For 103 years, the hulking Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal has anchored the foot of Main Street, these days as host to the busy yard and shops of Metro Rail.

But ever since the last inter-city passenger train departed in 1962, its cavernous upper floor has remained eerily vacant, waiting for some re-use of its 60,000 square feet of indoor space and another 40,000 square feet on its outdoor platform.

Now, developer Samuel J. Savarino is seeking the community's ideas for the historic train shed's next 103 years. As part of the newest phase of his "pre-development agreement" with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority enabled by a $36,000 fee, Savarino wants input from a host of "stakeholders" – elected officials, downtown businesses, property owners, community groups, social service agencies, other developers in the neighborhood like Douglas Jemal and Nick Sinatra, historians and preservationists, mostly through focus groups. His goal is to determine how to make the DL&W an integral part of the city's burgeoning waterfront.

Slowly but surely, the community aim of restoring the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal to its former grandeur is beginning to take shape.

Artist renditions of the planned Metro Rail station at the foot of Main Street are appearing on Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority plans, and new features such as a $1.7 million crosswalk at Main and South Park Avenue have been approved. A major track, signal and catenary realignment along with other preparatory work is also continuing on schedule.

And while the future of the DL&W's cavernous second floor has yet to be finalized, its private developers are also more optimistic than ever about what lies ahead.

Just this morning, I was reading about the concept up creating public markets by using the shells of defunct buildings, when suddenly I came across Buffalo’s DL&W Terminal.

The article, by Steve Davies in Project for Public Spaces (PPS), was fascinating enough, without the Buffalo reference. It showcased a handful of relatable projects that this city could glean from, not just for markets, but for repurposing buildings in general. Davies goes on to discuss all of the advantages of upcycling structures, including cost savings and typically more space offerings. Sometimes a built-structure can bring out the best in architects, when attempting to figure out ways to best use a shell.

One of the examples of repurposing a shell was a bus depot in St. Johns, New Foundland that was converted into a community market. As I was looking at the building in its raw form, I couldn’t help but think of the Delaware Park Labor Center (maintenance facility) located along the Scajaquada Expressway.

Some colorful creations will soon grace the walls of Buffalo's DL&W Terminal downtown.

The Cobblestone District Business Group is joining forces with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and the Albright-Knox Public Art Initiative to produce a series of murals for the historic structure.

Artists are expected to start work this week on the city's latest public art project. The large low wall of the terminal will welcome a series of 13 painted panels. One of them will be set aside as an informative panel, the remaining 12 will each be painted by a different artist.

The work will be done by both local and national artists. Six panels are expected to completed this summer and the remaining six to be done in summer of 2021.

“The Cobblestone Commons is truly an expression of what it means to be part of a ‘community,’” said Cory Muscato, owner of Lockhouse Distillery and member of the Cobblestone District Business Group.

“The idea to collaborate to create public art in this space was born out of the annual Cobblestone Live Music & Arts Festival, held each summer for the past three years along the same strip of South Park Avenue."

So far, three regional, three women and three Black artists have been chosen for the project. Additional artists will be selected and announced next year.

“We are thrilled to be part of this exciting public art project,” NFTA Executive Director Kim Minkel said. “These murals will enhance the neighborhood and promote interest in the DL&W by adding vibrancy and community pride. It is amazing how art can uplift us all.”

Buffalo’s Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad terminal project got a refreshing jolt of good news last week when transit authority commissioners awarded “predevelopment rights” to the Savarino Cos. of Buffalo for redeveloping the second floor.

It has been a long time since advocates of the old DL&W could even dream of revival, but now it may be on the way.

Savarino and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority will work together to transform the 130,000 square feet of space into a downtown attraction. As News political reporter Robert J. McCarthy wrote, the hope is that it “fosters commerce, social gathering, community and a sense of place.”

NFTA Executive Director Kimberley A. Minkel is charged about the possibility. The enthusiasm should extend to anyone who has ever walked thBuffalo’s Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad terminal project got a refreshing jolt of good news last week when transit authority commissioners awarded “predevelopment rights” to the Savarino Cos. of Buffalo for redeveloping the second floor.

It has been a long time since advocates of the old DL&W could even dream of revival, but now it may be on the way.

