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R VERR CK TIMES

Vol. 6 No. 7 Thursday, May 21, 2026 Covering the Northwest Corner of Buffalo

SCC proposes to reduce Rt. 198 to two

lanes, use other half for pedestrians, cyclists

By Amber Healy
ll eyes on highway projects
in Buffalo, from a state
Alevel, are fixed on the
Queen City Forward project to
change Rt. 33/Humboldt Parkway,
a concentration that has shelved
VACANT LAND at Amherst and Elmwood should soon be
any efforts to make changes to the
transformed into a five-story apartment complex with 230 apart-
Scajaquada Expressway.
ments.
The Scajaquada Corridor Coali-
Voelker’s developer grateful, excited tion (SCC) doesn’t think the city of
Buffalo needs to wait to take action
to move forward with project on the 198 and has proposed some
changes that they think can be
By Amber Healy could begin as soon as next March made sooner than later to increase
y next spring, if all goes and would take 21 to 24 months to pedestrian access to Delaware Park to sort of energize this effort,” ex- was moving into “reserve” any
well and smoothly, heavy complete. and Scajaquada Creek, all in the plains Brian Dold, co-chair of the funding set aside for major changes
Bequipment could be rolling He confirmed that he’s been in spirit of the already-approved Re- Scajaquada Corridor Coalition. The to the 198 for the time being, a
onto the property once occupied by negotiations with the property’s cur- gion Central proposal from the idea was to propose changes the move that caused considerable con-
Voelker’s bowling alley. rent owner, Krista Voelker, and that Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional city could make, if designated as cern and outcry from the SCC and
Thanks to the approval of the talks have been going well. It was Transportation Council (GBN- lead agency for the 198, “that other community groups that have
Buffalo Common Council last Voelker’s decision to level the site RTC). would not necessarily trigger any long argued to restore pedestrian
week, and an anticipated approval last year, given the property’s con- The organization suggests con- environmental review and that access to Scajaquada Creek and
within the next month or so from the dition and concerns of people break- verting the current eastbound lanes could bring the corridor more in Delaware Park through the reimag-
city’s planning board, the long- ing in and vandalizing the property. to a single lane in each direction line with the 30 mile per hour road- ination and possible removal of the
awaited redevelopment of the prop- Kenney also agrees with a senti- and transitioning the westbound way through a park, versus the 50 198.
erty on the corner of Amherst Street ment expressed last week by North lanes, for the most part, to pedestri- mile an hour speed limit that peo- The suggestions put forward by
and Elmwood Avenue could start to District Council Member Joe Go- an and non-motorized vehicular ple make the expressway out to the SCC would be a bridge between
show real progress by early 2027, lombek, that the current design is a use, in addition to more parallel be.” what’s in place today and what the
says developer Connor Kenney, re- good compromise between what his parking throughout the length of The major costs would include Region Central vision embraced by
gional director and partner with the company initially wanted to build the roadway. They also want to see sign removal, some restriping on the GBNRTC calls for, Dold says.
firm SAA|EVI. and what community residents the overhead highway-style inter- the roadway itself, the installation “Basically, in subsections, you
The city’s planning board al- wanted to see in the neighborhood. change signs replaced with inter- of jersey barriers and, eventually, take the traffic off one side and turn
ready tentatively approved the pro- There were several meetings be- section signs like those found in reconnecting some of the streets it into an urbanized boulevard, and
posal for the site, allowing for up to tween Kenney and residents, with neighborhoods, plus removing the that were disconnected and blocked open the other side up to other
five stories and 230 apartments to Golombek’s assistance, in which off-ramps in favor of at-grade inter- with the construction of the Sca- modes of travel,” he says. Instead
be built on the horseshoe-shaped building height, unit density, num- sections, and for the expressway to jaquada Expressway. of highway-like off-ramps, access
property, a mix of one-, two- and ber of parking spots and other de- be renamed to the Scajaquada All of these suggestions are in points to Delaware and Elmwood
three-bedroom units, plus a restau- tails were debated; both Kenney and Drive to further promote a slower keeping with the community-sup- avenues would be “more sort of
rant tenant on the first floor along Golombek agree an apartment com- pace and more pedestrian-friendly ported and endorsed proposal em- intersections. We’re thinking of
