The Urban Design Project : Queen City Hub Plan [header images/logo]

Acknowlegements

Founding Members

The Downtown Buffalo 2002! Implementation Council

These are the chief executives who have responsibility for the projects in the implementation campaign. They met quarterly to assess progress and address obstacles to action under the leadership of Anthony M. Masiello, Mayor

Keith M Belanger, M & T Bank • Randall Benderson, Benderson Development Company • Anthony J Colucci III, Colucci & Gallaher PC • Brian C. Davis, Buffalo Common Council, Ellicott District • Albert DeBenedetti, Erie County Legislator, District 6 • Alan H. DeLisle, Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation • Bruce Fisher, Erie County Executive’s Office • Joel A. Giambra, Erie County Executive • Joseph N. Giambra, City of Buffalo Commissioner of Public Works • Eva M. Hassett, City of Buffalo, Commissioner of Administration & Finance • Luiz F. Kahl, NFTA, Board of Commissioners • Vincent J. Lovallo, City of Buffalo, Office of the Mayor • Steve McGarvey, Signature Management Group • Carl P. Paladino, Ellicott Development Co. • James W. Pitts, Buffalo Common Council • Lewis D. Rich, Empire State Development WNY Region • Laurence K. Rubin, Commissioner, Erie County Department of Environment & Planning • Joseph E. Ryan, City of Buffalo, Office of Strategic Planning.

The Action Team

The Action Team met monthly to advance projects and record learning from the experience for use in the revised strategy.

Brian C. Davis, Buffalo Common Council, Ellicott District • David Stebbins, Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp • Bruce Fisher, Erie County Executive’s Office • Richard Franco, Benderson Development Company • Thomas Gallagher, City of Buffalo Board of Parking • Joe Giusiana, Signature Management at Century Centre II • Paul Gregory, Ellicott Development Co. • Bonnie Kane Lockwood, City of Buffalo, Office of Strategic Planning • Dan Kreuz, City of Buffalo, Department of Public Works, Park and Sanitation • Thomas A. Kucharski, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise • Richard Morrisroe, Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc. • Hal Morse, GBNRTC • Richard Ogorek, City of Buffalo • James W. Pitts, Buffalo Common Council • Laurence K. Rubin, Erie County Department of Environment & Planning • Michael T. Schmand, Buffalo Place Inc. • Leonard G. Sciolino, Parking Enforcement • W. Morgan Smith, Buffalo Place Inc. • Sean P. Spiesz, M & T Bank • Chuck Thomas, City of Buffalo, Office of Strategic Planning • Craig W. Turner, Erie County Legislature, Majority/Republican Office • Walter D Zmuda, NFTA, Surface Transportation.

The Downtown Buffalo 2002! Project Team

Robert G. Shibley, AIA, AICP, Director

The City of Buffalo, Mayor's Office of Strategic Planning

Tim Wanamaker, Executive Director June 2003; Joseph Ryan, Executive Director; David Sengbusch, Acting Executive Director; Bonnie Kane Lockwood, Downtown Buffalo 2002! Coordinator; Charles Thomas, AICP, Deputy Director of Planning.

Buffalo Place, Inc.

Keith Belanger, Chairman; Michael T. Schmand, Executive Director; JoAnne E. Loughry, AICP, Associate Manager of Planning and Downtown Buffalo 2002! Project Manager; Debra L. Chernoff, Manager of Planning; Nadine Marrero, Project Planner; Margaret Beardsley, Associate Director.

The Urban Design Project, School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo

Robert G. Shibley, AIA, AICP, Director; Bradshaw Hovey, Ph. D., Associate Director; Jocelyn Dolby and Laura Scarisbrick, Project Assistants; the urban design, photography, graphics and web site team: Anirban Adhya, Rishawn Sonubi, Marie Carone, Amy Darin, Jessica Jamroz, Eric Shepherd, Justin Steinbach, Steven Watchorn, Kenneth Vail.

Focus Group Participants

Sixty-five people worked with the Downtown Buffalo 2002! team in the initial framing of the work plan associated with both the activities and principles of The Queen City Hub. Their participation in focus group meetings and in plan review helped to solidify the final planning framework. Many of these same participants worked to deliver the December 1999 and April 2002 Downtown Summits which were used to help set priorities and review key features of The Queen City Hub vision and work plan.

Living

Robert Bannister, Fannie Mae of Western New York • Michael Clark, Local Initiatives Support Corporation • Kent Kleinman, University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning • Richard Morrisroe, Heart of the City Neighborhoods Inc. • Joseph E. Ryan, City of Buffalo • Brian Smith, Community Preservation Corporation • Gerald Strickland, American Institute of Architects / Buffalo RUDAT 2001 • Jenna Strazzulla, Heart of the City Neighborhoods Inc. • Fechner A. Stecker, City of Buffalo • Suzanne Taylor, New Millennium Group of WNY • Paul Gregory, Ellicott Development • Bonnie Kane Lockwood, City of Buffalo • Jennifer Gorczynski, Buffalo Niagara Partnership • Fred Heinle, City of Buffalo • Danielle Paladino, Ellicott Development.

