On February 28, 2022, the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation (CTRC) announced it was awarded a Community Placemaking Grant from the Project for Public Spaces.
Project for Public Spaces’ Community Placemaking Grants Initiative will transform the Terminal’s Great Lawn from an under-designed, grassy lawn into a highly activated public green space for the sharing of civic experiences. The CTRC will use a community-engaged design process to build resident ownership and investment in the placemaking of the Great Lawn.
Over the last year the CTRC completed a community-driven Master Plan that is the most in- depth framework for redevelopment ever created. A major pillar of this plan is the reactivation of the Terminal as a Civic Commons, a year-round, regional venue for public events and activities. The early activation of the Great Lawn is the first step in engaging Civic Commons. Placemaking on the Great Lawn will create a welcoming entry to the Buffalo Central Terminal as a place for neighbors and visitors from near and far. The Great Lawn will develop much needed recreational greenspace and strengthen the physical connection of the Terminal to the larger Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood.
This coupled with the last year’s announcement of the Broadway-Fillmore Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) will be a big boost not only to the Central Terminal, but the neighborhood. “Another piece of exciting news for us was Broadway-Fillmore receiving a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative or DRI award from New York State. The DRI is really exciting because it will use a community-driven process to fund the Central Terminal, the Broadway Market and other catalytic projects in the neighborhood. Funding for the Terminal will be used to create a Civic Commons, both inside and outside the building, for year-round community events and activities,” said Drew Canfield, Associate Director of the CTRC.
The CTRC also completed a Master Plan for the Central Terminal in 2021. More from Drew Canfield, “Last year we completed a community-driven Master Plan because it was really important that we develop a shared vision for the future of the Terminal with the community, especially with Broadway-Fillmore. We listened to hundreds of participants who came out to community meetings and focus groups and we worked closely with our Community Advisory Council. The Master Plan gives us a framework to re-establish the Terminal as a vibrant year-round local and regional destination. It leverages the diversity of spaces in the building to support economic and social opportunities for the neighborhood and the region.” The plan is a comprehensive path forward for future the Central Terminal. To read more about the plan, follow this link: https://www.buffaloterminalplan.org/.
