BengalNews Reporters
On the other side of New York State Route 198, the Grant-Amherst community is revitalizing the neighborhood with an innovative commercial district that will complement its historical and cultural foundations.
New businesses are appearing along Amherst Street, from an eclectic collection of art galleries, including 464 Gallery , 464 Amherst St., and Artsphere Studio and Gallery , 466 Amherst St., to staple food options, like Joe's New York Style Pizzeria and Restaurant, 345 Amherst St. and Spar European Sausage & Meats, 405 Amherst St.
There's this wonderful, sort of, mixture of coolness on Grant Amherst and people really working hard. It also has those wonderful advantages of the history and the shopping opportunities, said Bill Parke, city of Buffalo community developer. But it needs to fill in some of the gaps, it needs to bring up peoples awareness to the history, it needs to make sure it offers the right mixture of services because the Buffalo State College community is growing.
Parke said there are a number of initiatives that are in the works for the area. The Scajaquada Expressway is planned to be downgraded in order to reduce the speed of the highway and connect the neighborhood.
Existing businesses are going through revitalization as well, Parke said. Sportsmans Tavern, 326 Amherst St., has proposed to enhance its storefront by mimicking an outside, iron wrap-around walkway similar to that of the Pearl Street Grill and Brewery, 76 Pearl St., in downtown Buffalo.
The Tops plaza, on the corner of Grant and Amherst Street, has proposed adding a gas station to its location, which Parke said might bring commuting college students over to the area since there are not many gas stations close by.
The intersection of Grant Street and Amherst Street is undergoing rehabilitation through a coalition driven by residents, business owners, block clubs, business associations and the city of Buffalo through the Good Neighbors Planning Alliance (GNPA).
The alliance offers community members to have a voice in the future development of their neighborhood. The city's Office of Strategic Planning initiated the planning process.
Transforming Grant-Amherst to a trendy network of retail outlets is an illustration of government that is doing its part to keep the positive momentum going, Parke said.
The area must overcome setbacks, such as defeating negative stereotypes of the area as a result of disinvestment and the loss of curb appeal at the intersection due to a bar burning down a few years ago.
When you lose those corners, it really makes it tough from an urban design perspective because when you lose a corner all a sudden people liken it to a missing tooth, Parke said.
Business owners and politicians in the district argue whether the street itself needs revitalization, specifically the addition of more street lights and stop signs, to slow down traffic and attract additional attention to its new store fronts.
"Do we want to do a traffic study before the businesses go up? Or after?" North District Common Councilman Joseph Golombek asked. "We're trying to figure out what makes the most sense."
Golombek said that in areas of Toronto and Rochester theyve built the sidewalk out by four to six feet which took up parking spots, but offered a safer environment for pedestrians and naturally slowed down traffic.
"I feel the street has plenty of street lights and stop signs," Dan Patterson, an employee of 464 Gallery, said. "I havent noticed any accidents or traffic delays. I dont feel the need for anything additional."
Pedestrian traffic is a focus of other business owners, who feel that it would enhance safety and bring more customers to their storefronts.
"It would probably be a good idea. Theres always kids going back and forth and a lot of traffic," Renee Kuller, stylist at Artsphere Studio and Gallery, said. "It's hard to cross the street sometimes because there's so much traffic. I think it would really help the businesses."
Slowing down traffic should be taken with caution, Michael Maywalt, owner of Maywalt Realty Group, 495 Amherst St., said.
"There's two schools of thought," Maywalt said. "Certainly someone who's opening up a restaurant may want a stop sign or light, so that people driving by can take a look inside and see what's going on."
The neighborhood has potential to increase development through its availability of undeveloped spots and revitalize its existing structures to provide services and goods to the surrounding college and community as a whole.
"From a planners perspective, I just sort of see pieces kind of fitting together," Parke said. "I see the puzzle already made. Now the question is, how do we get those pieces to fit together?"
The Grant Amherst area is rich in history, Parke said, because of its War of 1812 involvement that is commonly unknown to residents of the city. In June 2009, the historic restoration committee of the Black Rock-Riverside Good Neighbors Planning Alliance invited experts to discuss the battles that took place in Black Rock and along the Scajaquada Creek during the war.
ReplyDeleteA bridge that once stood over the creek proved to be a strategic element in Buffalo’s defeat of the opposing British forces. The bridge would have been located west of Grant Street, behind the Tops plaza.
The Americans had partially dismantled the bridge’s planks and prevented the British from repairing the bridge. The victory saved the supplies at Buffalo and is credited to have spurred morale in the final victory at Fort Erie.
“That was actually one of the great victories in Buffalos war of 1812 history, fighting in the war of 1812,” Parke said. “It happened right here. People don’t know that and were trying to create awareness because its really quiet an exciting story.”
Parke said the city is looking to implement historical signs through funding from foundations and elected officials to commemorate the past events.
The signs will incorporate a mixture of vertical street signs and angular pedestrian signs.
In addition to creating awareness of the area’s historical background, a planning overview of the neighborhood may allow commercial and residential property owners to be eligible for tax breaks under New York’s historic residential and commercial properties tax credit program.
The program offers an income tax break of 20 percent and credit of $5 million to commercial properties or $50,000 for private residences. A federal tax credit of 20 percent would also be offered to commercial properties. The incentives would be available if the neighborhood is listed on the state or national register of historic places, either individually or as a contributing building in a historic district.
--Stacie Duderwick
Michael Maywalt, a real-estate agent, who along with other business owners on Amherst Street, is trying to make a change to revitalize the Grant-Amherst area. Maywalt opened a real estate business on 495 Amherst St. in 2007. The property he purchased was vacant for 10 years. He renovated the floors, antique windows and more. Maywalt believes Amherst Street has the potential to grow and join its fellow urban neighborhoods such as, the Elmwood village and Hertel Avenue.
ReplyDeleteNot only is he helping potential tenants find an affordable and justified home, he is giving back to his community by helping restore a street that tends to be overlooked by many. After establishing a business on Amherst Street, he decided to fix an old vacant lot that is located across the street from his office. He shared old pictures of the previous condition of the property with empty shopping carts and garbage covering most of the area. In order to attract new tenants and business owners he converted the old lot into a parking space for visitors. This is a look that is more appealing to the eye. Maywalt said that he has more plans for the Black Rock neighborhood. He is convinced that it is reaching its potential.
-Stephanie Ortiz
As the growth of urban villages slowly gains momentum in Buffalo, pedestrian safety issues will continue to be a concern, as traffic increases in locations like Amherst Street.
ReplyDeleteMost of us learned at a very young age to look both ways while crossing the street, but what about the other rules of the pedestrian/driver relationship which may need a memory boost?
According to “Pedestrian Rules of the Road,” posted on SafeNY.com, the following rules should be practiced:
•Pedestrians are to use sidewalks whenever they are safely available.
•When sidewalks are unavailable, pedestrians must walk facing traffic as far to the left as possible.
•Pedestrians must obey traffic signals and/or traffic officers.
•At crosswalks where there isn't a traffic control signal or officer, pedestrians have the right-of-way.
•If there aren't any crosswalks, signs or signals, the pedestrian must yield the right-of-way to all vehicles.
•Regardless of the right-of-way, the driver is required by law to take great care to avoid "hitting" pedestrians.
While some of these rules seem obvious, many of us don’t bother to practice them in everyday life, even if they could save our lives. -- Jolene Zanghi