within a historic neighborhoood. How has the socioeconomic status of Buffalo changed in your lifetime? Has it been for better or for worse? You know the answer. The reason for it is the resistance to change by people like you and your nieghbors. You are short sighted and selfish. Buffalo will grow and change despite your efforts today and long after you are gone.

For anyone who is on Facebook:

http://cornell.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2372724704

As a resident of the Gate's Circle apartments on the other side of the proposed site, I feel that the project will add new life to the area. I seriously doubt that it will bring much more traffic then the Park Lane restaurant did. I do recall many an evening before the restaurant closed where traffic and parking in that area were tight. How can less overall people, with their own parking increase the traffic footprint?

This project presents a new beginning to a circle that could be facing its demise shortly with the loss of the hospital. I hope that all of the residents of this city see that development along Delaware ave provides new hope for further progress elsewhere. It also shows that we are not afraid of progress, which is long overdue....

I signed the pro-condo petition to help bring our once vibrant city back.

Urban isn't how the building looks, but the site plan. If this had surface parking everywhere, etc, I could see the reason to fight.

Parking is underground, it is set back to keep green space around the circle like the others. There is nothing to complain about here.

This could be the catalyst of future development at Millard Filmore, or if not done, the continual slide of this circle into abondoned and decay once the hospital closes.

If somebody wanted to invest millions of dollars near my property in this wonderful urban manner, I'd be welcomong them with open arms.

Maybe a Walgreens can move here instead with a nice oversized asphalt lot, flod lights and some nice cinder block ...

"Air rights" was a great comment. We should focus on facts like this, not opinions like it looks ugly, or out of place. How do buildings get built in other cities? Find out.

Since Lippshitz is involved, he will fight as hard and as long as he has to to legally win. We must put together a coherent legal defense, showing that others have no legal right to prevent this type of development in their backyard, if it not a health hazard to them.

glencora: please recognize how petty you sound (curb cuts, 1 driveway, no copy of the plans for your lawyer, lions & tigers & bears?). do you really believe that "managing new developments" is a problem in our little town? what new developments? like i've said before, can't the "anti's" focus on fixing the eyesores that already exist in & around Gates Circle? at least this new eye-sore (the new condo) may generate real tax revenue. by the way; i'm old too.

Well Glencora what do you do with that very pleasant stretch of sidewalk you talk about,... Sit on it,... Lay on it, ... Have dinner parties on it?. It's a sidewalk!!! And why are they required to give LIppes a copy of the plans? Did he request them in the first place? Or were they under some sort of court order? Did you ever stop to think he may never have asked for them. And Big deal, you lived in other cities. so have many of the rest of us . And Yes, I'm old enough to have owned several homes and condominiums around the the country.

bgrillo@city-buffalo.com This is the email to Bill Grillo, head of the planning commission. Voice your support through email.

Glencora - I am 33 and have lived in Boston and Seattle - I'll tell you what - BUFFALO IS A LIGHT YEAR AWAY FROM BEING SIMILAR TO EITHER CITY. WE ARE A PIMPLE COMPARED TO SEATTLE AND BOSTON - when a city grows to be that large, then it makes sese to have quirky rules to preserve what is nice .

On the contrary, WHEN A CITY SUCH AS BUFFALO HASN'T PROGRESSED IN 50 YRS AND NOW HAS A CHANCE AT ONE GOOD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, COMMON SENSE TELLS YOU - DON'T STAND IN ITS WAY!

THINK BEFROE YOU SPEAK. YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT - BUFFALONIANS ARE BEING FORCED TO LEAVE HOME BECAUSE NOTHING POSITIVE EVER HAPPENS HERE! DO YOU WANT ME TO WRITE IT ON YOUR FOREHEAD.

Warning: sarcasm ahead. Humor-impaired, take note.

Thanks to flyguy and others, I am now fully convinced that we can cancel Buffalo Old Home Week because once this tower goes up, we'll quickly get back those lost 500,000 (or whatever figure was cited) Buffalonians. The hard-working Marti Gorman & crew can take a well-deserved vacation. Uniland will save Buffalo for us. Who knew it would be so easy?

Mister chips - its a must needed step in the right direction - showing people abandoned buildings and Sabres emblems aint gonna cut it - show them some progress and maybe they might see some upside.

MOST PEOPLE HERE ARE BROKE - DRIVE BEATERS AND LIVE IN THERE PARENTS BASEMENT.

Those that have left are following a monetary and career goal that can not be fullfilled here.

Glencora --- Can you please provide me with citation for the documents you reference in your argument No. 5. I would be interested in reviewing such document and determining for myself how governing the authority is that you are relying on for this argument.

