The Buffalo News | Savarino's vision for hulking DL&W terminal: a Canalside public market

Published October 14th, 2019 | Maybe it’s because Samuel J. Savarino can view the hulking Delaware Lackawanna & Western Railroad terminal from the window of his Cobblestone District condo.

Then again, maybe years of development experience leads the chief executive officer of Savarino Cos. to envision the DL&W as something beyond a Metro Rail maintenance facility.

Though he is the only developer responding to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority’s request for proposals to transform the second floor train shed into Buffalo’s latest waterfront attraction, Savarino remains more than enthused.

While no final decisions have been reached, he envisions 140,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space teeming with visitors seeking more from their Canalside experience. Combined with NFTA transit and infrastructure investments, Savarino says Buffalo can join the ranks of eastern cities offering a public market attraction (think Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore) and “something to see and do.”

“If you’re at Canalside and you’ve been to the museum and the carousel, but you still need a beer and a hot dog,” he said, “where are you going to go next?”

Savarino and his team think they have the answer.

“It will become an iconic public destination that showcases Buffalo history, incubates new local businesses, and cultivates our local creative community,” the Savarino proposal says. “It will be inclusive, welcoming and engaging for everyone.”