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Written on Friday, January 12th, 2007 at 12:03pm by Christopher Smith | 9 Comments

What To Do With The Buffalo Memorial Auditorium?

It would appear that any deal, if one is to be reached, with Bass Pro regarding a store on the Buffalo waterfront will not include renovation of the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

So, with the dream of a renovated building, an intermodal transportation hub, and hotel now dead in the water; what will become of the old gray lady?

aud

There appears to be a growing sentiment in the community that the building should be saved and adaptively reused due to its architectural significance as an EB Green designed building.

I can’t say that I disagree that the original facade and design should be preserved rather than simply looking towards a remedy of demolition in order to offer yet another shovel ready site on Buffalo’s waterfront.

With that said, there is a lack of potential for investment and a serious environmental remediation project awaiting anyone who does eventually purchase the building.

Alan’s suggestion is as follows:

I think we should take a portion of the public money that was going to be used in support of the Bass Pro Aud project (2001 – 2007), and demolish the newer parts of the Aud while retaining its deco facade. Remediate the asbestos and make the land behind the facade “shovel-ready”. Require that any future development of that parcel incorporate the old facade into the design (among other things – this is where smart-coding the whole Canal Side project comes into play to prevent its Bendersonization). That is a proper use for the money, and enables developers to take a second look at the property.

As for the contents of the Aud – the seats, scoreboard, and other removable paraphenalia – call Cash Cunningham and sign up for eBay.

I’m not sure that we should even go that far. I would agree that we need to use the available funds to remediate environmental concerns but, I’d like to see a unique private/public effort to adaptively reuse the entire facility. If only it were that easy…

So, I ask you, loyal readers, to tell me what you would do if you had a bank account with $40MM, access to the $60MM in public funds and a dream. What would you do with the site? Would you convert it to an indoor waterpark? Build a local film studio and soundstage? Perhaps make a museum of failed waterfront plans?

You tell me, what would you do?

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9 Comments

  1. eac says:
    January 12, 2007 at 1:10 pm

    I would turn one half of it it into something like The Vic, in Chicago, only bigger. You could build a very cool & deep stage, and you’d have great seating, with every other row ripped out to provide tables. There are already kitchen/consession capabilities, so a lot is done for you, given that you’re sort of reusing this part for what it was already built for.

    The other half, I’d build out into Class-A office space with retal on the ground floor.

  2. BuffaloSalesman says:
    January 12, 2007 at 2:10 pm

    The idea of a Splash Lagoon type development is pretty intriguing. There aren’t a lot of options for family activities in the city and something like that could be a real draw for locals, exurb denizens, and Canadians.

    The city needs to add some family friendly development as families who make a trip to the city will look for a day long series of activities. Food, hotels, games, museums, etc all in one place.

    If not a waterpark, perhaps a play museum or something that would appeal to kids. As demonstrated in the BRO thread the other day, options for kids pretty much start and stop with the nature preserve, skating rink, and the mirror room.

  3. Mike Miller says:
    January 12, 2007 at 2:11 pm

    How about keeping the facade, up to the first side doors, and gutting the rest? It would be too difficult and costly to try to remove those cement ramps and bleachers.

    It is a nice facade, but the building itself inside is nothing special.

    If it can be reused, as is, why not keep it an auditorium and actively find some appropriate smaller venues for it? There are lots of smaller bands and events, like non WWE wrestling shows, indoor football, lacrosse, even college sports.

  4. Buffalo Rox says:
    January 12, 2007 at 4:57 pm

    Save the facade and create greenspace behind it for future redevelopment. In the interim, it could be Buffalo’s pedestrian version of the Brandenburg Gate.

    http://tinyurl.com/yyw4qk

  5. STEEL says:
    January 12, 2007 at 10:24 pm

    Remember, even if the building is demoed it will still need to be remediated. So that is a false reason for not using the building. As a matter of fact if the building is reused asbestos can remain in place in some instances. If it is demolished all the asbestos and dangerous material must be removed prior to razing.

    Another thing. Is it ethical to demolish a memorial to our war heros? The AUD that is short for “War Memorial Auditorium”

  6. Kula191 says:
    March 14, 2007 at 7:49 pm

    I lived in that city over 20 years, I’ve been on the ice at the Aud & and have so many wonderful memories, i was lucky to take in the experience.
    It would be a travisty to see the Aud demolished , and it shouldn’t be a remote consideration for a retail chain either (look what happened to Maple Leaf Garden..not a good thing). That would be a diservice to its historical meaning to the City of Buffalo and its people.

    Let’s face it… the city has not done a dam thing right in the art of historic preservation of landmarks. Look at the Rockpile and serveral downtown buildings…hope you see where im going with this.

    It should be preserved and considered a venu that could encompass collegiate sports, maybe AFL, lacrosse, basketball, theater productions….concerts.
    Build around it, tie it in to the cobblestone distric and connect it downtown. Create retail around it…Dammit !! create a reason for people to come into the city.
    If anything….get ride of the Skyway!!!!

    Bottom line it can be done!! City officials need to stop considering what the city could be..and do what it needs so it can be. You never know, if that happened the Bills might come back to the City or better yet some people.

  7. David Gower says:
    March 22, 2007 at 7:40 pm

    I think the facade should be saved and as much of the original building as possible. The Skyway should come down and that we should bring in something that has some diversity while still having a theme.

    I sent an email to the mayor and other representatives asking them to consider a project that was being considered in Rochester. The concept is backed by Italian investors and would be an Italian themed shopping pavillion. With products ranging from food to clothes to furniture to automobiles and many many other things.

    I think it would be a great diverse anchor not only of interest to those of Italian heritage, but to everyone who appreciates italian goods. I also think it would be a big draw to bring over many of our Canadian neighbors.

    I am still attempting to contact the Italians and see if I can get them interested in Buffalo for this project. But if anyone in this group could put me in touch with someone on the city’s side that could help with this please let me know. gowerdavid@yahoo.com

  8. imforunc2009 says:
    April 2, 2007 at 1:13 pm

    three words

    sabres field house

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