BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Central Terminal was once a bustling train station. The terminal, with a clock tower sitting high above the city, opened in 1929. The last train left in 1979. Since then, the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation has taken over the site, advocating for its survival ever since. Now with about $61 million from the state to help restore the old station, it's full steam ahead.
"We have momentum now, big momentum," Monica Pellegrino Faix, the executive director of the corporation, said.
Phase one is complete which addressed things like the deteriorating former restaurant roof. Now, it's all eyes on the next steps.
"Phase two is working on the major stabilization and safety issues for our goal to open the concourse on a limited basis in 2025," she added.
Fillmore District Council Member Mitch Nowakowski said he's starting to see great progress for an area that was once left alone for more than two decades.
"The train is moving," he said, "We're on to the next phase of adaptive reuse and the time has come and I can't be more thrilled,"
Right now, there is a focus on finding a developer by the fall. Once that happens, phase three will begin which means a new future for this iconic landmark.
"I want to make it really expansive for the community. This is their space. It belongs to them. It's in their neighborhood, Nowakowski said.
"It can also be opportunities for things like housing, light manufacturing office space we have lots of spaces we just need to connect the dots and put it all together," Faix added.
She said that soon the terminal will be a hub of activity and a space for economic, workforce and community development.
"The turnaround of Central Terminal is really the turnaround of the entire neighborhood," Nowakowski said.
