BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – The Buffalo Planning Board approved plans to turn the former Terminal B site at the Outer Harbor into a concert and entertainment venue.
Plans now proceed to the Buffalo Common Council, who will meet again for committee meetings on Tuesday.
ECHDC plans to rehabilitate the nearly 100,000 square foot steel frame and concrete block building after it sat vacant for more than a decade. Plans include a space for large-scale events and programming. It also includes storage, offices, and public restrooms.
Terminal B is also surrounded by approximately 12 acres of parking. ECHDC said during Monday's planning board meeting that they plan to reduce some of the paved surfaces on the site to increase access to waterfront views. They also intend to improve lighting and drainage in the area.
Opponents of the amphitheater believe ECHDC's plans will have a negative impact on community and environmental health. A lawsuit was filed in June for alleged violations of environmental law. The planning board voted for the site plan to have an undetermined sound decibel limit and for a preservation of two acres of the Great Lawn for activities like kite-flying and for an additional acre of land to be preserved for a habitat wildlife.
Parking and overall access to get to the concert amphitheater remains one of the key criticisms of the site. Fuhrmann Boulevard only allows for one lane of traffic in either direction.
"I think the parking went well (during this summer's Rick Ross concert)," ECHDC President Steve Ranalli told the planning board. "I think we can do better and make some improvements as far as getting people parked appropriately in the lawn area in the old pier site. There were certainly some delays getting out after a concert, but again, I think it's pretty typical of what we even saw at Canalside in the past."
