Greatness In Progress
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Projects Currently Underway

Artspace Buffalo
The $16.9 million project, ArtspaceÕs first in New York State, will create 60 units of affordable live/work housing for artists and their families Ð 36 units in the five-story historic Buffalo Electric Vehicle Company building at 1219 Main Street, plus 24 units in six new fourplexes on vacant land immediately behind it. In addition to the residential units, the project will create almost 10,000 square feet of commercial space on the street level will be leased to arts organizations and arts-friendly businesses
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Erie Canal Harbor
Buffalo's position at the western end of the Erie Canal made it the Gateway to the West -- the departure point for millions of immigrants on their way to the American heartland and the catalyst for the city's rise to prominence in the mid-19th century. Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal linked Buffalo with Albany, creating a waterway between the Great Lakes and New York City and dramatically transforming United States commerce, industry and immigration. The Erie Canal Harbor project will redevelop approximately 12.5 waterfront acres into a contemporary tourism destination that celebrates the site's historic significance as well as establishes the area as a new maritime and entertainment center.

Project Architects: Parsons Brinckerhoff for waterside elements, and Flynn Battaglia Architects, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, John Milner Associates, and C&G Partners for landside and interpretive elements
Project Completion: 2008

Burchfield-Penney Art Center
BPAC's new 75,000-square-foot museum, located on the Buffalo State Campus, will provide additional space for the museum's exhibition galleries and education and public programs. Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects' design for the new BPAC is an elegant structure of interlocking geometric forms and an innovative combination of materials. Surrounded by gardens and walkways, the building will also serve as an academic resource for the Buffalo State College community.

Click here for a live view of the construction of the new Burchfield-Penney.

Follow this link to watch a time lapse video of the construction of the new Burchfield-Penney.

Click here to download prospectus for the public art projects being commissioned for the grounds of the new Burchfield-Penney.

Project Architects: Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects
Project Completion: Fall 2008

Darwin D. Martin House
Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Martin House for his long time friend and loyal patron Darwin D. Martin. The house is located on Jewett Parkway and adjacent to Buffalo's Olmsted-designed Delaware Park. After Martin's death the house was abandoned and suffered significant damage until 1992, when the Martin House Restoration Corporation (MHRC) was formed to lead and oversee the landmark's restoration. Also part of the Martin House complex is the Wright- designed Gardener's Cottage, which MHRC acquired in 2006 to reunite the complete Martin estate.

Restoration Architects: Hamilton, Houston & Lownie Architects
Project Completion: 2010
Original Construction Date: 1903-1905

Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens
Originally called the South Park Conservatory, the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens is one of two remaining “Crystal Palaces” built by Lord & Burnham sited in a park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (the other is in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park). South Park was created from 162 acres of farm land. The South Park Conservatory was included to showcase tropical plant species while the rest of the park was designed to feature more hardy temperate species, including an Arboretum, Pinetum, a Shrub Garden and a Bog Garden. The Gardens are currently undergoing a $20 million restoration based on the theme of “the Buffalo Meridian.” This theme presents Buffalo as the terminus of an around-the-world tour that showcases the myriad of climates and plant communities that share this longitudinal location

Architect: Lord and Burnham
Original Construction Date: 1898
Restoration: 1998-Present

Louis Sullivan's Guaranty Building
One of the masterpieces of Louis Sullivan, the Guaranty Building was one of the first skyscrapers in America. After a fire in 1974, the building suffered significant damage, but with the help of local civic leaders and preservationists around the country the building was saved. In 2002 local law firm Hodgson Russ Inc., purchased the building to ensure its continued preservation and to use as its principal Buffalo office. The building is currently undergoing a $12 million dollar interior renovation.

Architects: Sullivan and Adler
Construction Date: 1895
Restoration Completion: 2008

Graycliff
Graycliff was the last built Wright commission in the Buffalo area and the summer home for Darwin D. Martin, located on the shores of Lake Erie in Derby, NY. Over the last several decades, the house suffered damage, much like the Martin House. In 1999, the Graycliff Conservancy, Inc. acquired the home and is now responsible for the restoration of the site, which is on New York State's National Register of Historic Places.

Restoration Architects: Hamilton, Houston & Lownie Architects
Project Completion: Late 2010
Original Construction Date: 1926-27

Michigan Avenue Heritage Corridor
The Michigan Avenue Heritage Corridor is being created to commemorate the African American experience in Buffalo and the role the Underground Railroad, the Civil Rights Movement and America's Classical Music, Jazz, played in shaping that experience. The Corridor links the Michigan Street Baptist Church, one of the oldest properties in Buffalo continuously operated by African Americans, and a sanctuary for hundreds of freedom seekers on their way to Canada in the mid-1800s; the Colored Musicians Club, the heart and soul of Buffalo's jazz community for more than 70 years; and the Nash House, the one time home of the Reverend Jesse Edward Nash, longtime leader of Buffalo's Civil Rights movement. The house will include a public museum and research and office space.

Project Architects: Frank T. Brzezinski
Project Completion: TBD