Working

Alan DeLisle, Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation • Matthew Enstice, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus • David Gamble, Chan Krieger & Associates • Ramon Garcia, Federal Reserve Bank of WNY • Thomas Kucharski, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise / ECIDA • James Militello, Militello Real Estate • Laurence K. Rubin, Erie County Department of Environment and Planning • James Allen, AIDA/ECIDA • Jennifer Gorczynski, Buffalo Niagara Partnership • Debra Chernoff, Buffalo Place Inc.

Visiting

Margaret Beardsley, Buffalo Place Inc. • Alan Dewart, Theatre District Association • Steven Joseph, Buffalo Place Inc. • David Lacki, Greater Buffalo Convention and Visitor Bureau • Ken Neufeld, Studio Arena Theatre • Rick Serra, Theatre District Association • James Sandoro, Buffalo Transportation Museum • W. Morgan Smith, Buffalo Place Inc.

Shopping

Sam Gullo, Crinzo and Gullo Jewelers • Florine Luhr, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise • Joan Miller, Definitely Buffalo • Donna Gonser, Working For Downtown / Lumsden and McCormick • Julie Salvo, Allee King Rosen & Fleming • Debra Chernoff, Buffalo Place Inc.

Accessing

Justin Booth, Wellness Institute • Thomas Gallagher, City of Buffalo Board of Parking • Paul Knab, New York State Department of Transportation • Timothy Trabold, Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council • Vito Sportelli, Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority • William Leslie, New York State Thruway Authority • David Stebbins, Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation • Debra Chernoff, Buffalo Place Inc.

Energy/Green Design

Glen Aichinger, Niagara Mohawk • Isabell S. Berger, Erie County Department of Environment and Planning • Heather T. Clark, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority • Mark B. Mitskovski, Erie County • Margaret A. Neville, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority • Walter Simpson, University at Buffalo • Robert Sprague, National Fuel • Stewart Hainey, Erdman Anthony Associates / NYSERDA

Urban Design and Management

Colby Smith, Ciminelli Development • W. Morgan Smith, Buffalo Place Inc • Thomas Harmon, National Fuel • Jennifer Gorczynski, Buffalo Niagara Partnership • David Sengbusch, City of Buffalo

Image

Margaret Beardsley, Buffalo Place Inc. • Steven Joseph, Buffalo Place Inc. • Jocelyn Dolby, New Millennium Group of WNY • Carolyn Murray, Working For Downtown • Jennifer Gorczynski, Buffalo Niagara Partnership

R/UDAT Participants

Urban Design Assistance Team

Alan Mallach, ACIP Municipal Housing,Buffalo R/UDAT Project Team Leader • Joe Champeaux, FAIA Planning / Urban Design, Champeaux Landry, Lake Charles, Louisiana • Curtis Davis, AIA Municipal Urban Design, Rebuildit Collaborative, Boston, Massachusetts • Todd Lee, FAIA Urban Designer, Mixed Use, TLCR Associates, Boston, Massachusetts • Jack Hambene, Finance, Housing, McCormack Baron & Associates Inc, St. Louis, Missouri • Jim Lindemon, RA Architecture Housing • Lindemon Winckelmann Depree, Millville, New Jersey • Paul Kitsakos Transportation and Parking, Parsons Transportation, Chicago, Illinois • Mickey Zeppelin, Developer, Housing, Zeppelin Development, Denver, Colorado • Marta Borsanyi Market Analyst, Housing, The Concord Group, San Francisco, California.

Steering Committee Members

Matthew Meier, AIA Buffalo Small Business, Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects, Buffalo R/UDAT Steering Committee Chair • Gus Pratchett, African American Community, NAACP • Gerald Strickland, Jr., AIA Buffalo Chapter of AIA, AIA Buffalo / Western New York • Don Erb, RPA Buffalo Building Owners, BOMA of Buffalo • Laura St. Pierre, Buffalo Business Development, Buffalo Niagara Partnership • Laura Gang, Buffalo Business Development, Buffalo Niagara Partnership • Debra Chernoff, Buffalo Downtown Business, Buffalo Place, Inc. • JoAnne Loughry, Buffalo Downtown Business, Buffalo Place, Inc. • Celeste Lawson, Buffalo Cultural Institutions, Arts Council in Buffalo and Erie County • Sister Denise Roche, GNSH Buffalo Universities, D’Youville College • Jacquelyn Ross Brown, Buffalo Schools, Buffalo Board of Education • Tom Scime Buffalo Schools, Buffalo Board of Education • Laurence K. Rubin, Government: Region, County of Erie Department of Environment & Planning • Tom Dearing, Government: Region, County of Erie Department of Environment & Planning • Chuck Thomas, Government: City, City of Buffalo Department of Planning • Andres Garcia, Hispanic Community & Medical Institutions, Kaleida Health • Rich Morrisroe, Buffalo Housing, Heart of the City Neighborhoods • Patricia Pitts, Parking & Charter Schools, Buffalo Niagara Partnership • Brenda McDuffie, Urban Work Force, Buffalo Urban League, Inc. • Charles Grieco, Young Buffalo Business People, New Millennium Group • Robert Shibley, AIA, AICP Buffalo Master Plan, Downtown Buffalo 2002! • Maria Gambacorta, Buffalo Development Activism, Working For Downtown • Joe McIvor Builders – Housing Development, Niagara Frontier Builders Association

