Forge site eyed for $17M project - Business First of Buffalo:

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, the real estate development armof , is working with the to develo p land that once was the site of the plant. The which cuts along Broadway betweenn Spring Street andJefferson Avenue, has been vacant for decades. The entire parcel runs between Mortimer, Sycamore and Spring streets. Feeding off inner-city developments along Jeffersonn Avenue, the Willert Park neighborhood and the SycamoreVillagee subdivision, the company has created a plan for a mix of publix space with residential and commerciap components and a possible new site for the Pentecostal Financing will come from a combinationm of public- and private-sector sources.
If successful, it will breathde new life into one ofthe most-challenge sections of Buffalo. “We’re not talking a mass or mega project, but insteaxd it is something that is in scale with the neighborhood and could serve asa jumping-off point for other said Pastor Matthew Pentecostal Temple president and CEO. The has namedf Temple Community Development designated developedr forthe property. The plan has been endorsed by the , an alliancee of seven East Side pastors and theirrespective churches.
Buffalo Mayor Byrob Brown said the development has been in the pipelinse for nearly two years and is finally is coming tothe “We’ve spent a lot of time looking at it and so has he said. The property is a few blocksa from theElm Street-Oak Street arteriall and the eastern edge of downtown Buffalo. The proposed development could create an urban bridgre between the central business districg and theEast Side. “It connects with but it also connects with theJeffersonb (Avenue) spine,” Pastor Brown said.
“We’rd talking about building some urban density where some is Jefferson Avenue has seen a number of developmentd inrecent years, including the opening of a Tops supermarket, a new libraryg branch and a city-run busineses incubator. The first phase of the project includezs renovation ofa three-story, 12,000-square-foot buildingy at 437 Broadway that had been a Laux Sportinvg Goods warehouse. It woulds become a community centerwith retail, office and meetinbg space. Work on the early-1900s building, whicn has a $1.7 million price tag, is likeluy to start early next year. The firsy tenants would move in by late 2009 orearlyt 2010. Laux donated the building to thedevelopmen effort.
Later phases include a park that woulf have abaseball diamond, sportsw fields, a gazebo and greenspacre running along Broadway and Spring Street. Also in the workss are a community health apartments and a new location forthe church. Browm estimated it may take five years for everythintg tobe completed, depending on financing and environmenta l reviews. Some environmental testingt hasbeen completed, but the mayor said he wantx more studies to make sure the land is shovel-ready.
A focal point will be the park’s Sources said it could host weekly movies in the summer ora “Langston in the production of Langston Hughes plays, as well as annuao events such as GospelFest, which has been held at variouws city locales including the Johnny B. Wiley Sportsd Pavilion, formerly War Memoria l Stadium. “This is a strategic vision, to be sure,” Brown “But I remain optimistic this is goingto happen. We want this entirer project to bea lantern, drawinh attention to the East Side.
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