Savarino and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority will work together to transform the 130,000 square feet of space into a downtown attraction. As News political reporter Robert J. McCarthy wrote, the hope is that it “fosters commerce, social gathering, community and a sense of place.”

NFTA Executive Director Kimberley A. Minkel is charged about the possibility. The enthusiasm should extend to anyone who has ever walked through the cavernous, empty space and tried to imagine its heyday. The terminal has been vacant since the last Erie-Lackawanna passenger train departed in 1962.

Savarino Cos. President Samuel J. Savarino plans a major revival. He lives across the street in redeveloped property at 95 Perry St., so he has the perfect combination of community and self-interest, with the emphasis on the former.rough the cavernous, empty space and tried to imagine its heyday. The terminal has been vacant since the last Erie-Lackawanna passenger train departed in 1962.

Savarino Cos. President Samuel J. Savarino plans a major revival. He lives across the street in redeveloped property at 95 Perry St., so he has the perfect combination of community and self-interest, with the emphasis on the former.

Congressman Brian Higgins applauded momentum on the DL&W Terminal project.

“In continued conversations with the leadership of the NFTA, it is clear that they recognize the opportunity and value that comes with revitalization of the DL&W Terminal,” he said. “Savarino Co.’s interest in redeveloping the second floor demonstrates a bold move to take on a big project that would deliver a destination like none other for Western New York’s waterfront. I commend NFTA Executive Director Kim Minkel and the NFTA’s board of directors for their leadership moving this project forward, and will continue to work closely with all involved to see this project through.”

In 2010, just months after the withdrawal of Bass Pro, and again in 2015, Higgins stressed the importance of restoring the DL&W Terminal as a priority project for the Buffalo waterfront. Then, in 2016, as the NFTA was considering options for extension of the Metro Rail, Higgins pushed for the authority to select the Buffalo River plan, which extends Metro passenger service into the DL&W Terminal.

Higgins has worked closely with the NFTA, meeting as recently as last week, to explore funding options that facilitate the full build out of the site.

Over a century ago, in 1917, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Terminal (DL&W) was built at the foot of Main Street adjacent to the Buffalo River. For years, it served as a busy center of activity for passenger and freight traffic by way of train and ships. In the mid-1960s, the railroad discontinued use of the terminal. A portion of the building was demolished in the late 1970s.

The DL&W Terminal stands adjacent to Canalside, KeyBank Center and nearby HarborCenter, the Cobblestone District and Ohio Street. The terminal’s second floor has 130,000 square-feet, including 74,875 square-feet of interior space and 57,662 square-feet of an outdoor deck that overlooks the Buffalo River.

The NFTA owns the DL&W Terminal property and uses the ground floor as a maintenance facility for Metro Rail cars. Plans call for the extension of NFTA Metro Rail service into the first floor and private sector redevelopment of the second floor.

Turning the DL&W Terminal into a transportation destination for Canalside and the Cobblestone District may be closer than many realize.

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority hopes to secure federal funding for an environmental review of the historic South Park Avenue and within the next year, it could be turned into a development-ready site.

That’s the upshot from a key NFTA executive.

Tom George, NFTA, public transit director, said during a briefing with Buffalo Place Inc. officials that the authority has made the DL&W Terminal redevelopment one of its top development priorities.

“We got a large asset, with a lot of square footage,” George said. “It’s time to leverage what’s happening in Canalside and the Cobblestone district.”

The drive to use the 99-year-old DL&W Terminal, tucked behind KeyBank Center, is not a new one. Over the years, the NFTA has attempted to find private sector interest in using portions of the building, especially its largely vacant second floor.

In recent months, Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, has been pushing the NFTA to address the terminal issue.

This spring, the authority decided on a $43 million redevelopment plan that will see a Metro Rail stop be incorporated into the building’s first floor, with the stop overlooking the Buffalo River and Riverwalk. Retail kiosks would be placed on the second floor with a pair of elevated bridges over South Park Avenue connecting the terminal with KeyBank Center.

“We’d love to create a new front door,” George said.

This is a Widelux photograph of the DL&W terminal at the foot of Main Street in 1975, taken by The Public’s Bruce Jackson. The access ramp under the Skyway is already in an advanced state of deterioration. The large building in the center of the photo—the waiting room, passenger concourse, railroad offices, ticket counters—would be torn down in 1979. (Contemporary photographs and more data on the terminal at the Forgotten Buffalo website.)