Funding supports a critical next step in NFTA’s vision for historic structure

New York State Sen. Chris Jacobs announced he has secured $1 million in state funding to support the redevelopment of Buffalo’s Delaware, Lackawanna ad Western Terminal Railroad station on the city’s waterfront.

“I have always been excited by the potential for the DL&W Terminal to become a major destination again at the foot of Main Street,” he said. “Transforming this massive and historic building into a first-class recreational, commercial and economic development site is an expensive proposition, and I am pleased to have been able to secure such a meaningful investment of state resources.”

The funding secured by the senator will support the construction and installation of the stair tower and elevator that will enable public access from South Park Avenue to the second floor of the terminal. This access is necessary for the NFTA and project developers to be able to begin moving forward with emerging plans for phase two of the larger development project.

“We are very appreciative of Sen. Jacobs’ support,” said Kimberly Minkel, NFTA executive director. “This funding will help our efforts in the ongoing development of the DL&W, which will build on the continued growth and development within the Canalside and Cobblestone district.”

Jacobs’ 60th Senate District is bordered by more than 40 miles of waterfront that he has long believed has held great recreational and economic development potential. In prior state budgets, he has secured a combined $1.5 million for waterfront development projects at Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children’s Museum, the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, and the Buffalo Heritage Carousel.

“I applaud the vison of the NFTA and project developers for a large public gathering space that will become a major part of the Metro Rail’s new station, and I am pleased that they are committed to gathering public input on the final details of what is built,” Jacobs said. “I am confident the final project will increase metro rail ridership, improve NFTA customer’s experience and add significantly to the quality of life for everyone in our community.”

Just this morning, I was reading about the concept up creating public markets by using the shells of defunct buildings, when suddenly I came across Buffalo’s DL&W Terminal.

The article, by Steve Davies in Project for Public Spaces (PPS), was fascinating enough, without the Buffalo reference. It showcased a handful of relatable projects that this city could glean from, not just for markets, but for repurposing buildings in general. Davies goes on to discuss all of the advantages of upcycling structures, including cost savings and typically more space offerings. Sometimes a built-structure can bring out the best in architects, when attempting to figure out ways to best use a shell.

One of the examples of repurposing a shell was a bus depot in St. Johns, New Foundland that was converted into a community market. As I was looking at the building in its raw form, I couldn’t help but think of the Delaware Park Labor Center (maintenance facility) located along the Scajaquada Expressway.

Buffalo’s Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad terminal project got a refreshing jolt of good news last week when transit authority commissioners awarded “predevelopment rights” to the Savarino Cos. of Buffalo for redeveloping the second floor.

It has been a long time since advocates of the old DL&W could even dream of revival, but now it may be on the way.

Savarino and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority will work together to transform the 130,000 square feet of space into a downtown attraction. As News political reporter Robert J. McCarthy wrote, the hope is that it “fosters commerce, social gathering, community and a sense of place.”

NFTA Executive Director Kimberley A. Minkel is charged about the possibility. The enthusiasm should extend to anyone who has ever walked thBuffalo’s Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad terminal project got a refreshing jolt of good news last week when transit authority commissioners awarded “predevelopment rights” to the Savarino Cos. of Buffalo for redeveloping the second floor.

It has been a long time since advocates of the old DL&W could even dream of revival, but now it may be on the way.

Savarino and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority will work together to transform the 130,000 square feet of space into a downtown attraction. As News political reporter Robert J. McCarthy wrote, the hope is that it “fosters commerce, social gathering, community and a sense of place.”

NFTA Executive Director Kimberley A. Minkel is charged about the possibility. The enthusiasm should extend to anyone who has ever walked through the cavernous, empty space and tried to imagine its heyday. The terminal has been vacant since the last Erie-Lackawanna passenger train departed in 1962.

Savarino Cos. President Samuel J. Savarino plans a major revival. He lives across the street in redeveloped property at 95 Perry St., so he has the perfect combination of community and self-interest, with the emphasis on the former.rough the cavernous, empty space and tried to imagine its heyday. The terminal has been vacant since the last Erie-Lackawanna passenger train departed in 1962.

Savarino Cos. President Samuel J. Savarino plans a major revival. He lives across the street in redeveloped property at 95 Perry St., so he has the perfect combination of community and self-interest, with the emphasis on the former.

Buffalo’s Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal is on the way toward reclaiming its legacy as a bustling center of waterfront activity.

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority commissioners on Thursday awarded "pre-development rights” to the Savarino Cos. of Buffalo for redeveloping the second floor of the cavernous train shed at the foot of Main Street. Savarino and the NFTA now begin a partnership they hope will transform its 130,000 square feet into a downtown attraction that “fosters commerce, social gathering, community and a sense of place.”

“It’s a good proposal,” said NFTA Executive Director Kimberley A. Minkel. “I’m excited about this, what it can mean for the public, and for the first time in many years, engaging that space.”

