Major Makeover for Buffalo's Central Terminal?

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Buffalo's Central Terminal could be getting a major makeover in the next couple of years. Local and state officials say restoring the Central Terminal would be another component of Buffalo's renaissance. 

"We just want to make sure we position Buffalo to make a smart decision about its transportation future by considering all the alternatives that are here, but right now chief among them is a Central Terminal right here in Buffalo, New York," said Congressman Brian Higgins said.

Higgins and Buffalo Common Councilmember David Franczyk toured the terminal while listening to a proposal for a new train station at the location. Central Terminal developers believe building a new train station there would only enhance commercial growth. 

"The foot print of Amtrak square footage-wise would not be that significant," said Mark Lewandowski, Central Terminal Restoration Corp. director. "It would be essentially a train stop, but the entire station would still be a commercial development project. So it would only augment whatever development is going on. It would not hinder."

Although the the terminal needs to be restored, Franzcyk believes it's not a project that developers can't handle.

"A lot of things are some of the accouterments, some of the light fixtures and things of that nature," Franzcyk  said. "Of course the mechanicals have to be addressed. I think that in this day and age it shouldn't be an incomprehensible lift for a project like this for a developer that has a little bit of an imagination."

The Central Terminal isn't equipped to handle high-speed rail, but Higgins says it's the wave of the future for transportation in the U.S. and Buffalo should be a part of it. 

"The bottom line here is, that everybody in New York State and the federal government is talking about high-speed rail," Higgins said. "It's an enormous undertaking but I believe when you look at what's happening in Buffalo, when you look at the growth of Southern Ontario, when you look at the beginning of a renaissance in the city of Niagara Falls, perhaps Buffalo would be a good location for a demonstration project, a pilot project for high speed rail."

The Buffalo Central Terminal opened in 1929 and in 1979, the final train left the station.