City officials hope to have designated-developer agreements in place for both the LaSalle Metro Rail Station site and the Broadway Barns public-works property by the end of the year or early next year.
The city wants to turn the LaSalle station and 7 acres of surrounding land in University Heights into a new transit-oriented mixed-use project, including a blend of housing and first-floor retail, with an attractive streetscape and public area.
The goal is to encourage denser residential growth around public transportation infrastructure by creating an "equitable" transit-oriented development with affordable or mixed-income housing, while increasing bringing pedestrian activity. At the same time, it makes more use of a big property than just a train station and parking, and takes advantage of proximity to Shoshone Park, a Rails-to-Trails path and University at Buffalo's South Campus.
Officials issued a request-for-qualifications last spring seeking developers with the financial capacity, experience and interest in taking on such a project, including incorporating the train station into it. Half of the parcels on the site are owned by the city, and half by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which operates Metro Rail.