The Buffalo News | New report envisions DL&W Terminal as 'compelling public space' if properly restored

Published October 16th, 2021 | Ever since the last intercity passenger train left the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal in 1962, Buffalo seems to have wondered what to do with the cavernous train shed at the foot of Main Street.

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority found a partial solution in the early 1980s, establishing its Metro Rail yard and shops on the first floor. Since then, all sorts of nebulous plans for developing its vast upstairs have come and gone.

But now a new study commissioned by Savarino Cos. – the firm chosen by the NFTA to develop the DL&W Terminal – may have settled on a vision for the 104-year-old structure's next role. A 62-page report issued by the Project for Public Spaces consulting firm, based on input from throughout the area, foresees a facility with no single purpose like shopping mall or food court. Rather, its extensive survey confirms public enthusiasm for a multi-use community asset with a "sense of place."

In its survey process, the developers have rediscovered the DL&W Terminal as an architectural gem they hope will encourage transit-oriented development above the $52 million Metro Rail station now taking shape on its first floor. The report by PPS, which since 1975 has helped 3,500 communities around the world create such gathering places, envisions a project with far-reaching potential on the Buffalo waterfront.