Student Team

University at Buffalo, School of Architecture and Planning, Urban Design Project, Faculty Coordinator, Robert G. Shibley • Team members: Kevin Casey • Anthony Vallone • Deepali Weyand • Rebecca Martino • Allita Steward • Tim Burke • Jessica Jamroz • Kevin White • Charles Davis • Marie Carone • Gabe DiMaio.

Additional Contributions to The Queen City Hub

Literally thousands of people participated in Downtown Buffalo 2002! and The Queen City Hub development effort. In some cases the participation was as simple as organizing presentations of the plan in process and offering comments, in other cases the involvement offered technical or professional reviews of the work in process. In still other cases they involved participation in summits, focus groups, surveys, or workshops. Each of eight Downtown Buffalo 2002! newsletters were mailed to over 7,000 people who kept tabs on the process. And traffic on the www.downtownbuffalo2002.org web site continues to be brisk.

A special thanks is offered to individuals representing the following organizations:

  • Access Infrastructure Task Force
  • Amherst Industrial Development Agency
  • Allee King Rosen & Fleming
  • American Institute of Architects, Western New York Chapter
  • American Planning Association, Western New York Section
  • Arts Council for Buffalo and Erie County
  • Benderson Development Company
  • Black Leadership Forum
  • Buffalo Civic Auto Ramps
  • Buffalo Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation
  • Buffalo Niagara Enterprise
  • Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
  • Buffalo Niagara Partnership
  • Buffalo Place Inc.
  • Buffalo Transportation Museum
  • Burke Brothers Development
  • Cannon Design
  • Chan Krieger & Associates
  • Ciminelli Development
  • Citizens for Rapid Transit
  • City of Buffalo Government
    • Board of Parking
    • Common Council
    • Department of Administration & Finance
    • Department of Public Works, Parks and Streets
    • Office of the Mayor
    • Office of Strategic Planning
    • Preservation Board
  • Colucci & Gallaher PC
  • Community Preservation Corporation
  • Crinzo and Gullo Jewelers
  • Definitely Buffalo
  • Downtown Neighborhood Development Corporation
  • Ellicott Development Co.
  • Empire State Development WNY Region
  • Erdman Anthony Associates / NYSERDA
  • Erie County Government
    • County Executive’s Office
    • Department of Environment & Planning
    • Industrial Development Agency
    • Legislature, District 6
    • Legislature, Republican Majority
    • Rebuild America
  • Fannie Mae of Western New York
  • Federal Government
    • Amtrak
    • Department of Transportation
    • Housing and Urban Development
    • Federal Highway Administration
    • National Trust for Historic Preservation
    • Federal Railroad Administration
    • Federal Reserve Bank of WNY
    • Federal Reserve Board
  • Good Neighbors Planning Alliance
  • Greater Buffalo Convention and Visitor Bureau
  • Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council
  • Green Gold Corporation
  • Hamilton Houston and Lownie, Architects, PC
  • Heart of the City Neighborhoods, Inc.
  • HSBC Bank
  • Key Bank
  • Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier
  • Leadership Buffalo
  • Local Initiatives Support Corporation
  • Lumsden and McCormick
  • M & T Bank
  • Militello Real Estate
  • National Fuel Gas Company
  • New Millennium Group of WNY
  • New York State Government
    • Department of Transportation
    • Energy Research and Development Authority
    • Historic Preservation Office
    • Thruway Authority
  • Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
    • Board of Commissioners
    • Surface Transportation
  • Niagara Mohawk
  • Partners for a Livable Western New York
  • Preservation Coalition of Erie County
  • Signature Management Group
  • Small Business Administration
  • Small Business Assistance Center
  • Studio Arena Theatre
  • Theatre District Association
  • University at Buffalo
    • Center for Urban Studies
    • Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth
    • School of Architecture and Planning
    • The Urban Design Project
  • Urban League
  • Wellness Institute
  • Working for Downtown
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