City of Buffalo Launches New Strategic Planning Initiative

Twenty years ago, city officials unveiled the Queen City Hub strategic plan to great fanfare, which would serve as a framework for initiatives to spur economic growth, development and future investment, particularly in downtown Buffalo. The plan even won an award from the American Planning Association.

Since adopting that plan in 2003, the city has revised and implemented its new green zoning code, introduced new waterfront programs, and focused infrastructure and streetscape improvements on Main Street, Michigan Avenue, Niagara Street, Pearl Street, Genesee Street, the Entertainment District, and the Skyway. And it is now pursuing a “smart streets” overhaul, starting with Washington Street.

The city is also home to a new downtown public safety campus and a new federal courthouse. It has seen a series of private-sector developments that have renovated scores of older buildings and brought new apartments, shops, restaurants and businesses to the central business district, Canalside and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. And the downtown population has more than doubled, from 1,500 to 3,500.

But while the Hub remains “a very relevant document even today,” the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic — particularly the growth of remote and hybrid work models — poses new challenges for the city and the plan’s continued implementation, said Brendan Mehaffy, executive director of the city’s Office of Strategic Planning.

So city leaders are revisiting the Hub with a new strategic planning initiative designed to produce an updated 2024 Downtown Action Plan that will take these changes into account.

“This is not an effort to create a new vision for downtown. We believe that the vision for the central business district is still addressed in the Queen City Hub plan,” Mehaffy said last week. “We really question the impact of the pandemic on moving forward toward that vision that was addressed in the Queen City Hub plan.”

Working with the nonprofit Buffalo Place, as well as the building owners trade group NAIOP and the business leaders group Downtown 2030, the city plans to review its progress, while collecting and analyzing data to assess how new trends have affected the city.

This includes a decrease in the presence of workers in the office and a consequent drop in the occupancy rate of office space, which could in turn reduce the value of office buildings, reduce the tax base and threaten the viability of real estate stocks.

It also means less foot traffic and consumers for retailers, which could lead to vacant homes. It also covers a “lack of vibrancy on the streets” that contributes to a sense of increased risk on the streets.

The city will also look at other geographic areas, such as Larkinville and the medical campus, but “it appears that the impact of remote work is much more pronounced in the central business district,” Mehaffy added.

Officials will meet with local businesses, residents, property owners, government agencies, community groups and planning experts. Between 20 and 30 meetings are planned over the summer. The first meeting, with large property owners, will be July 9. The city hopes to present a final report by September or October.

“This is not a discussion that can last two or three years. There are things we can do if we act quickly,” Mehaffy said. “In this time of turmoil in the real estate market, this is an opportunity for the city of Buffalo to distinguish itself.”

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Buffalo Place has had great success in recent years through its participation in and management of several rounds of Main Street facade improvement grants for local business owners.

To date, dozens of projects have received millions of dollars in state funding through the New York Main Street and Buffalo Main Street initiatives, designed to help beautify and revitalize downtown commercial districts.

So the nonprofit that runs the Downtown Business Improvement District — which administered the grants — will try again. But this time, officials plan to tackle a broader geographic district that would include other downtown streets. And they hope to target property owners who haven’t received support in the past, spreading the word and giving preference.

The organization has already attracted interest from 15 property owners, including those on Washington and Pearl streets. Applications for the new series of New York’s Main Street program are due in July.

“It’s absolutely fair to give higher priority to those outside the district because they’ve never had this opportunity,” said developer and Buffalo Place board member Rocco Termini, who owns properties not on Main.

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The Buffalo Next team gives you a broad overview of the region’s economic revitalization. Email your tips to [email protected] or contact Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.

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