Broadway Market Renovation Project
About
In 2020, New York State and City of Buffalo officials took the first step in a renovation process to update the Broadway Market and reinforce its role as regional destination and local hub for fresh and international foods. To realize the full potential of the Market, several steps are being taken to overhaul business operations, make significant structural repairs to the building, modernize mechanical systems and rethink the physical layout of vendor stalls. This site is a central resource for information about the project. It will be updated as designs emerge and project milestones are reached along the way.
Project Vision
The Broadway Market will be a vibrant, welcoming food and service showcase for the diverse cultural tapestry of the Buffalo/Niagara region.
Project Goals
Utilize the entire building for the Market or related activities
,Fill the Market with a variety of fresh culturally diverse, and international groceries as well as dine-in restaurants and prepared food stalls
Ensure that the Market's tenants, employees, and staff, are representative of and serve the area's residents
Make the Market a 'must-see' for the millions of regional visitors
Partner with organizations and public agencies that will help assure the Market's success
Enhance accessibility and renovate for Market tenants by adding
walk-in coolers, freezers, storage, and utilities
Increase transparency along the Broadway storefront, encourage new street life around the Market and bring more natural light to its interior
Improve interior circulation and storage
Create a year-round 'social' space and neighborhood asset by adding community-focused amenities, services and recreational programming
Market History
The Market was started by a group of citizens on a city-donated parcel at 999 Broadway in 1888. It quickly became a community meeting place for local immigrant populations—a place ideal for combining business with socializing and sharing stories and news from the old world.
As immigrants flocked to East Buffalo in the late 1800s, they looked to continue old-world customs in their new and unfamiliar environment. While they wanted to enter the mainstream of modern city life, they also sought to preserve their Eastern European traditions and heritage. The Broadway Market served these needs. As the Market expanded to cover an entire block, it became the center of Buffalo’s largest retail district. People fondly remember the hundreds of thousands of citizens, parading in front of the Market, down Broadway, to celebrate Thanksgiving and Labor Day.
Although continuously operating on the same site, there have been three separate physical structures that have housed the Market over its history. The first building, built-in 1879, was modeled after a Market in Krakow, Poland. At the beginning of the 20th century, following a fire, the Market was replaced with an unheated building twice the size (the image shown on this poster). In 1956, this building was replaced with the current structure, including 1,100 parking spaces and roughly 100,000 square feet of potential retail space.
Historically, the Broadway Fillmore neighborhood—also referred to as the Historic Polonia District—was a center of activity for Polish-American residents. While many Polish families have since moved out of the neighborhood, some of their institutions and traditions remain. One of these traditions is the post-Lenten Dyngus Day celebration and parade that brings thousands of people to the Broadway Fillmore neighborhood every year. Today, the Broadway Fillmore is a ‘United Nations’ of neighborhoods. Over 7,000 people from diverse cultural background live here. This includes African American and Polish residents that remained in the neighborhood, but also includes New Americans from countries like Bangladesh, Laos, Somalia, Ethiopia, Burma, Yemen and Vietnam.
Project Team
The Project Team includes the City of Buffalo, Empire State Development, Broadway Market Management, and the Center for Regional Strategies. The Project Team will guide the Consultant Team through the design process.
Consultant Team
The team of designers is led by Flynn Battaglia Architects, a local firm that specializes in public and historic architecture, and includes Diamond Schmitt Architects and Hugh A. Boyd Architects as design and market specialists. The project team has deep experience with projects where new uses and designs are inserted into an existing structure, reflecting varied physical and social contexts. Over the decades of experience of our team we have been recognized with multiple awards from national, statewide, local governments and professional associations for the creativity and execution of community preservation and adaptive reuse projects.
Business planning expertise is provided by James Lima Planning and Development and Greensward Advisors; public engagement sessions will be led by Mustard Seed.
