u/AWierzOne

▲ 10 r/Buffalo

BUDC launches phase four of construction at Northland Corridor - Buffalo Business First

BUDC authorizes $1.7M for new issues at Northland

  • Buffalo Urban Development Corp. is investing more than $56 million to revitalize the Northland Corridor.
  • Phase three and four projects will deliver over 120,000 square feet of industrial space by late 2027.
  • The Northland Workforce Training Center serves as a catalyst for attracting tenants to the new industrial hub.

Holiday Valley plans $5M in seasonal investments, upgrades

Winter may have ended, but activity never seems to at Holiday Valley.

Unstable weather notwithstanding, the four-season resort in Ellicottville is turning its attention to warmer seasons with a series of equipment upgrades and remodeling to prepare for summer guests and next winter.

The resort – best known for its skiing but also featuring golf, hiking, an aerial park and pool – is planning to spend more than $4.68 million on infrastructure and equipment improvements for everything from snow-making machinery and new lift houses to Adirondack chairs, new TVs and golf carts.

Buffalo Next: State program funds building upgrades in Falls

The owners of five small businesses and buildings in Niagara Falls have completed renovation projects designed to improve their properties, using a state-supported grant program funded by a public-private collaboration to revitalize commercial buildings in mixed-use business districts.

The Niagara Falls Small Business Property Improvement Grant Program has provided more than $370,000 in grant money to six eligible projects so far, using a $5 million fund that was established and announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul in November 2023. Those projects, located on Pine Avenue, Main Street and downtown Niagara Falls, total more than $758,600 in project costs.

Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center will More Than Double in Size at the Tri-Main Center - Buffalo Rising

Buffalo’s independent media arts scene is getting another big boost. Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center has announced that it is in the process of expanding, by adding an additional 3000 SF of space (totaling 5800 SF).

In order to do this, Squeaky Wheel will expand into a new space on the third floor of the Tri-Main Center (2495 Main Street). The additional allotment of studio space will allow the non-profit to build out a larger media classroom, equipment library, and gallery, while creating several flexible spaces for education and media production. In the process, the cultural institution will be upgrading its equipment for exhibitions, screenings, and workshops. All of this is being made possible thanks to Erie County Cultural Capital Grant Program and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Good Carbon pursues Fredonia apartment renovation project

Good Carbon LLC, led by CEO Adam Serbert, is redeveloping the former Middlesex Garden Apartments, creating 40 updated one- and two-bedroom rental units, priced to be affordable for households earning 80% of the area median income.

Located at 343 Central Ave., the 34,596-square-foot complex consists of six two-story, detached red-brick Colonial Revival-style buildings, plus two multicar brick garages. Some of the existing one-bedroom and one-bathroom units are being converted into two-bedroom layouts, so the final mix will consist of 16 one-bedroom and 24 two-bedroom apartments. The complex also includes 44 surface and 14 garage spaces, with basement laundry facilities.

Ryan administration compiling list of vacant properties

When he was campaigning last year, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan frequently talked about the need to do something about the ever-expanding list of vacant or abandoned lots, buildings and fallow land across the city.

Now that he is in City Hall, he is aiming to take steps that would pressure the owners of those properties to either improve or sell them.

Ryan said his administration will compile and publish a list of the properties, the first step of what he hopes will be a process that eventually solves a problem that has plagued the city. The owners of the properties, which are scattered across the city from downtown to its residential neighborhoods, have been holding onto them, in many cases for years, in hopes of eventually being able to cash in with a redevelopment or sale. They are paying the taxes on them, demonstrating that they are aware of their responsibility, Ryan said.

Presentation of Eight New Train Station Designs by UB Small Built Works - Buffalo Rising

Eight new Train Station designs have been proposed by students from the UB Small Built Works program. Over the course of four semesters, the vision for the train stations have come together, and will now be showcased thanks to a presentation led by Citizens for Regional Transit.

  • Citizens for Regional Transit has been advocating for a Downtown-to-Airport line for 60-years.
  • UB Small Built Works has been working for four semesters to develop mapping and station designs to help CRT’s advocacy.

