With the opening of the Chandlery Building, Canalside is seeing another tourism-based project take hold within the still-emerging downtown Buffalo district.
The building, a $14.5 million project undertaken by the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., joins a growing list of tourism-centered developments to have taken hold within the Canalside footprint - and, by extension, the ECHDC's Outer Harbor complex.
"The collection is just emerging," said Patrick Kaler, Visit Buffalo president and CEO.
Visit Buffalo is operating a welcome/visitor's center that anchors the Chandlery Building. The center will not only focus on Canalside and the Outer Harbor but all of Buffalo and Erie County, Kaler said.
"By being here, we can hopefully motivate people to explore other parts of Buffalo and Erie County," Kaler said.
By virtue of the visitor's/welcome center, the Chandlery has an almost immediate symbiotic relationship with its immediate neighbors like Shark Girl, the Explore & More children's museum, the Canalside skating rinks and the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Servicemen's Park.
"There is a relationship, to be sure," said Joan Kesner, Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. chairperson.
The Chandlery made its debut just as Canalside opened its rinks for the 2025-2026 skating season. Last year, more than 50,000 people skated at Canalside.
"It (the Chandlery) is designed to be a welcome mat to Buffalo and Erie County," Kaler said.