A Publication of the Preservation
Coalition of Erie County
(Home Page)
March / April 1986
Vol. 8 No. 2
Main Street Merchants Meet to Plan Revitalization
by Barbara Buchnowski
When Rosa Maria Castillio Kesper first came to Buffalo to meet with businesspeople concerned about revitalizing Main Street, she spoke to a handful of disheartened people. One year later that handful of people has proliferated into tables full of merchants anxious to learn what they can do to preserve their businesses on Main Street; they call themselves the Mainline Business Development Corporation.
Ms. Kesper is a spokeswoman from the Department of State. She met with the Mainline Corp. in January in order to suggest organizing tactics and to outline funding sources within the State. The Cuomo representative alluded to other victorious revitalization projects in New York State but said that she's never seen a Main Street as lengthy or as diversified as Buffalo's. The 6.5 mile strip of Main Street has seven subway stations and is divided into four merchant zones: Allentown; Cold Springs; Main & Amherst; and University.
Main Street has had its share of economically depressing stories but there was a light at the end of the tunnel . . . that is, the underground tunnel of the Light Rail Rapid Transit System. Presumably, Main Street businesses stuck out the four year construction of the LRRT with the the understanding that their customers would be detoured to other, more convenient places to shop. Businesspeople presumed that they would be compensated for the slow down in business upon completion of the subway when anxious riders would be dropped off at their store fronts. Unfortunately, subway rider projection figures have not lived up to the numbers, and Main Street is still plagued with vacant buildings and only a trickle of customers.
'When I rode up and down Main Street I saw a street of integrity. There was Victorian, Greek, and Italianate architecture. Have respect for that past and reflect it tastefully. Don't put up signs to hide the architecture but compliment it and make that a selling point'
- Rosa Maria Castillio Kesper
Now, as merchants sit in the Salvation Army building on Main Street listening to Ms. Kesper, the question loomedñ'How are we going to get Main Street to be the thriving marketplace that it was 50 years ago?" Well, first of all, does Main Street have anything in common? As much as disparity is characteristic of Main Street, how can you get the customer interested only in Allentown to ride the subway into the University district'? Ms. Kesper suggested a sale. When one business has a sale, everybody should have a sale. Give Main Street an identity of its own. Don't sell your business: sell Main Street.
"When I rode up and down Main Street I saw a street of integrity. There was Victorian, Greek, and Italianate architecture. Have respect for that past and reflect it tastefully. Don't put up signs to hide the architecture but compliment it and make that a selling point,'' she commented.
''O.K., we have some ideas but we need money to get the ball rolling. The Department of State ofters low interest loans to sections that are revamping their area, however in order to receive those monies a group or section must meet certain criteria. For instance they must have community support as well as recognition from the local government as being viable recipients of state funding.
The group is solidifying their infrastructure by establishing communication between interested businesses along Main Street. Kesper advised them to band together as a single force on Main Street to asure that they don't get squeezed out
of their business by a larger competitor looking to expand.
Transit Corridor Master PlanAnother item of immediate concern was the Transit Corridor Master Plan. This is a document dealing with changes planners have recommended for Main Street. According to a spokesperson from the City Planning Department, the revisions in the document are devised to protect existing business by restricting the types of business that sprout up around the transit stations. "With a multi-million dollar investment (in the LRRT) we can't afford to be so lax with zoning ordinances where anything goes.'' said the city spokesperson.
Members of the Mainline Corp. were advised to get a copy of this document (however, it is lengthy so one may prefer to read the executive summary instead) and understand its content so that they know how the rezoning will effect their business. Copies are available through the city planning department in City Hall. The Common Council will vote on the document at the end of March but not before a formal public hearing is held.
In the meantime Chairman of the Mainline Corp., William Gorenflow, says that his group is going to ''nosy'' around the Rochester area where a smaller but similar renovation project is taking place. ''The beauty of our project is that it is open ended. Each piece of property will stand on its own merits so that we won't have an homogenous appearance,'' said Gorenflow. He expects to meet with Kesper and her expert staff members sometime in March.