Vacant since the last Erie-Lackawanna passenger train departed in 1962, Savarino Cos. President Samuel J. Savarino has long eyed the terminal as ripe for development. Indeed, he lives across the street in redeveloped property at 95 Perry St., and is now eager to implement his vision for a “diverse public space engineered for active public use.”

“With the new Metro Rail station soon to be completed at the terminal ... such use represented proper and complementary transit-oriented development,” Savarino said. “Our team is very pleased that the NFTA has endorsed our idea.”

Congressman Brian Higgins applauded momentum on the DL&W Terminal project.

“In continued conversations with the leadership of the NFTA, it is clear that they recognize the opportunity and value that comes with revitalization of the DL&W Terminal,” he said. “Savarino Co.’s interest in redeveloping the second floor demonstrates a bold move to take on a big project that would deliver a destination like none other for Western New York’s waterfront. I commend NFTA Executive Director Kim Minkel and the NFTA’s board of directors for their leadership moving this project forward, and will continue to work closely with all involved to see this project through.”

In 2010, just months after the withdrawal of Bass Pro, and again in 2015, Higgins stressed the importance of restoring the DL&W Terminal as a priority project for the Buffalo waterfront. Then, in 2016, as the NFTA was considering options for extension of the Metro Rail, Higgins pushed for the authority to select the Buffalo River plan, which extends Metro passenger service into the DL&W Terminal.

Higgins has worked closely with the NFTA, meeting as recently as last week, to explore funding options that facilitate the full build out of the site.

Over a century ago, in 1917, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal (DL&W) was built at the foot of Main Street adjacent to the Buffalo River. For years, it served as a busy center of activity for passenger and freight traffic by way of train and ships. In the mid-1960s, the railroad discontinued use of the terminal. A portion of the building was demolished in the late 1970s.

The DL&W Terminal stands adjacent to Canalside, KeyBank Center and nearby HarborCenter, the Cobblestone District and Ohio Street. The terminal’s second floor has 130,000 square-feet, including 74,875 square-feet of interior space and 57,662 square-feet of an outdoor deck that overlooks the Buffalo River.

The NFTA owns the DL&W Terminal property and uses the ground floor as a maintenance facility for Metro Rail cars. Plans call for the extension of NFTA Metro Rail service into the first floor and private sector redevelopment of the second floor.

Long before the coronavirus pandemic upended much of upstate New York’s economy, the plan to transform the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal into a Metro Rail station and commercial center was slowed by a lack of funding.

Work on the $52 million Metro Rail station on the first floor is underway, but it remains to be seen if developer Samuel J. Savarino can realize his plan to make the second floor into a viable public and commercial space. In Sunday’s Buffalo News, he presented a vision that begins that task in a hopeful way.

A consulting firm’s report, commissioned by Savarino Cos., argues for “an inclusive place where the arts, food and music bring people together in a unique multi-use gathering place for the region.”

The report, prepared by the Project for Public Spaces, projects a price tag of $20 million to $30 million, doubling or tripling Savarino’s original estimate for the project. It’s a big investment, but one that Washington may be able to help fund. Savarino and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which owns the building, need to show that the return on such a large public investment would justify the cost.

Rep. Brian Higgins told The News that he believes federal infrastructure money and historic tax credits would make enough money available to fund much of the project. Higgins and State Sen. Tim Kennedy, a fellow Buffalo Democrat and advocate for the project, will need to convince other lawmakers that the millions they are asking for will be well spent.

Turning the DL&W Terminal into a transportation destination for Canalside and the Cobblestone District may be closer than many realize.

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority hopes to secure federal funding for an environmental review of the historic South Park Avenue and within the next year, it could be turned into a development-ready site.

That’s the upshot from a key NFTA executive.

Tom George, NFTA, public transit director, said during a briefing with Buffalo Place Inc. officials that the authority has made the DL&W Terminal redevelopment one of its top development priorities.

“We got a large asset, with a lot of square footage,” George said. “It’s time to leverage what’s happening in Canalside and the Cobblestone district.”

The drive to use the 99-year-old DL&W Terminal, tucked behind KeyBank Center, is not a new one. Over the years, the NFTA has attempted to find private sector interest in using portions of the building, especially its largely vacant second floor.

In recent months, Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, has been pushing the NFTA to address the terminal issue.

This spring, the authority decided on a $43 million redevelopment plan that will see a Metro Rail stop be incorporated into the building’s first floor, with the stop overlooking the Buffalo River and Riverwalk. Retail kiosks would be placed on the second floor with a pair of elevated bridges over South Park Avenue connecting the terminal with KeyBank Center.

“We’d love to create a new front door,” George said.

This is a Widelux photograph of the DL&W terminal at the foot of Main Street in 1975, taken by The Public’s Bruce Jackson. The access ramp under the Skyway is already in an advanced state of deterioration. The large building in the center of the photo—the waiting room, passenger concourse, railroad offices, ticket counters—would be torn down in 1979. (Contemporary photographs and more data on the terminal at the Forgotten Buffalo website.)