By Craig Spangler:
It has been well documented that areas of the city around the Elmwood Village, the West Side, and North Buffalo have seen home prices soar over the past decade. This is great news for homeowners, and the city itself. This influx of money and people seeking to live in an urban environment has helped Elmwood and Hertel Avenues solidify themselves as great places to shop, eat, and drink. Grant and Amherst Streets have started to see those who have been priced out of the main strips migrate over as early adopters, again good news!
OK, now for a perceived downside. All of this investment both residential and retail is happening North of downtown. Not only are we potentially leaving behind large portions of the City of Buffalo, we are also geographically limiting our strongest urban neighborhoods in ways it may not work best for all Western New Yorkers. Namely those that have grown up in the Southtowns and are looking for an urban lifestyle. I’ll also outline how this could benefit some other demographics in the process.
One of the big things Buffalo natives always like to say is everything is 15 minutes away. Well I can tell you what isn’t 15 minutes away – Hertel Avenue to Hamburg, Orchard Park or East Aurora. That drive is a solid 30 minutes at least, and I have had it take upwards to 40 min if you hit all the lights. It’s further than you think. My girlfriend, whose parents are 10 minutes away and live in Tonawanda, can attest.
So why does this matter, to anyone outside of those who grew up in Southtowns and feel the pull of an urban lifestyle? How many times have to heard someone in Buffalo say, I won’t leave because of my family, I moved back for my family, or my favorite thing about Buffalo is being close to my family. I realize many are more than willing to spend the extra time driving for the lifestyle, myself included. Others of you who might be reading this as an Expat will be saying I’d love to be able to see my family and friends in 40 min (I’ve been there too). But, I get the feeling there are many that grow up in the Southtowns that will dabble in the Elmwood and Hertel scene while renting, but the decision becomes more difficult when you start talking about buying a home, or starting a family. The tradeoffs for urban living have been discussed on Buffalo Rising many times, I think it’s important for those on the fence not to add additional hurdles. Is it worth it to some to force an aging parent to drive to a part of the city they don’t feel comfortable? Is it worth the additional challenges in raising kids when you cannot easily get a friend or relative to watch them? Maybe these are questions that in the right scenario don’t have to be asked.
So, what does a Southtowns cast off propose? I’d like to see a more concentrated effort to turn one of the classic retail streets in the Southeast corner of the City into a more complete urban retail strip. Many people aren’t familiar with Clinton Street in Kaisertown, or Seneca in South Buffalo, but these are streets with good bones. The blocks around these areas have houses that are not only intact but in many case very well kept by long time owners.
Currently on these streets there are some good bars and restaurants such as Lucky’s, Wiechecks, Francesca’s and Blackthorn; all of which serve up great food at good prices. Mixed in are a few legacy mom and pop stores like Hectors hardware, tax advisors, dollar stores and corner marts. I’m not saying let’s push out all these places with some Buffalo t-shirt stores. These establishments serve these neighborhoods well and maintain the streetscape. However, it seems to lack the draw of true gathering places of the well-traveled strips in Buffalo, as well as other cities. I’m not sure what it would take to grab people’s attention. Perhaps an upscale dining option a la Black Rock Kitchen, or maybe something well known like a Spot Coffee? But it would be encouraging to see something that gives them a more defined sense of “place”. Something that says this is an Urban retail corridor were you can eat, drink, play, and have access to stores which serve your daily needs.
If such a street existed, I think Buffalo could also capture more revenue from those in the Southtowns as well. While residents from Tonawanda and Amherst may think nothing of hopping into the city to eat on Hertel, or have some drinks on Elmwood, it’s not a 5 minute ride from the South. Another row of restaurants, shops and bars on either of these streets could pull people into the city more often.
If this happened I think you would see the City grab a higher percent of those Southtowners on their migration from Elmwood and North Buffalo back to West Seneca, Orchard Park and other suburbs start to buying homes and start families. However, I don’t think that the benefits stop there.
Over the past few years those climbing home and rent prices are great for the people who have already gotten into the Elmwood and North Buffalo neighborhoods. However, I know several people whom have been outbid several times in those areas, often at prices that make me wonder if the price equals the value. The demand for these premier areas has again caused people to re-evaluate living in the city. If there were other developing neighborhoods, we could start to control some of the feast and famine home prices that seem to persist throughout the city of Buffalo. There are many homes in South Buffalo that are half the cost that they would be in North Buffalo. The missing element is the true draw of urban living.
The other group that could benefit from a southern urban retail street would be the weekend warriors and outdoor enthusiast; both Kaisertown and South Buffalo have some great parks. When I drove through these neighborhoods to take these pictures my girlfriend was with me. She was taken aback by Cazenovia Park, “This park is huge, I never knew it existed”. “Caz” while not as big as Delaware Park at 180+ acres is still a great recreation area and it’s never as crowded as Delaware Park in the summer. South Park has a great running loop for walking, joggers or roller blading. Kaisertown’s Houghton Park also would provide a place for exercising and relaxing or enjoying the public splash pad, and is located very close to Clinton Street.
What South Buffalo and Kaisertown also have is quick access to the waterfront. The Buffalo River snakes between these neighborhoods and is great for activities like kayaking. Gallagher Pier, the Small Boat Harbor and Tifft Nature Preserve are just minutes away. I’ve often considered purchasing a kayak to hit the water before work to get some exercise. From North Buffalo it’s a solid 15 minutes to and from the water. It seems doubtful with me not being a morning person as that’s a whole half hour earlier to have tacked on my workout. But what if the water was just at the end of my street?
If you actually want to get into the lake you hop on Route 5 and can be at Woodlawn Beach in 5 minutes. A Southern street would also be closer to Sunset and the beach clubs, key for the hardcore summer time revelers. I believe the only beach North of downtown is Beaver Island, not overly convenient for even a North Buffalo resident.
It’s not just the water either, much of the hiking or mountain biking, and all of the ski resorts are south of the city. The county’s largest parks are Chestnut Ridge and Sprague Brook both of which are located southeast of Buffalo out route 219. I’d love to shave 15 minutes or more off my trip to Holiday Valley, or the Erie County Forest on Genesee Rd.
I think some people may look at this article and say big deal. But those extra minutes to see family and friends, or get to your hike, or hit the slopes turn into hours over time. The miles add up and gas certainly isn’t getting any cheaper. I think this is a way to give people more options while building up another part of the city. After all do we want to be a really cool city, or do we want to be one really cool, exclusive neighborhood? If we want to be the first, I think we have to start thinking about how to use all our resources, to provide the best quality of life to all, at a price that doesn’t scare anyone off. It could start with one more street!