I've Solved Downtown's Parking Problem (Really)

I was sorry to read today that Sam Savarino's plans to rehab the Statler didn't work out.

A local developer who was eyeing downtown Buffalo's Statler Towers for conversion to a hotel/office/condominium complex has decided against buying the landmark.

Samuel J. Savarino, president and CEO of Buffalo-based Savarino Companies, confirmed Wednesday that he let a $7.5 million purchase contract for the building expire as of midnight on April 18.

"We decided to let it lapse," Savarino said. "It's a significant Buffalo building that needs to be dealt with in a meaningful way. Maybe we'll get another bite at the apple under more favorable conditions."

Part of the problem was that old downtown bugaboo, parking.

Savarino and his investment partners had estimated that interior and exterior renovations of the Niagara Square landmark would have run in the $50 million to $70 million price range. If their deal would have consummated, they planned to employ a mix of private capital and various tax credit programs to fund the ambitious redevelopment.

They also hoped the City of Buffalo would aid the project by building a parking garage to service the building on a nearby surface parking lot at South Elmwood Avenue and West Mohawk Street. [emphasis mine]

We all know that any mention of new parking downtown instantly sounds the death-knell for the project.  Even if the proposed parking-garage builder is willing to spend  $1/2 million more than his office-building competitor, Buffalo turns the proverbial blind eye.  Yet, we know that parking is still an issue for businesses thinking about locating in downtown Buffalo.  What to do?

In the 1930's, Frank Lloyd Wright proposed a massive and (for the time) imaginatively-designed parking garage to complement the Kaufmann Department Store in downtown Pittsburgh. 

It was never built.  But with the growing inventory of restored FLLW buildings in Buffalo -- and the construction of the boathouse and the gas station which were only drawings, I think the time's come to build a true monument to Wright's genius.

Let's build the original FLLW parking garage in downtown Buffalo.

In one swell foop we'll not onlly cure the downtown parking shortage but satisfy the arts and architectural community.  Who could dare speak against it?  Tourists from across the continent (and no doubt from Europe) will flock here and rent cars -- if only for the chance to park in a garage designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

We'll place it, of course, in a location from which they can gaze upon the glory of the rotting and ugly (but "monstrously" ugly) grain elevators as they exit their Tauruses. 

In fact, I've determined that some 1.2 million such visitors a year will eventually come here to see the parking garage.  And 20% of those will patronize the casino (but only up to the point of bankruptcy) A healthy 1% plan to visit the Broadway Market, although that number drops when they're confronted with pictures of the actual surruounding neighborhood and with the dawning realization that a butter-lamb is well, just butter after all.

Nonetheless, I think it's worth pursuing.  If our aim is to make Buffalo into a huge museum of what-might-have-been, let's do it right and solve a pesky parking problem at the same time.

 

Comments

[Derek J. Punaro]

Smarmy, anti-preservationist commentary aside... I think it would be a great addition to making Buffalo the world's FLW destination.

[Jaquandor]

Maybe I'm misreading something here, but what parking problem exists downtown? I have never been unable to find a space, either in a garage or a surface lot, more than three blocks away from where I'm going. Buffalo's got a lot of problems, but parking sure ain't one of them.

[Craig]

C'mon guys, even a preservationist (albeit one with a sense of humor) would see the irony in supporting a parking garage. I suppose I'm being a bit stern in my opinion. After all, the preservationists did sign off on the Healthnow complex to save the Gasworks facade.

And that monstrosity is a huge laugh.

Sigh. And yes, I'd love to see the Wright parking garage built here -- I'm a big FLLW fan but I'd love to see almost anything built here at this point.

And Jaq, I don't see a parking problem downtown either -- but it's continually raised as an issue with developers. I don't think we can afford to simply dismiss their concerns.

And I say that because of the guy who was willing to pay more to put up a parking garage than the other guy who's speculating on an office building.

I'd much rather see an office building -- if it's successful.

But there seems to be a huge glut of unused office space downtown and adding another 12 story building to that "glut" doesn't make sense. I'm not opposed to parking garages if . . . they fill a need and . . . they look like "normal" buildings.

I do want downtown to be attractive. I just tend to believe that the private money goes where the need is.