Mark Byrnes

All Things Buffalo

Mark completed his B.A. in Environmental Design at SUNY Buffalo in 2009. He has been blogging since 2005 about issues surrounding urban development in the Buffalo area while also sharing his thoughts and experiences from his travels around the Western Hemisphere. Mark has also taken an interest in print design and corporate identity and applies his ideas and observations in these fields from time to time on this blog.
Written on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 3:19pm by Mark | 10 Comments

All is not fair in development


*Image courtesy of BuffaloPundit

Sad news coming out of the most recent Buffalo Place meeting as local developers are expressing outrage over the potential mass amount of subsidies coming to Rocco Termini for his rehabilitation of the AM&A’s flagship store.

Paladino, Hotung, and Sweet are united in their opposition to the heavy amounts of funding coming Rocco’s way stating the ample vacancies in adjacent structures owned by the three developers-specifically seeing BuffaloPlace giving money to the project.

Paladino’s staunch opposition is a surprise to me seeing as he lobbied for and landed a 10-year tax exemption for condo owners at The Pasquale, a greenfield development with little potential to spurn new adjacent development while depriving the City of desperately needed tax income.

Hotung complains about the massive vacancies at his properties but anyone and everyone can easily show that the Liberty Building is clearly class-B office space at best, Main Place tower is outdated and mediocre, while the mall has been intentionally managed to push out retailers while focusing on data centers occupying former retail spaces.

Termini’s project from all reports suggest it will not hold office space but a hotel, banquet facilities, and a food court-only Hotung is in the food court business while Sweet and Paladino’s downtown properties have mostly office and retail space primarially used by food services.

I am not a commercial developer but I know that a fully rehabilitated, healthy AM&A’s Flagship Store will have a profound impact on the image of downtown. The project will generate large tax revenues and increase the values on adjacent properties while putting pressure on those same properties to be put in better care.

BuffaloPlace is a Business Improvement District and with the extra taxes that come with being in a BID you want your money to add value to your surroundings-a rehabbed AM&A’s will do the trick.

I know these developers are not against a new day for the building but are upset about the substantial amounts of subsidies. Truth is, anyone who is crazy/bold enough to take such a serious risk on such a project deserves whatever subsidies required to cover the financing gap. Paladino, Hotung, and Sweet all would have gotten the same treatment. If AM&A’s works out, perhaps these three developers will take just as big a risk as Termini…the 500 block of Main is a short distance away if anyone is interested.

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10 Comments

  1. Brian Castner says:
    November 18, 2009 at 4:31 pm

    I’m glad Termini himself brought up Paladino’s Empire Zone tax breaks on the waterfront condos – that was my first thought reading of his complaints in this morning’s paper. All these guys have been the recipient of taxpayer largesse at some point: what’s the complaint? Rocco asking for Buffalo Place endorsement (not $$$) may have been politically unwise but not worthy of this uprising.

  2. Matt says:
    November 18, 2009 at 8:20 pm

    The public sentiment is definitely behind Termini. I was just reading the comments on the Buff News article (which is usually intellectual suicide), and even there people wanted this project to go forward. Any chance that factors into the decisions made?

  3. probuff says:
    November 18, 2009 at 9:39 pm

    I don’t think anyone is in love with the idea of government-subsidized projects, but the reality of this building is that it will continue to rot if left untreated, with the end result being some sort of government-funded demolition down the road.  In that case, we end up with a parking lot or a far smaller structure.  Rocco’s projects are urban, vibrant, and attractive.  They add value to the properties that surround them.  Paladino, Sweet, and Hotung will benefit from this, they are just too myopic to realize it.

  4. Judy says:
    November 19, 2009 at 1:36 am

    Owners of Main Place Tower and Mall should fight for goverment money and UPDATE THAT DARK OUTDATED PIECE OF CRAP across from the old AM&A’s. And THEN market the mall to national retailers and push for something simular that is about to happen in the Canal District and get big retailers and restaurants back into that mall. As for the offices, same thing, UPDATE the spaces.
    As for Carl P. what’s the status on your Court Street tower? You have a sign up at the corner of Court and Franklin Street promoting an office tower that you have yet to build and last I heard, the owners of Main Place tried to sue you for considering building on that surface lot. What I’d really like to see happen that I know will NEVER HAPPEN is all the building owners along Main Street get together and form an alliance simular to the Erie Canal Harbor Group and fight for funding to fix up all of thier properties and FIRST FLOORs while marketing them to National Retailers, Restaurants, Museums, and so on. Why have everything on the waterfront? Bring it to all of downtown and make this area a “DESTINATION” Again.

  5. STEEL says:
    November 19, 2009 at 12:53 pm

    Usually you can get some kind of government incentive if you actually come up with a compelling project in which the city and its residents can benefit. For instance Paladino came up with a good reuse for the Bergers department store and he received a substantial subsidy to complete it. Likewise he got massive tax deductions to complete his new waterfront tower. I don’t know why the owners of The Main Place Mall would complain about these projects since they obviously make downtown a better place. I think if the Mall owners came up with a compelling plan to make the Mall a vibrant and attractive part of downtown again instead of the blight it currently is, they would also receive government incentives. I don’t think these mall owners should be complaining about Paladino’s subsidies when they seem to be sitting on their thumbs.

  6. Giovanni Centurione says:
    November 19, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    So, why don’t these guys step thier game up? Wasn’t a local company recently looking for wide open floor space downtown but only found smaller space’s? Why does’nt Carl go ahead with his Court Street Tower since companys are now looking for the larger floor spaces not currently found downtown. And why don’t the owners of Main Place Tower try to get special deals and update thier gloomy looking property to attract companys to it’s tower and RETAIL back to it’s Mall. Why complain against someone like Rocco when they could be making positive changes themselfs.

  7. scott says:
    November 19, 2009 at 5:10 pm

    carls a tool. he gets more tax breaks and special treatment then most developers. i think someone is getting a bit jealous of termini. if i was any downtown building owner i’d be pushing for termini to recieve tax credit, special funding…..whatever. what benefits main place mall more….an empty shit hole of a building or a remodeled mixed use building??? these developers are being very short sighted…..

  8. Giovanni Centurione says:
    November 19, 2009 at 11:30 pm

    So true, a vibrant and attractive building across from the Mall might make Main Place more attractive looking.