Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Presents Master Plan & Implementation Strategy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2002

Contact Information
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus – Amy Schmit (716) 843-7515
Carr Marketing Communications – Chuck Hayes (716) 831-1500/Cell (716) 432-7481

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) today unveiled its plan for developing a world-class urban center for clinical care, scientific research, and medical education at a public presentation in Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Hilleboe Auditorium. The Master Plan & Implementation Strategy was presented to an audience of business leaders, healthcare professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs, government and community leaders as well as the media.

The BNMC was founded in April 2001 by the University at Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Kaleida Health, Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and the Buffalo Medical Group Foundation. Developed in partnership with the City of Buffalo, County of Erie, and representatives from the Allentown and Fruit Belt neighborhoods, the BNMC’s Master Plan & Implementation Strategy is a collaborative effort to guide future development at the Medical Campus. More than 1,500 individuals and approximately 100 different organizations were involved in the process.

The BNMC sits on 100 acres in Buffalo just one mile from City Hall, and is already home to some of the nation’s premier medical and research facilities.

“The Master Plan & Implementation Strategy outlines what we need to do to achieve our shared vision for a world-class medical and research destination in Buffalo.” said Thomas R. Beecher, Jr., Chair of the BNMC Board of Directors. “It is a game plan for developing the Medical Campus.”

Chan Krieger and Associates (CKA) – a world-renowned architecture and urban design firm from Cambridge, Massachusetts – worked with BNMC member institutions, neighboring communities, and local government agencies to develop the Plan & Strategy. The Plan & Strategy addresses these key components:

Establish a framework for Campus-wide physical design decisions
Develop design guidelines for future growth
Synchronize development initiatives with City of Buffalo planning efforts
Foster community development opportunities
Collaborate with NFTA regarding mixed-use, transit-oriented development
Identify unique and creative “place making” strategies
Capitalize on Buffalo’s rich architectural heritage as the “City of Light” in developing beautiful lighting and way-finding systems
Develop a comprehensive parking and access strategy
Establish an extensive landscape architecture and streetscape improvement plan
Conduct an economic impact analysis study.

Campus institutions currently occupy nearly three million square feet of space dedicated to clinical, research and medical education purposes. The next 10 to 15 years will see the addition of approximately 1.8 million square feet of development. CKA estimates that the area’s anticipated expansion will not spill into the surrounding neighborhoods. There are more than 7,000 people employed on the Campus. BNMC institutions have a total of $600 million in annual expenditures and an annual net economic impact of over $260 million to the region.

Development on the Campus is already underway with the recent September groundbreaking for the Buffalo Life Sciences Complex. The Complex, to be built at the heart of the BNMC at the intersection of Ellicott and Virginia Streets, will include three new buildings: Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute’s Structural Biology Research Center, UB’s Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics, and Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Center for Genetics and Pharmacology. The approximately $140 million investment the Complex represents will be raised from a variety of funding sources.

The BNMC Master Plan & Implementation Strategy has been developed collaboratively by Campus institutions partnering with the neighborhoods and community interests, as well as local government agencies. This process will likely be a standard for future development efforts in the Buffalo Niagara region.

“We could not have achieved this much, nor could we enjoy the confidence we have in future progress, if it were not for the enthusiastic support of all the organizations involved in this project.” said Beecher.

The Master Plan & Implementation Strategy was presented by Alex Krieger, FAIA, and co-founding principal of CKA. Mr. Krieger, is a tenured professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he serves as Chair of the Department of Urban Planning & Design.

The BNMC is a nonprofit corporation founded to cultivate a world-class urban medical center in Buffalo through the collaboration of the region’s major health care and research-related institutions, the Allentown and Fruit Belt neighborhoods, as well as local government.

back to top