The look of Buffalo's Gates Circle has changed drastically, as the new Canterbury Woods senior housing rises on the site of the old Millard Fillmore Hospital. An even larger project is now starting on the site.
The former hospital site is dominated by the rising Canterbury Woods building, as contractors race to get it closed in before more cold weather hits. On one side of it is work on the over-arching project, the TM Montante development now called Lancaster Square.
Montante Public Affairs Director Byron Deluke says a lot of work has to be done in site preparation.
"Water, sewer, electrical, gas and then also, of course, some of the site work, leveling and moving soils around that leads to the installation of curbs, the eventual street itself, sidewalks and eventually all of the pedestrian-friendly measures like pedestrian bumpouts, trees, green space," he said.
The work also includes installation of new utility lines for future buildings. Eventually, they will be covered by roads. That work will probably be finished in spring, Deluke said.
"Setting the table for Lancaster Square, the development and, of course, is going to lead to two new roads, one of which the extension of Lancaster between Delaware and Linwood, the Public Square - the pedestrian square at the middle of the site - and then also a connector road that's going to go from that Public Square up to Lafayette," he said.
The roadways are a $10 million project, with Albany kicking in $2 million of that. Meanwhile, Montante is still meeting with City Hall about buying the adjacent parking ramp, essential to having enough parking space.
People Incorporated is working on its planned 40 units of affordable housing on a former hospital parking lot along Linwood.
"Folks were interested in an affordable component, in terms of affordable rents at the site, and so we started to talk with various potential partners and People Inc. is obviously on a parcel that's adjacent to the main hospital parcel," he said. "We're really, really excited about that potential project."
