Redevelopment plans for the Broadway Market are moving into the design phase. Empire State Development (ESD) is seeking an architecture/engineering firm or team to provide design services for the effort. The market was identified as an anchor institution to be funded through ESD’s East Side Corridor Economic Development in 2019 and through the subsequent NYS Regional Revitalization Program (“RRP”) in 2022. In total, $43 Million has been committed thus far by the State and City and a consortium of local philanthropic organizations to fund renovations and provide technical assistance throughout the Market’s rehabilitation process.
In 2020, officials took the first step in the redevelopment process by commissioning a business plan to guide future operations and capital improvements. The resulting document—Buffalo’s International Broadway Public Market Business Plan— released in January 2021, articulates a vision for transforming the Market into a unique center for regional, fresh and international foods by re-purposing the building and filling it with additional tenants and new exciting amenities. The business plan lays out several steps for renovating facilities, updating vendor stalls, providing new products and establishing a new non-profit to operate the Market.
Three design concept schemes were explored during the drafting of the Business Plan. Ultimately, “Concept Scheme 3” was recommended in the Business Plan as the preferred concept to advance. The physical transformation of the Market along with the implementation of the Business Plan will be guided by the following goals:
• Utilize the entire building for the Market or related activities;
• Fill the Market with a variety of fresh and ethnic food stalls and international groceries as well as dine-in restaurants and prepared food stalls;
• Ensure that the Market’s tenants, employees, and staff, are representative of and serve the area’s residents;
• Make the Market a ‘must-see’ for the millions of annual Niagara Falls visitors;
• Partner with organizations and public agencies that will help assure the Market’s success;
• Improve the accessibility of the basement and renovate it to serve the Market’s tenants by adding space for walk-in coolers, freezers, and storage, as well as building utilities;
• Open up the ground floor exterior to the street and focus ground floor retail and attractions on restaurants, fresh food stores, and international groceries that ‘spill out’ onto the sidewalk;
• Improve interior circulation and storage;
• Makeover the second-floor parking and ramps so they are bright, attractive, safe, and accessible;
• Create new activity on the rooftop with recreational and entertainment uses; and
• Create a year-round ‘social’ space and neighborhood asset by adding community-focused amenities, services and recreational programming.
Proposals are due June 14.
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