Many cities in the U.S. live with constant reminders of a booming industrial past, and Buffalo is no exception.
Behemoth buildings that once housed bustling factories and multilevel department stores sat empty for decades on the city and suburban streets they called home.
Today, some of the ghosts of Buffalo’s industrial past are an important part of the revitalization of the Buffalo Niagara region. Adaptive reuse – the transformation of old or underused buildings and sites for a new purpose – is just one way our community is banking its future on a nod to the past.
The economic growth of our region will depend on the success of many fronts, and Prospectus 2024 chronicles the continuing transformation of the new Buffalo.
We asked local business and community leaders about the economic outlook for our region, and the answers pointed to trends that blend a little bit of the old with new needs to fuel our economic engine.
- A rising need for skilled trades, a career path that had fallen out of demand.
- Brick-and-mortar projects that mix retail with residential elements, breathing life into communities where mall properties sat like ghost towns on prime real estate.
- An athletic complex, once the beacon for Buffalo pro sports, fulfilling its new role as a community gathering space, safe haven and resource hub.
- Historic preservation and its role as a driving force – not a hindrance – to development.
There’s no silver bullet for a thriving economy in the Buffalo Niagara region. The recipe for community success includes collaborative work across sectors that revitalizes communities and provides paths to prosperity for all.
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