A Look At Evans National Bank


It is ironic that a couple years later Evans National Bank opted to move onto that corner. It is a hi-profile corner that is sure to get attention. Of course there is plenty of parking in the back of the building and I would think that there would be a bike rack or two incorporated into the plans. Back in August I posted on the Evans National Bank opening on the street, along with the Bank of America relocating its operation from Utica (between Elmwood and Delaware). At that point there was no rendering available, so it was not know exactly what the plan was. And if you missed the last post on the opening of Elmwood Taco and Sub, here it is.

Mark your date books – Thursday, August 14 at 6 PM
That Thursday is the date chosen by the City of Buffalo Planning Board to hold a public scoping session to review the Four Year Master Plan submitted to the city by Women & Children’s Hospital for approval. The scoping session is meant to further identify and clarify the potential adverse impacts of their expansion project – in other words, leave your soapbox at home, there will be one provided for you.
The scoping session …
Some of you may have heard about SAFTEA-LU and may recall the story that made it famous. For the uninformed, SAFTEA-LU stands for “The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users” and was signed into law in 2005. The legislation is up for reauthorization in 2009 and funds projects that are designed to improve and maintain the transportation infrastructure of the nation.
Congressman Higgins knows about this piece of legislation and is …
It's not too late for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to do the right thing when it comes to the roadways along the Outer Harbor. This morning, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper held a press conference to show reporters what a terrible mistake our city is about to make. From where we were standing we could almost see Lake Erie... had the stretch of dirt in the background been removed, the waterfront would be connected once again. Instead, the DOT is about to build a partially ele …
Urban Roots desperately needs your blood! And no, it isn’t for their own Audrey II, like the picture might suggest; it’s for their blood drive this Sunday, August 10th. So from 11 AM until 4 PM, stop on by to the little shop of plant products. Every donor gets a free cookie and juice! But there are some other incentives.
Donors will also receive a free Pizza Pod from Pizza Plant coupon and an herb plant from Urban Roots. The blood drive is for Upstate New York Transplant Serv … 


