Despite the frigid weather
last night, well over one hundred people from the Fillmore-Leroy neighborhood
attended a public presentation on redeveloping the Central Park Plaza (google
map) on the city’s near east side. Recognizing the greater need to invest
in the community as a whole, the presentation discussed the potential for new
infill on vacant lots, reviving neighborhood commercial corridors, and
leveraging public transportation for job growth.
Presenters included John
Ciminelli of LPCiminelli Inc. who
purchased the plaza site last May, prominent urban planning and design firm Goody Clancy, the project architect from
Stieglitz Snyder Architecture,
and Daria Pratcher the housing director from the FLARE organization (Fillmore Leroy Area
Residents).
Attendees were each given
green dots to indicate what concepts on the presentation boards they favored
the most to better steer the next stages of developing the comprehensive plan. Most
people leaned towards the traditional good urbanism options that fit the neighborhood
and included notes like, “no vinyl siding” and that they “do not like the
Jefferson Avenue townhouses.” It was quickly apparent that something missing
and highly desired for the area was a neighborhood market and/or farmers
market, which received so many dots by the end it almost disappeared.
Although the concepts
presented were in the very early stages of development, they were based on
community input from several previous meetings in the past year. Many of those
in the urban planning field will recognize that this bottom-up approach of
engaging neighborhood residents over the course of the development has become
commonplace to ensure the finished product works in each case-by-case scenario.
Work could start as early as
2015 with several more years to complete the new development, which could bring
as many as 600 new units to the plaza site alone. The development team is
currently working with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to
begin remediation on the site and start the prep work.
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| Central Park Plaza shortly before all the buildings were landfilled |
Historically the plaza was a
large quarry for the Buffalo Cement Co. before being filled in and developed as
a shopping center in the mid-century. The property languished and was largely
vacant in recent years, creating an eyesore and headache for the surrounding
neighborhood. After some maneuvering to take control of the site from the
negligent out of town owner, Ciminelli was able to purchase the site and razed
the buildings for their new development.
For additional photos of the Central Park Plaza and the community meeting, click here for my photos on Ipernity.
For additional photos of the Central Park Plaza and the community meeting, click here for my photos on Ipernity.
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