Salvation Army gets Baird Foundation grant for Hope On Main

The Salvation Army's Hope On Main redevelopment project in the Allentown neighborhood got a financial boost this week, after the Baird Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant for the project.

Hope On Main is a three-part, $100 million redevelopment of the nonprofit's campus along Main Street, designed to modernize the facilities and allow the agency to better serve its clients. The first phase, a $20 million replacement of the emergency shelter, is underway, after crews demolished one of the campus' five buildings at the southernmost end.

Get a first look at updated designs for the new state park in Rochester | Buffalo Toronto Public Media

(This is a little out of our area but I thought it was cool)

New designs for High Falls Terrace show the beginnings of how a new state park could develop at the northern edge of downtown Rochester.

The designs, and detail of the first phase, are expected to be laid out during an open house event Tuesday beginning at 4 p.m. at La Luna, 60 Browns Race. The 2.5-mile-long High Falls State Park will largely exist in the Genesee River gorge, extending north from High Falls.

This initial project is part of a $75 million investment and construction is set to begin in the fall.

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u/AWierzOne — 7 days ago
▲ 15 r/Buffalo

Evergreen and CAS to open East Side health center in summer

A new comprehensive healthcare center will be opening this summer at the intersection of Bailey and Kensington avenues, along with a full-size mural on the side of the building that was commissioned as part of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum's Public Art Initiative.

Evergreen Health and its affiliate, Community Access Services, are constructing the 36,000-square-foot facility at 3070 Bailey Ave. to bring medical and community services to an underserved neighborhood while addressing the shortage of doctors, dentists, pharmacies and clinics in the area. The goal, officials say, is to eradicate inequities in healthcare by meeting people where they are and treating chronic conditions.

Big Reveal: 122 Genesee Street - Buffalo Rising

Chris Jacobs plans apartment conversion at former F. Scherer & Sons store - Buffalo Business First

Chris Jacobs’ plans for redeveloping the shuttered and historic Seeger-Scherer Furniture Store at 122-126 Genesee Street will be reviewed by the Preservation Board on Thursday.  The furniture store closed in 2024 and the property was purchased by Jacobs shortly after. The project will include a mix of residential and commercial space though a unit count was not listed in the application. Abstract Architecture is working on the reuse plan.

He envisions a conversion that would turn the 129-year-old furniture store into a mixed-use building with 22 market-rate apartments and two small first-floor commercial spaces.

Aspire of WNY to buy Cheektowaga church site for $815,000

A Western New York nonprofit that supports children and adults with developmental disabilities is planning to buy a church property in Cheektowaga so it can expand its services.

Aspire of Western New York has an agreement in place to purchase the Maryvale Drive Presbyterian Church property at 425 Maryvale Drive for $815,000, according to documents filed in mid-April in State Supreme Court in Erie County. The 4.79-acre property includes 16,859 square feet of building space, records show.

Because the seller, Maryvale Drive Presbyterian Church, is a religious corporation, the sale needs approval from the State Attorney General's Office or the State Supreme Court. The church filed a petition in court April 14 seeking an order allowing the sale to Aspire. The sale agreement was reached Jan. 22.

Daemen University plans $5M construction project in Amherst - Buffalo Business First

A local college will invest $5 million renovating a new home for its physician assistant program. Daemen University is in the planning stages of renovating Daemen Hall, one of its original structures built in 1949.

“This building will mostly be gutted and the rest of it substantially changed, because we’ll end up with a very modern state-of-the-art healthcare education facility,” said Daemen President Gary Olson. “Right now, the PA department is in two different buildings. After this project, they’ll be under one roof and will have much more modern classroom space and other kinds of space.”

Kloc’s Grove short-term rental proposal not approved by town board | News 4 Buffalo

A major project at Kloc’s Grove in West Seneca has been discussed for months now, and on Monday night the town board voted not to approve the proposal — even while debating some modifications.

A property known for hosting weddings and other events, Kloc’s Grove was looking to add 40 short-term rental units. The units would have been able to accommodate dozens of guests, including those in attendance for weddings as well as outside visitors.