with other amenities, Kenney says. plex is a better fit for the neighbor- mentality. braced by the GBNRTC, but last putting in stop signs along the way,
Last week the Buffalo Common hood than a 24-hour drive-through “We thought, let’s take it upon year, the organization announced it to allow for pedestrian crossing in a
Council approved a planned unit as was once proposed for the site. ourselves to think about some ways
Continued on page 2
development plan (PUD) provided Kenney is excited for the future
by SAA|EVI, which “creates basi- of the property and said there are a
cally its own zoning district within few exciting things he can’t talk Students imagine new possibilities from the inside
the overlay (of the property) that about publicly yet, or in too much
supersedes the Green Code,” a city detail, but he did confirm his com- out at historic Richardson Olmsted Campus
building code that has specific re- pany is working with AKG to bring UB architecture graduate
quirements and limits for things like in a renowned artist to “facilitate a students design housing
building height, parking spots and very significant public art compo-
other aspects of new construction. nent into the project. There's noth- for vacant building,
“The planning board recommended ing like it in the city at all. It's going contribute to book project
us to the Common Council for PUD to be really unique,” he says. By Laurie Kaiser
approval. Now that we have PUD As someone who grew up in longtime architect and edu-
approval, we go back to the plan- Black Rock and has fond memories cator, Miguel Guitart, PhD,
ning board and they finalize our site of going to Voelker’s, Kenney is Abelieves in preserving the
plan approval,” and after that, Ken- eager to get started. historic integrity of original struc-
ney said it’s over to his design team “It’s nice to get through to this tures when imagining a new space.
to finalize the renderings and create point. This was a critical path to get Guitart, associate professor in
blueprints for the initial phase of through. If we didn’t get to this the School of Architecture and Plan-
construction, the bulk of the project, point, the project wasn’t going to go ning at the University at Buffalo,
which will be located on Amherst forward,” he says of the city’s ap- integrated this philosophy into a six-
Street, Elmwood Avenue and onto proval. “It’s good to get the nod credit studio he led this semester for
Marion Street. Another section of from the Common Council. We’re graduate students at the iconic Rich-
the project, on Marion Street back super grateful for that. We’re very ardson Olmsted Campus, which is
to the railroad tracks, would come committed to that neighborhood and more than 145 years old. Models of the students’ designs for housing within a vacant
later and is not part of this initial I’m super excited to be part of this For the project, “My Neighbor building on the Richardson Olmsted Campus are on exhibit
approval. and look forward to continuing to Upstairs,” 17 students created eight throughout the summer. Photo: Meredith Forest-Kulwicki
Kenney anticipates construction advance it.” different designs for 20-some apart- “In Buffalo, we have such amaz- Building 13 served as a dining room
ments and a ground-floor public
space within Building 13. The long- ing buildings,” Guitart says. “Many for male patients. After patients
Demonstration to provide insights into the lifeways vacant former daylight factory sits of them are derelict or abandoned were moved to more modern facili-
of the First People of North America postponed adjacent to the Richardson Com- after decades of economic prob- ties in the 1970s, the building
An Introduction to Flintknapping & Chipped Stone Technology as plex, located on Forest Avenue in lems. We need to rethink how we housed an electrical manufacturing
Experimental Archaeology, a hands-on demonstration, schedule for Thurs- Buffalo. The studio is an interactive reuse them rather than demolishing company that operated until the
day, May 21, 6 p.m. at Black Rock Historical Society Museum, 436 experience for students in the sec- them and building anew. And, of mid-1990s. It has stood vacant since
Amherst St. has been postponed. ond semester of their three-year course, this connects with issues of then.
William E. Butler III, president of the Black Rock Historical Society, graduate program. energy, material efficiency and ma- “This is a gorgeous building
said the presentation by Dr. Doug Perrelli (Director, SUNYAB Archaelog- The 42-acre Richardson Olmst- terial circulation.” with generous windows,” Guitart
Built in 1924 when the Buffalo says. “But it hasn’t been occupied in
ical Survey) was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances but will be ed Campus, which now includes the
rescheduled as soon as possible. Richardson Hotel, is a National His- State Asylum for the Insane was 30 years. When we visited the build-
housed in the Richardson Complex,
toric Landmark. Continued on page 2