Justin Sondel of the Buffalo News [paywall] asked the Mayoral candidates “How would you rejuvenate downtown Buffalo? Here’s what I told him:

Let’s create a vision for downtown, target investment in areas with available storefronts and existing assets, expand services in a sustainable and economically viable way, and support a collaborative approach that brings all the stakeholders to the table to create a plan for the future. We need to establish vibrant, creative, serviceable and walkable districts for targeted investment.

Let’s learn from efforts that have worked in Buffalo. Canalside embraced a model of “lighter, quicker and cheaper” and brought thousands of new visitors to downtown and Buffalo’s waterfront when the transformation kicked off in 2012. Special events, pop-up markets, live music and food, can increase the profile of up-and-coming districts. This model focuses on “base hits, not home runs” and can be an effective strategy for attracting visitors, investment and building momentum for targeted downtown development.

We should also be promoting our assets and vision to attract more tourism and businesses to Buffalo. Vacant/affordable office spaces; an educated workforce; vibrant neighborhoods; incredible architecture; and inspiring cultural institutions are compelling tools that can be leveraged to bring more business to Buffalo. These assets, combined with existing initiatives like 43 North, M&T’s downtown tech hub and coworking spaces like Serendipity Labs and HANSA, bring more “work from home” professionals to downtown spaces.

I see nothing but potential for our downtown district, but we must create a vision, focus our efforts and investments strategically and initiate a plan creatively and collaboratively.