But not all residents are on board — and they’ve been making that known for a while. Their concerns were all about privacy, noise levels, and added strains on the town’s sewage and electrical systems. Others disagreed — and both sides spoke out at the board meeting.

“We weren’t against them improving their wedding venue,” one speaker said. “We haven’t been from Day One. We’re still saying the same thing. They say, ‘This is about our wedding guests. This is about the town.’ This is about one thing — this is about them making money, and doing what they want to do. What wedding venues have 40-plus rooms on site? I don’t really know of any.”

Harry Stinson's new revival plan for Buffalo Grand hotel | WBEN

Fate of Buffalo Grand up for review as city deadline hits

Canadian developer Harry Stinson says he has landed a new financial partner and with the cash flow infusion, he hopes to re-open the long shuttered Buffalo Grand hotel later this year.

Stinson confirmed his new partner is former Buffalo resident Perry Davis, who now resides in Tampa and has extensive interests in the real estate, hospitality and entertainment fields.

Stinson and Davis will be in Buffalo Friday afternoon (May 1) to further discuss their plans for the 486-room downtown hotel.

The new deal comes on the 90th day of a 90 day deadline Mayor Sean Ryan gave to Stinson to provide a development plan, including the financial outlay, for the Buffalo Grand, or the city was going to court to gain control of the property, issue an RFP and find a new hotel developer for the property.

Reviving the hotel and its 486-rooms is a top economic priority for Visit Buffalo and the Ryan administration as it could bolster's the city's chances of landing more conventions and special events.

East Aurora's Twin Elms to become boutique glamping resort - Buffalo Business First

Carner Development Group has begun redeveloping East Aurora’s Twin Elms Estate into a glamping retreat with a campground lodge and upscale treehouses.

The project at the 81-acre property at 1196 Main St. will include the repurposing of an existing 1876 farmhouse into a glamping retreat main lodge, as well as the addition of four treehouses and a half-dozen one-bedroom cottages, pending final approvals.

City of Buffalo showcases new affordable homes | News 4 Buffalo

Leaders with the city of Buffalo and Erie County on Monday unveiled the first of many affordable homes that will be up for sale.

On Monday, officials showed off two homes on Miami Street. The homes were built using money from the American Rescue Plan, and leaders say the goal is to increase owner-occupied homes in the city of Buffalo.

The homes will be sold through a lottery to people who qualify. To qualify, a household cannot make more than roughly $81,000; a three-bedroom home will be sold for $205,000, and a two-bedroom home will cost $175,000.

A total of 47 affordable homes in the city will be for sale by the end of the year. Open houses begin on May 2.

Battery storage is next frontier for energy developers, but WNY towns express caution - Buffalo Business First

Battery energy storage systems are the next frontier in the state's push toward green energy — but many Western New York communities have recently started putting these types of projects under increased scrutiny.

Battery storage is seen as a potential solution as the state seeks to phase out "peaker plants," or fossil-fuel burning power plants that are only active during times of high demand. Renewable energy sources are dependent on sun and wind to generate power; they can't be ramped up when demand is higher.

There's been a move to build more battery storage over the last few years, but it's really ramped up since last summer. The One Big Beautiful Bill passed by the federal government in 2025 guts many federal financial incentives for solar and wind projects, but battery storage remained largely untouched. 

This means green energy developers, particularly those working on solar projects, are increasingly adding on battery aspects to make the projects pencil out...

Meanwhile, a series of high-profile fires involving large battery storage facilities have brought new scrutiny to these projects. In 2025, a fire at a large battery storage facility in California required the temporary evacuation of 1,200 residents.

In 2024, another facility, also in California, had a fire and continued to experience flare-ups for a week after the initial incident...

Numerous local communities over the last few months have adopted or are considering code updates to regulate battery storage systems.

An update being considered by Amherst is typical of those that have been introduced in other local communities. It requires storage system operators to get a permit from the town, limits large-scale projects to General Industrial or Research and Development zones and requires developers to submit a decommissioning plan for when the system has finished its use.

Eldred has helped several municipalities draft laws for battery energy storage. He said these can help communities ensure that the facility is as safe as possible and that first responders have an emergency plan in case of a fire.

u/AWierzOne — 14 days ago