Housing is essential for a prosperous downtown.  Across the country, Americans are embracing city living, particularly in places where they can live, work and shop all within a few blocks. Buffalo is enjoying the benefits of the nation's rediscovered taste for urban living.  Many are making the decision to move downtown.  They want to be in the heart of the city. They want to walk to work, sporting events, theater and dining, and do not want the responsibilities of conventional home ownership.

Hundreds of people have moved into downtown Buffalo in recent years.  Buffalo officials have been encouraging developers to recycle old downtown buildings into chic residences since St. Mary Square and Ansonia Center opened in the mid-1980's.  Nearly 700 residences have been created since.  Work is underway on 144 additional units and there are plans for 300 others.  Include Waterfront Village and the unit count goes over 1,150.

Much of the progress has been recent and can be credited to a few developers taking a risk.  Pioneers include First Amherst's Lofts @ Elk Terminal, Ellicott Development's Belesario, Clover's Sidway Building, and Signature Development's Ellicott Lofts.  Their success has spurred others to join in and each has completed follow-up developments.  Today, people are now living downtown amid the office towers, warehouses and parking lots on such streets as Ellicott, Oak, Washington, Perry and Main. 

People are moving downtown to be close to jobs and entertainment. In turn, housing helps make downtown a more attractive workplace stimulating the demand for retail.  The result is a more active downtown.  But where is the retail? 

It has been a long-deferred dream of bringing serious retail options back downtown.  One way to do that is with high density housing- and lots of it.  As the downtown population grows creating steady traffic, retail is becoming more viable. 

Consultants say a critical mass of 10,000 downtown residences is necessary to reel in a stable, tax-paying base of neighborhood boutiques and restaurants, ultimately launching a self-propelling economy.  Downtown's current one thousand units will not bring back a department store, a Gap or Trader Joe's, but the new residents have helped create retail demand. 

Much of the housing has been created though the adaptive reuse of architecturally significant properties creating unique, modern living space.  Therefore, most projects are small conversion projects and average around 40 units.  Worse, they are spread throughout downtown.  The developments together are making a significant difference in how downtown looks and feels, but they aren't concentrated or large enough to spur much retail and no area feels like a "neighborhood."

The City Queen City Hub plan for downtown recommended focusing on target areas to create a critical mass of residential.  A strategic approach was deemed necessary to develop new "downtown neighborhoods and strengthen surrounding neighborhoods."   Queen City Hub was praised for its approach and earned accolades from the American Planning Association in 2005.  Like many Buffalo planning documents however, follow-thru has been more happenstance than City-driven.

Next:  Where is the Focus?