Save Trico!
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I’m just glad they left their hulking and rotting production facilities behind to be managed by the city and establishing a charitable foundation to tell people how to properly address the problems of massive corporate disinvestment in our community.
Ironic street name.
They know what’s best for the people of Buffalo. And Matamoros.
What would Speedy Gonzales say? Carumba! Motamoros Si! Buffalo Non!
It’s a big old factory filled with asbestos and lead. No architectural significance at all. If the new owners of the land want to knock it own. If the Buffalo Preservation group wants to save it, let them pony up. We can’t hang on to every building from our past. If it does not fit into the plans for the BNMC, then they shouldn’t have to shoe horn it in. Silly, really.
“We can’t hang on to every building from our past.”
That is totally disingenuous, Pete. A great number of buildings from the past have already been torn down, and I don’t know anyone making the argument that nothing, ever, should be torn down.
But this is so clearly an engineered demo-by-neglect situation between the City and the BNMC; it reeks. If people I know who are professionals in the field–who have been in the building–tell me the building is rehab-able, why would I not believe them? Every argument being made here was also made about the M. Wyle building, and look how that turned out? Not only was the core building beautifully re-used, but now a modern addition to it is going up as well.
If the BNMC would show me/us even a very preliminary sketch of what’s going to replace it, I could be swayed. But so far, I see another parking lot… across from a parking lot. Not far from a parking ramp.
O.K. The most important question: What’s going to happen to Ulrich’s Tavern? Hah? Answer me that, Buck Rodgers!
Just so we’re all clear: “we can’t hang on to every building” is the equivalent of “let’s knock everything down and turn it into a parking lot.” The BNMC has built some very nice buildings – it wouldn’t be a parking lot for long. We (Buffalo) also don’t knock down every building, and no one is suggesting we do so. You can knock down an old ugly factory, and it doesn’t mean you want the Cyclorama next door to be next.
What’s saddest to me is that everyone acknowledged only a couple days ago the good faith of the other side (PBN and BNMC), but then it didn’t take long for it all to get ugly on the Twitters and blogs. I’m sure there is some creative re-use strategy possible, that’s expensive and less than ideal, but also unique and possibly better in the long run. Haven’t heard that option yet.
Buffalo’s history is littered with promises of immediate development via new builds if we would just tear down the rotting hulk that’s holding back progress. More often than not, the hulk is demolished and a surface lot takes its place. If the BNMC intends to build a new structure on this parcel, they should make the plans available and demonstrate that permits and developers are in place before they take down the old building.
The talk of contamination from a couple of individuals has no basis that I’m aware of, and BNMC hasn’t asserted that there are unusual problems. There have been extensive environmental studies conducted in preparation for demolition, although these have not been made public by BNMC. Matt Enstice of BNMC told us that it will take less than $10M to demolish TRICO – much less than the $16M estimated to demolish the Gates Circle Hospital, which is only 25% larger. If there were major contamination, demo would cost much more. When I toured the TRICO building recently, there were no special precautions taken, and inside the building there were no signs of contamination warnings or blocked off areas. Therefore, it is unlikely that there are unusually severe environmental problems in the building that would prevent reuse. But if there are issues – BNMC should release the environmental studies that prove this point (and they will become public once a demolition plan is files with the city).
The root our the issue for many of is that BNMC, a public funded entity, owes it to the community to seriously look at reuse before demolishing a nationally registered historic building. Kaleida is doing this with their Gates Circle Hospital, including bringing in the Urban Land Institute to conduct a reuse study and conducting an open reuse RFP process with a $1M prize for the winning reuse developer. That reuse study showed that Kaleida will save more than $4M by reuse of the structure over demolition. Kaleida conducted this thorough, transparent reuse assessment, and the Gates Circle Hospital isn’t even a nationally registered historic structure. BNMC owes it to the community to do the same with TRICO.
If you’re interested in the Gates Circle reuse effort, here is a link: http://www.kaleidahealth.org/uli/.
And how long should we wait for a buyer with cash and a plan for reuse? Does anyone know if there have been inquiries on this property?
Trico Plant = Grain Elevators. It’s not preservation, it’s embalming.
Ulrich’s Tavern is one of last of its kind, Taft even ate there. Lets hope it does’nt end up like Ray Flynn’s (rest in peace Tom). Those Papist bastards turned it into a parking lot!
Where’s Harvey Garrett been hiding? Wasn’t he supposed to broker another deal? Harvey?
It’s a Papist-Republican-Right Wing-Rush Linbaugh-Mitt Romney- Sara Palin-Rick Santorum-Drill in Alaska-Global warming is a lie-Build a stripper club on the fron porch of the Acropolus Resturant-Kick the dog conspiracy. What was my point? Who the hell knows. I’m from Buffalo, I don’t have I point. Save the grain elevators. We don’t need those construction jobs.
I’m with Joe – no deal unless we get ironclad guarantees that Ulrich’s stays!
The BNMC has done a great job with economic development in this region. So let them develop that massive parking lot right next to Trico.