Comment Options
tommyBluez
I wish, too, that GBSB (now First Niagara) had opened a bank there.
The only ones with Saturday hours are on the Blvd. and Main & Jewett. The downtown & exchange st. locations have crap for hours. Maybe with Evans moving in, they'll think about putting a more convenient location in somewhere along elmwood or delaware (hopefully!)
Is the Eckerd on W. Utica still open (as Rite-Aid) or did they close it? They can be a run for Bank of America's money there.....
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TownLine
Heh, they covered up the "steel cross" with plywood today. It seemed kind of odd sticking up for a while...
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STEEL
Odd that the entry is moved to Delevam
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scooter
This is what I hate about buffalo and even wny zoning and building codes/regulations. I don't have a problem with the design of this bank....i think it will look nice. But why is the design and construction standards of this bank different then what the city held Bank of America to? Where is the required second floor?
The city and the neighborhood group fought hard and made Bank of America fight through many hoops to get that deal approved. Why not here??? Why didn't we hold Evans bank to the same criteria???
Can you see how aggrevating this can become to developers and business/tenants.
I wonder why more out of town developers don't try to do something in WNY.
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WCPerspective
I think the answer is that this is considered a renovation and the Bank of America was a demo and new-build.
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scooter
Thank you....but no it wasn't (my company was part of the deal). Or it wasn't originally planned as a new build. Only after the demands of the city and neighborhood.....did it become a new build.
I like the new BOA, i'm ok with the new Evans Branch....
My point is that the city needs to have clear cut zoning and bldg regs.....that apply to all development.
Lets not hold Family Video on Hertel to one set of rules. Dunkin Donuts on Main to another. BOA and Evans on Elmwood to something completely different. Panos......ect. ect. ect.
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Willie1
This needs verification, but I believe the BOA branch is located in the Elmwood Village Special Zoning District. This area has different regulations which were adopted after significant community input. Again, this needs to be verified, but that's what I remember. Maybe one of the Elmwood Village folks will clarify.
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PaulBuffalo
I'm curious. What are the zoning/regulation hurdles in WNY? Is each project treated differently? Are some areas of WNY easier to navigate than others? I think a primer on this issue would be interesting reading.
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hamp
There are no cities to my knowledge that have one set of zoning and/or design standards for the entire city. It seems to me that you would want to come up with design guidelines that may respond to different situations, neighborhood goals etc.
Unfortuanately, it looks like we're going to get another building with that 1970's dark glass for windows.
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gaustad
Evans does not have to adhere to B of A two story soning laws because the organizations that put them in place are semi-retarded.....and for no other reason.
If there was a reason to complain or become anti-development then some hippi liberal on Elmwood, with no life experience, will fight the fight.
That is why there are so many crack heads mugging people up and down Elmwood Ave. Remember people, with all this hoop la, Buffalo is still the 2nd poorest city in the country.....although it looks like the poorest city to me.
Byron, Demoin, Wannamaker, Davis - that is a real hookin crew.
How is it that Wannamaker can spend city tax dollars taking interviews in California, land a job, advance his career on my nickle and not get investigated??????????? Colin, please enlighten me?
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TonyMacaroni
dear elmwood village, PLEASE LEAVE THESE BUSINESSES ALONE!!! Be happy anyone is investing a dime in ourshithole city
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TonyMacaroni
a fake second floor is about as smart as a beach with no swimming...this city is smooth
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Colin
gaustad --
1. I don't know that Wannamaker did spend city money to interview somewhere else. I haven't seen anything about that.
2. If he did, and was able to get away with it, the explanation is simple -- government is corrupt. Duh.
3. Interesting that you name Byron and Demone Brown, Wannamaker, and Davis but fail to mention other bigwigs. That's a very particular kind of line you draw there . . .
4. Can you define "crackhead" for us? I see poor people, and sometimes I even see omeless people, but I rarely see someone who's cracked out.
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Colin
Demone Smith, that is.
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GDC
I don't agree with the black tint on the windows either. To be a "REAL" neighborhood bank, the exterior needs to be more inviting to the community and clear glass is the way to go. It actually works well in other banks.
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sbrof
I agree with Colin. Why call out those names when there are just as many worse politicians in the city.
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scandy
Can anyone tell me why its taking PANO so long to build his new restaurant? It looks like a junk yard next door and from what I remember is was suppsed to be done by this Spring...... I cant stand looking at his resaurant at the moment, get that lazy ass off his ass Also has anyone heard anything on the potential hotel next to Shang hai Reds location? I am interested to find out which bid will win, and considering it seem like there was one interestging and innovative desgn that would actually create a buzz, I hope it would be that one. Any ideas?
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Joshua
Man, I guess it was a good thing I went to Weichec's last night - I can deal with all negativity.... Wow, there is development projects going on all over the city - Downtown (Cobblestone, Delaware Ave, Central Wharf... etc...), EV, Hertle, B/F area and we worry about a business having a 2nd floor. Believe me there are plenty of living and business space in the City to be concerned with having a 2nd floor on a new or remodeled building.
Good thing a business such as Evans National was even interested in coming into Buffalo's EV or the old ETS would probably be vacant for 10 years. Thanks Evans National for showing an interested in Buffalo!
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TownLine
Pano has never had any intention of expanding his restaurant. All those plans were just smoke an mirrors for him to be able to tear down the Atwater house, and now he thinks that if he waits long enough, nobody will notice him slowly turning it into a parking lot. That was all about deception. Chalk one up for the "let anybody build anything they want on their property crowd."
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DanielSack
Second floors are not part of the law, yet. I agree that fake second floors are stupid and wasteful. BOA allegedly provided for the possibility for a future second floor but installed no floor joists.
Dark tinted windows are against the law - amazing that BOA thinks it is a good idea especially for their inside ATM!
High quality design attracts more high quality. Crappy design discourages good investment. The "let anyone do anything" crowd should read the codes for successful cities like NYC or Toronto and learn that holding developers to higher standards attracts good investment instead of the poorly designed buildings allowed in Buffalo - I'm thinking of Delaware Avenue near Hertel - which is what Elmwood will become unless we get better zoning laws as detailed in Buffalo's 2006 Comprehensive Plan.
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scsa35
"Chalk one up for the 'let anybody build anything they want on their property crowd.'"
Is there anything that wrong with letting a private property owner do something to a property THEY own? I could understand if he wanted to put up a xxx movie store or some other use that obviously doesn't fit in with the surrounding fabric. I don't one parking lot is going to kill the strip.
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gaustad
Colin, for a city guy, you seem naive.
A crackhead is someone that smokes crack and then scurries around Elmwood asking for a light.
If you don't know that most of the panhandlers on Elmwood are high on Crack, you better start paying closer attention .
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MJWorthington
you'd figure if they could afford the crack, they could afford a $0.75 lighter ;)
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TownLine
scsa - yeah, you're right...one parking lot is probably not a big deal. Pano wants a parking lot because he thinks his business doesn't have enough parking. Well guess what, every single business and property owner feels that they need more parking. So should we allow any owner on the street to buy the building next door and knock it down for parking... because if we allow Pano to do it, how can we stop anyone else. Eventually Elmwood avenue is no longer Elmwood Avenue, like Dan Sack said, we will begin to see Delaware Ave. around Hertel. A giant clusterF$%& of cars, ashpalt and cookie-cutter buildings. Its all about setting a precedent and the City allowed Pano to set and EXTREMELY DANGEROUS precedent for Elmwood Ave.
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hamp
Property owners cannot do anything they like, because they own the property. Zoning laws and building codes are put in place to protect the general public. And this includes protecting us from buildings that detract from our quality of life.
Owning a piece of property doesn't mean you are free to do whatever you want.
And, if you think it's bad here, try living in Toronto, Manhattan, or Boston (all places that get high marks for their built environment).
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carl
another wall greens type building with a fake dryvit cornice. wtf?
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carlmalone
{Deleted}
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DanielSack
scsa and one parking lot. One parking lot (we already have several) will not kill Elmwood Avenue.
It's the next "one" and the "one" after that that will kill Elmwood.
If every building has a parking lot along side the building we will eventually have half as many buildings. Half as many stores. Half as many people employed in stores. Half as much sales tax collected. Half as much property value. Half the property taxes collected.
We already have half the city we had sixty years ago. Should we continue this trend but have twice as much parking?
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