Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The revitalization of Downtown Buffalo has been the focus of a number of local advocates in the city, including politicians like Fillmore District Councilman Mitch Nowakowski.
One of the focal points for Nowakowski when it comes to Downtown Buffalo has been to bring density to the region, whether it'd be to Canalside and along the waterfront, or to areas like the Main Street corridor.
One project that was hopeful to bring people to Canalside and living by the Buffalo Waterfront is Heritage Point. However, the project has been idle in the South Aud Block for nearly two full years due to a lack of resources and unanticipated expenses that made the project more costly.
Like other local lawmakers and others in-and-around Canalside, the frustrations over the lack of progress with the project continued to swell.
However, it was a recent chat with former Buffalo Mayor Tony Masiello that shed some light for Nowakowski into what was happening with the project, a move that now seems to have the project on track to finally get done.
"I'm beyond thrilled that the Pegulas are stepping up and closing the financing. And I want people to know that so there's no misinformation," said Nowakowski during a recent appearance with Joe Beamer on WBEN. "The finance has been closed so that construction can get up-and-running in a couple weeks when this starts, and then finally get Heritage Point completed."
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The news came as positive for Nowakowski, especially with already so much happening in the area.
"You have Marine Drive that's getting redeveloped, you have the Naval Park, you have Explore & More, you have Canalside. All of those things are happening, and Heritage Point stalling and non-progress was driving all the neighbors nuts," Nowakowski noted.
Why the project is so important for downtown is because it's residential, commercial, and mixed use space that will drive more people to the region not just to visit, but live, work and play.
"What we do here in the City of Buffalo in development is wrong. We either build skyscrapers and lofts for the very wealthy and then we build for the very low port, nothing in-between. We're missing completely the middle class of people who want to make the City of Buffalo their home," Nowakowski noted. "When you have that socioeconomic diversity of people, of all income ranges and of all backgrounds of living and making this a community that's going to then catapult the city.
"There's 30,000 people that are commuting from the City of Buffalo to work. We're not going to replace that. They're not coming back. I have friends that said you can't even and drag them back to the office. We have to have something that's going to replace that. I believe if you get a sheer density of people residing there and living there, you're going to then get the demand of consumerism, and you're going to then derive businesses. Then you're going to need a pharmacy, then you're going to need a floral shop, then you're going to need restaurants and amenities to be able to support people who are already there."
It's more than just transactional density that Nowakowski is looking to achieve with Downtown Buffalo, and the Heritage Point project is one that should help achieve that.
"10,000 people are coming downtown for a concert. But if you can get 5,000 people that are permanent, that are there, those are the ones that are going to create the neighborhood stability," Nowakowski explained. "That success of our city, our urban core and our waterfront is incredibly important. And you go to cities around the world, their cities are often planned by the water. We need to start talking as Buffalonians, 'Look, we have this natural resource of Lake Erie. The water belongs to us all, and we should really be capitalizing on its natural resource.'"
So with Heritage Point now appearing to get back on track for a hopeful completion date sometime in 2027, what's next on the docket for Nowakowski when envisioning Downtown Buffalo?
One recent proposal Nowakowski has seen from Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes that she plans to introduce relates to a tax abatement for developers that want to make their office space into residential space. He believes the city needs to back that and support such a measure in Albany.
"There has to be a way where we can adaptively reuse these spaces and outfit them for residential use," Nowakowski said. "I talked to one developer who said, 'Mitch, you want me to take this building that was built for a college and then transfer it back to residents. Do you understand the HVAC and the plumbing, and what I would need to do to be able to do that?' I do believe there needs to be some form of focus and help to be able to do that. If we can truly start taking our downtown, taking all the inventory that's just sitting there and actually putting it to productive use, sky's the limit for the City of Buffalo."
Another event that is set to put Downtown Buffalo directly into the spotlight later this month is the return of the NCAA men's basketball tournament to KeyBank Center. First- and second-round action for the annual tournament is set to take place March 19 and 21.
However, Nowakowski shares his concerns with Patrick Kaler of Visit Buffalo, with a recent study showing a lack of hotel rooms downtown.
"What I saw from that report, what I gleaned from is, what else are we missing that isn't coming to the City of Buffalo because we don't have the amenities or the space?" Nowakowski questioned. "If Patrick Kaler is saying, 'We need 400 or 500 rooms here to accommodate these large scale events.' How many people with large scale events are looking to the city like, 'Look, I don't enough room, dude. I can't come here?' So what are we missing out by not having those additional rooms?"
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Another downtown asset that Nowakowski is hoping to get streamlined and fit for the capabilities of today's age in technology is the Buffalo Convention Center. While the facility recently got a nice facelift on the outside, it's what still needs to be done inside to make it a go-to destination for conventions and other meetings locally and nationally.
"It looks nice from the street view, yeah, but we definitely need to do something more on the Convention Center, and we need to start looking to other areas that have thriving convention centers that draw these these attractions," Nowakowski said. "Because the Convention Center is located downtown, its sheer magnitude of square footage goes how many city blocks. So to be competitive, we really do need to invest inside to make sure that it's equipped.
"It's an interesting point that somebody, a big developer, told me when I was getting coffee with them. They said, 'Mitch, it's a banquet space that's antiquated. You're not gonna make money off that anymore.' If you're really gonna bring these spaces back, you have to look to accommodate and to host other things. And when people come in here, they're looking: 'How good is your equipment? How good is your electrical systems? Do you have different types of rooms with themes? How accessible is it? Is there an actual restaurant in it that you could accommodate for, instead of just having banquet food?' There's a lot of creativity that could happen inside the Convention Center, and I really think it's something the region should really look at to make it super competitive."
One other downtown asset Nowakowski is looking to improve and enhance for residents and visitors alike is the Hyatt Regency hotel, currently owned by developer Douglas Jemal. His focus is set on what more can be done to bring people into the Hyatt and make the hotel - that's in the heart of the city and two blocks away from the Metro Rail system - more attractive.
"To see a business close there is really sad. The restaurant that was there, the steak house... when I think about it, from a business standpoint, wouldn't you want your restaurant to already have access to 500 rooms of people that are going to go there, that are going to come in restaurant? I think that's what we really need to start really capitalizing on," Nowakowski said.
"I don't think when I look at the Hyatt, it's an amenity it's invested in. I understand there's people saying it needs additional dollars to be able to get back up to more productive and competitive use, but we can't sit idle at the Hyatt. If Mr. Jemal keeps to stay with it and having it in his portfolio, I would love to sit down with Douglas Development to see what we could do to get that up-and-running."
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