The beauty of taking both a relocation and real estate approach at Robitaille Relocation & Real Estate is that we get a front row seat as the curtain rises on a new era in Western New York: a return to city living.
Key players in this much-anticipated drama have been making things happen lately, in pockets of activity around the downtown Buffalo area. At center stage, perhaps, has been Michael Joseph of Clover Management Co., who has converted the 98-year-old Sidway Building on Main Street into a residential address in the central business district. It’s become the talk of the town.
In October it was announced that the Courtyard Mall and neighboring Baker’s Shoes Building would be transformed into a mix of residential, retail, and office space, with work expected to begin next spring. All thanks to developer Carl Paladino, whose Ellicott Development Co. purchased the sites in the 1990's.
Still another sign of city rejuvenation are the Elk Street Terminal and Ellicott Lofts, some of whose transferees-turned-residents Robitaille Relocation helped to make Buffalo their new home.
I’ve lived and worked in this area long enough to watch the nay sayers roll their eyes and sport their cynical grins when it comes to Buffalo and its loss of residents. Most of them act as if we’re the only large-size city in the country to experience such a population loss. At times, you almost get the feeling – from some of these detractors, anyway – that they’re glad it’s happening! That somehow Buffalo “deserves this.” Leave it to good old Buffalo, they dubiously suggest, to be the only city of its size that good fortune has passed by.
But these doubters are wrong. And it can’t be emphasized too often. You only need to look at what’s going on in other comparably sized metropolitan areas around the country to see that the trend is a national one. Cities such as Detroit, Denver, even Houston – to name just a few – have likewise seen an exciting reversal now, as more and more reasons emerge for people to return to city living.
Detroit, for instance, has seen its trendy Lofts of Merchants Row draw people to the downtown area to live in and enjoy this new mixed-use development. It’s only one of various new efforts that have successfully begun to bring new residents to a city that has reportedly lost over 50 percent of its population since the 1950s.
Similar developments have been spawned in Houston, Texas, and Denver, Colorado – attracting city dwellers not only with stadiums and retail growth, but also with stylish, convenient housing opportunities.
Speaking of convenience, Buffalo’s Michael Joseph recently stated that one thing making downtown Buffalo so special is the sheer convenience of being able to exit your front door and be in easy walking distance of night life, the theatre district, HSBC arena, and other attractions and amenities. He perceptibly pointed out that being able to get to such places quickly and easily – without the hassle of driving long distances and parking – is actually a stress-reliever.
What’s more, with the price of gasoline these days, there’s more than ever to be said about being five minutes from work, instead of 25 minutes.
What it’s beginning to add up to is a downtown Buffalo that’s coming back. Where some pretty terrific residence opportunities have already materialized, and with more on the drawing board or already seeing foundations being poured.
Changing bylaws and newly emerging pockets of professional growth, moreover, simply lend themselves to this back-to-the-city trend. The Buffalo Medical Corridor – benefiting from the confluence of people and growth plans from Roswell Park, Buffalo General/Kaleida, and the State University at Buffalo -– is another magnet attracting developer interest and an influx of young, high-talent professionals.
Increasing numbers of corporate transferees voice a desire for the culture, pace, and style unique to a more urban lifestyle, rife with culture and fresh ideas. And this is a trend that feeds on itself. As additional development occurs downtown – residential and commercial (Bass Pro is still a strong possibility, as one example) – it enhances the allure for newcomers.
As more people pitch their residential tents within city limits, the greater the incentive for local developers to rehab empty buildings and create marvelous new living spaces for sophisticated transferees, along the line of what’s happened in Chicago and Toronto.
In short, it’s the classic rising tide that lifts all boats.
As a relocation as well as real estate specialist, I never assume transferees wish to look solely at the suburbs for their new home, when we tour them through our area. Not by a long shot. At Robitaille Relocation & Real Estate, we give newcomers a first-hand look at all the Western New York communities – most definitely including downtown. And, these days, more proudly than ever.
We urge them not to make a decision until they’ve seen it all. Buffalo is a big, big part of it. Because, more and more, young professionals tell us they want what an urban lifestyle has to offer. And we’re right with them, in the front row, as the curtain rises.
