Planner says UB has designs on downtown

By James Fink
Business First of Buffalo
January 31, 2007

The University at Buffalo's master development plan will have a major presence in downtown Buffalo, specifically the area around the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

That's the word from its point man on the sweeping initiative.

UB Architecture and Urban Planning professor Robert Shibley spent part of Wednesday morning giving Buffalo Place Inc. directors a brief overview of the university's development game plan that was released this past fall.

"We will be creating a flag for UB in downtown Buffalo," Shibley said.

UB envisions student population increasing by 12 percent from just over 25,000 in 2005, to 28,000 by the 2010-2011 school year. The ultimate goal is 35,000 full-time enrollees.

At the same time, UB's economic impact in the region is expected to grow by 40 percent from $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion. UB had 10,600 employees in 2006, masking it the area's second-largest employer.

"We are one of the bigger economic games in town," Shibley said.

In briefing the Buffalo Place Inc. directors, Shibley said most of the pre-development measures, including environmental reviews, should be completed by Oct. 2008.

UB's downtown presence will be significant, Shibley promised.

"There will be a UB downtown campus on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus," he said. "We see ourselves leveraging investments already made at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus."

UB, last year, opened the Center for Excellence on Oak Street. The university also has deep ties with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Kaleida Health and the Hauptmann-Woodward Medical Institute -- the three main anchors in the medical campus.

While shying away from specifics, Shibley predicted UB's investment in the medical campus could exceed $28 million in new construction and possibly use as much as 20 acres.

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