Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - When the Mohawk Place re-opens on Oct. 24, it will not be part of a long time dream for developer and businessman Frank DiMaria Jr., it may also help set into motion a wider downtown Buffalo development initiative aimed at turning a stretch of Ellicott Street into a destination and entertainment hub.
DiMaria and his development partner, Preservation Buffalo Niagara's Bernice Radle, have spent several months renovating the Mohawk Place - the iconic and venerable downtown live music venue that has been home to both local and national touring acts.
DiMaria, himself, has played on the Mohawk stage.
"Music is an escape for me," DiMaria said. "I grew up in the Mohawk Place."
DiMaria and Radle not only see the Mohawk Place becoming a live music venue, they also want it to serve as an arts and culture destination where people - everyone from students to professional musicians - can hone their craft in upper floor studios and performance space.
But, on another level, the revived Mohawk Place will play a central role in developer Rocco Termini's Ellicott Street destination and hub plan.
Termini, whose holdings include Tappo restaurant on Ellicott Street, envisions a three block swath of Ellicott Street - between Genesee Street to the north and Broadway to the south - into a hub for special events ranging from concerts and sports tournaments.
That, Termini believes, will spark other private sector-backed projects including more restaurants and bars and converting older, vacant buildings into apartments and condos.
More is better, Termini said.
DiMaria and Radle are all-in on Termini's plans and begins, for them, with bringing back the Mohawk Place.
"We wanted to save this for the community," DiMaria said. "The Mohawk is a resilient, pretty cool, very unpretentious dive bar. It is definitely not sterile."
Plans call for the Mohawk to have a heavy dose of live music - and not only on weekends. It will be part of Termini's Ellicott Street plans, to be sure, DiMaria said.
"We want to be part of the neighborhood," DiMaria said.