The Queen City Hub Plan
In 2005, the American Planning Association (APA) awarded The Queen City Hub: A Regional Action Plan for Downtown Buffalo the Outstanding Planning Award for a Plan. APA is a nonprofit public interest and research organization committed to urban, suburban, regional and rural planning. The award is the highest honor a plan can receive from this prestigious association of professional planners.
The winning of the “Outstanding Planning Award” by the Queen City Hub is just the latest in a string of positive developments occurring in Downtown Buffalo. New residential development has been completed or is continuing at The Belesario, The Sidway Apartments, Ellicott Lofts, IS Lofts, Granite Works, The Lofts at Elk Terminal, Holling Place Apartments and the Pierce Building. The upscale Washington Market has opened and new construction projects are underway or have been announced with the expansion of Erie Community College and the $100 million headquarters for HealthNow New York. Public concerts and events continue to draw huge crowds and national attention, including the ever popular Thursday at Canalside Concert Series and Taste of Buffalo. Work is progressing on the Erie Canal Harbor Project. During this decade Downtown will enjoy $1 Billion in new investment, with $400 million already completed or under construction. We look forward to helping to spur more positive development in in the future and working together with all of our partners to produce a more vibrant, prosperous and vital Downtown Buffalo.
The action plan provides discrete recommendations within nine topic areas. These nine areas are organized into activities and the principles that guide those activities. The activities for Downtown are living, working, shopping, and visiting. The principles that will guide the activities are access, urban design and management, preservation, energy and green design and image. Support for The Queen City Hub implementation has come from the private sector, state and local government and the academic community. This important and innovative plan will guide Downtown for many years to come. The Board of Directors and staff of Buffalo Place Inc. would like to take this opportunity to thank and recognize our partners the City of Buffalo and the Urban Design Project of the University at Buffalo for their hard work and commitment to Downtown Buffalo.
A Plan is more than just ideas and words. It’s a course of action, based on quantifiable research, that is the crucial first step in spurring development and creating long term, substantial growth. Without a plan, there can be no coordinated development. The Queen City Hub Plan was a collaborative effort and included the input and participation of dozens of public and private sector constituents in our Implementation Council and literally thousands of citizens and stakeholders in plan development and review. With the publicity and recognition that follow the awarding of the industry’s leading planning award, the dream for a new Buffalo is one step closer to becoming a reality.
The Entertainment District Project Report, Buffalo New York, July 1978
1978 Creation of the Theatre District in Downtown Buffalo
The 1970s were a time of transition for Buffalo with economic restructuring from the decline of manufacturing and a dramatic loss of population. The suburbs were growing, shifting the function and occupancy of Downtown. Mayor-elect, James D Griffin, responded to downtown business requests to focus new economic development efforts on the near-vacant Upper Main Street section of Downtown.
The University of Buffalo School of Architecture and the Department of Environmental Planning lead by Dean Harold L. Cohen and Associate Professor David W. Parry, agreed to conduct an evaluation of conditions and potential to redevelop the Entertainment District. With involvement from municipal partners and the wider Buffalo community, a framework was presented to guide future actions and create a healthy district. This was the beginning of Buffalo’s Theatre District as we know it today. Click here to open.