What is Olmstead's vision for the City? Based on your argument, he would oppose any development along any of his parks. However, in other cities with Olmstead parks, this is simply not the case. For example, what about Columbus Circle? Here is a circle that is next to one of his parks, Central Park. Has is stopped any development? No. Instead, because of its location next to the Park, development has flourished. I agree with you the actual circles and parks themselves should not be touched. However I have never seen nor read anything which stated Olmstead wanted to discourage development along his parks. Instead, even during Olmstead’s lifetime, he witnessed great development along 5th Avenue, Central Park South and West after his park was created. I actually believe he would be very proud of his accomplishment today and development that has sprung from it (expect maybe in Buffalo).

mister chips: warning; more sarcasm ahead. let's stop this project before it starts because preserving gates circle as is what I want. love that rite aid down the street and the smell & sight of those gas stations on the corner of delevan are really special to me. screw uniland; my faith lies with the residents of lancaster and the park lane b/c they truly are looking out for us all. we all know that they're not out for themselves on this one. and, why blemish our record over the last 40 years of getting every major development decision wrong?

I think Glencora's confusion comes from spending too much time with her cousins Glenlivit, Glenfiddich, and Glenkinchie.

Glecora, you wouldn't last 2 minutes on a witness stand the way your facts are changing. You admit you may have misunderstood this or that. What else didn't you understand. Your credibility is shot as to what you heard, or didn't hear. As far as Buffalo's infrastructure, It's built to handle 700,000. So I guess your doom and gloom is a little misplaced. The sky is falling... The sky is falling ...

flyguy: Great comments. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Keep in mind that every young and passionate person like yourself that leaves town tips the scales in favor of those blocking progress. We are not too far away from some great things.

Glencora - I think it is time for you to get your foot surgincally removed from your mouth. There does not seem to be one person on this site that agrees with anything you have to say.

Danies Sack - why bother?

Glencora - when you make the comment that "It's been stated to me that housing in the (literal) shadow of this building could lose as much of 30% of its current value," who said this to you? Was this person an active, Buffalo-based real estate broker? Also, I was one of the few people who spoke in favor of the development and was only allowed to speak after I pushed my way into the room. My arrival time was 8:11 AM and I'm over 40 years old. My maternal family's home (in which we still have a property interest) is on Lancaster Ave as I mentioned at the meeting.

DanielSack - thanks for clarifying your position against the curb cut but in favor of the project. Consider that the City of Buffalo has spilt and sold the property at 760-762 Elmwood Ave, taking away a small "park" area. Also it has granted a driveway easement over city-owned property (known as 0 Nottingham Terr) for the benefit of 315 Nottingham Terr. Both of these actions were questionably done.

Glencora - the argument over this tower is equally...

1.) A cool, new, modern building adding to our city. 2.) Buffalonians sick of a small, petty few that seeminly stop EVERY development in this city. We've been burnt too long by folks like you. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!

i'll buy two units off plan, will the realtor please contact me!

DougK -

Try getting in touch with Uniland Development. www.GatesCircle.com also has the following contact site:

http://gatescircle.com/contactus.html

Looking forward to this tower being built...and another one where Millard-Gates is.

The Bigger Picture.... Buffalo is the land of one thousand opinions...

1. I'll admit it.. as an active member of the younger generation who currently resides in Chicago let me say that its deeply saddening to see so much resistance to a well planned project in a city like Buffalo that needs it. as an individual am more excited to see the old guard/obstructionist group become weaker with every year that passes.... you're arguments are weak as are your intentions... curb cuts and green space. Not only has Uniland taken superb actions to derail your unneeded advances but they've also retained an internationally known landscaper to keep in touch with the Olmstead ideaolgy.

Parks are meant to be built around... the buildings going up here around Millenium park are absolutely amazing... thiink of Chicago or NYc... if people derailed developments in the name of preserving natural integrity/significance... we need a little mind opening... if buffalo is ever gonna get off the ground we need to change our mindset.

Historical/architec. tourism is weak in western new york.... no where near where it should be... and whats to say ppl won't come to see modern buildings as well as old ones...

Its resistance like this that drive the members of my generation away.... there are ppl with money in Buffalo... and there are opportunities abound.. nothing like those "hot cities"... we've all visited and heard about. Buffalo will never be a Seattle or Chicago or Boston.. but whats to say we couldn't be a kick ass small city with a standard of living uncomprable with other small cities in the U.S..... when developments like this are derailed its the one step foward 20 step back syndrome. NOt only does it hurt the developer, but it hurts the area residents, shoppers, commuters, and travelers that frequent our city and realize that there are a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.

and finally...living in Chicago I've become actively involved in researching the real estate market.. as is in the rest of the country real estate transactions are down big time... Here in Illinois condo. sales are 45% lower than they were last year... these hot cities have overbuilt tremondously and have even started canceling projects. While I compare facts here to Buffalo I realize that the housing boom has skipped the area entirely, multiply that by the fact that conversions in Buffalo sell before they are built provides an interesting opportunity not only for profit but also for PROGRESS...... the ability to capitalize on our untapped market and reshape downtown is here... there are thousands of ppl nationwide who are not DEADBEATS that live in their parents basements that would move back if the quality of life and residence were available.

