There is an online petition underway designed to get the attention of those who are in control of Main Place Mall.
Over the years, the mall has essentially become a data center, which is a lot better than sitting empty. But there appears to be room to return sections of the mall back to retail… to the shopping center that it was designed to be all along.
We are finally seeing development action in Downtown Buffalo. A facade-lift on Main Place Mall (facing Main Street) would go a long way towards attracting new retailers. The current “Darth Vader” look is not attractive at all, especially for any boutique that wants to project a modern, hip image. With “Cars Sharing Main Street” heading to this block down the road, there could be no better time than to regroup and plan something to coincide with the progress.
The petition to Main Place Liberty Group (MPLG) was started by Herb Reid from Vancouver, Canada. On the petition, it reads that the building should revert from a data center back to a mall. That scenario is highly unlikely at this point. Obviously MPLG has found a use for the building that is making money and capitalizing on the asset. That doesn’t mean that there can’t be an ancillary use that would benefit Main Street and the company’s operations. In fact, MPLG still boasts that it is “The Center of It All” when it comes to shopping and eating in Downtown Buffalo (see here)… “anything you need is right under one roof.”
If the storefronts along Main Street were brought back to life, with a new look and new energy, that would be a start. Since there is already a food court, and the interior of the “mall” looks to be fairly up to date (better than sections of The Galleria that still have that ’80’s look), there are components that could be strung together to create some needed pizzazz for Downtown Buffalo (see MPLG photos). The rest of the city is onboard with progress… it would be nice to see MPLG step up and add to the momentum. Otherwise the first floor of “Main Place” will always look like an escape hatch for the Death Star.
You can sign the petition by clicking here.
Here’s the list of retailers from the Main Place Mall’s website (the list is not current):
A Dollar Store
Barker Chocolate Box
Buffalo Coffee Roastery
Ding How Express
Footlocker
General Nutrition Center (GNC) (The) Gift Loft
Gino & Joe’s Pizza (GHFC) Gino & Joe’s Restaurant (MPM) Hoagie Brothers
H.B. Carver
Kid’s Footlocker
Louie T’s
Main Place Hairstyling
Payless Shoesource
Rainbow Kids
Steppin Shoes
Sterling Optical
Tijuana Taco
Zesto’s