So please realize your position as yesterdays generation and make room for what many on BR call the young and unexperienced.... we more than most want a city that we're proud of..

Good luck Uniland!!!

Glencora,

Can you explain to me exactly how a modern building on this site will negatively effect either the Olmsted plan or our architectural tourism? I am one of those trianed experts you keep refering to. I have multiple architectural degrees and minored in architectural history in undergrad. My wife (an urban planner) and I are the archtiectural tourists everyone talks about attracting when referencing the Martin House Complex restoration, etc. We have never, I repeat never decided not to visit a city w/ great architecture because of modern construction. that is the most asinine thing I have ever heard and to me demonstrates that the opponents of this project are desperatly grasping at straws.

I wonder how many potential visitors skip chicago's Robbie House because of trump's new tower, or how many tourist dollars are lost in Boston because the Hancock Tower is across the street from HH Richardson's trinity Cathedral? My guess...none. get real, if people are going to come here for FLW and FLO, a new building on gates circle will have zero impact on that. If anything it will add to our architectural legacy. Not one, I repeat not one of the great buildings in Buffalo or anywhere else in the world was designed to look like the building next to it. Great design comes from innovation. If Buffalonians of past generations thought like you and the other obstructionists we would not have FLW, FLO, Richardson, Sullivan, Saarinan, etc in this city. Get a clue.

And speaking of Olmsted, his vision for his parkways are over 150 yrs old. the technology didn't even exist to build above 4 or 5 stories when he created Chapin Pkwy. Of course he didn't plan for high rises. And to that point, doesn't the 8 or 10 story Parklane circa 1930? have the same negative effect on the Olmsted plan? It was built decades after Olmsted and is of a design current w/ it's era, not the parkway's. How does that building fit any more or less than the proposed tower?

One more point, I litterally live in the shadow of this project. In fact when I walk out my door in the morning I am confronted by the top 3 floors of the Parklane rising above my nieghbors' houses across the street. In the distance I see the other residential highrises on Deleware. I am exited for this project because I expect it to RAISE my property value. More afluent nieghbors contributing to the tax base and spending money on Elmwood only helps my community thrive.

I plan on writing the Planning Board w/ my concerns and excitment for this project. I suggest everyone else who works during the day and can't make the meetings do the same. My wife and I are the young professional types that everyone talks about keeping here. We, unlike our friends, chose to stay in Buffalo after school and invest in the city we love. When no-brainer development like this is prevented by armchair architects and planners who have no idea what the are talking about, we wonder if we made the right choice. This project alone will not "save our city" but preventing private dollars yet again from developing our city will continue to kill it.

Glencora,

I may be young but I do know what a paragraph is.

OBSERVATIONS:

I agree as well...it's not about age "Old v. Young'...it's about 'Old Buffalo' thinking and it's resident powerbrokers--with Mr. Lippes at the helm.

A traffic study? What an insult to our intellegence! Underground parking and a residential develoment will not adversely affect traffic flow.

Funny how the city supplied such a small room for the meeting--and the Parklane Association somehow 'got the word' to get there early and take all the seats. A glimpse of the crowded room was reminiscent of a scene from 'Night of the Living Dead.' I know someone who lives in the building. She's in her 40's and one of the youngest residents there.

Watch...they will pull out all the stops to stifle this thing--so I'm hopeful that the BRO petition and vocal supporters will continue to grow--and pack the next meeting in the proposed larger venue. If this doesn't happen--the folks at Uniland will punt just like they did with the Waterfront deal...and the Parklane Restaurant will sit there empty...until it has to be boarded up.

Where were these people when the Millard Gates addition went up? Now THAT is an architectural horror show--so you know what you can do with that Olmstead argument! But you know--I'm thinking they saw it as a way to block their view of the East Side!

LanyV - thanks for your follow-up on this.

For those of you interested in attending the next meeting, I urge you to call the Mayor's office at 851-4841 or the hotline at 851-4890 and ask Mayor Brown to get involved in moving the tenatively-set June 19th Planning Board meeting to a larger venue. My calls were sent to the office of Strategic Planning and then to Common Council, but they don't always listen to me.

Build it. The traffic argument is bogus. I can pull a rudimentary traffic study together (trips generated) in about a half hour on Monday if anybody is interested. I guarantee it will be SIGNIFICANTLY lower that that of the restaurants peak.

And complaining about noise? Seriously, stop scraping the bottom of the can. You know, Mr. Issa has been renovating the historic broken elevators in the Statler, maybe you should protest that. Or start massing up your opposition to his "abomination" of a tower.

Lose all credibility so that when the time comes that you jump aboard a fight worth fighting, you'll be discredited and we really will lose something worth keeping. Yeah, that's the way to do it.