Date: November 17 – 22, 2024

Location: Buffalo, NY

Sponsors: NAACP, Buffalo Branch

Panel Chair: Tyrone Rachal

The NAACP, in partnership with the Buffalo Urban League, with the support of the City of Buffalo, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), community stakeholders, and the ULI WNY regional satellite district council asked ULI to convene an Advisory Services panel to offer community-driven recommendations for a framework to revitalize Jefferson Avenue. Specifically, the ULI Advisory Services panel was asked to address questions around the market and development potential of the corridor, potential obstacles to revitalization,  physical infrastructure needs, strategies and tools to strengthen surrounding neighborhoods to support commercial development, potential catalytic actions or projects, equitable development approaches, how to preserve the culture and history of the corridor, public investment opportunities, and what organizational structure might be helpful for implementing revitalization recommendations.

After interviews with more than 90 stakeholders, a tour of the corridor and a briefing, the panelists produced a set of actionable recommendations for revitalizing Jefferson Avenue.

Overarching Themes and Near-Term Actions:

Conversations with local stakeholders, including residents and business owners, highlighted three overarching themes that the panel used as the foundation for their subject-matter recommendations.

• Strategic Connectivity: Build on existing city investments in a way that cohesively connects them to local impact and leverage these investments to strategically communicate with stakeholder. Develop a holistic approach to communication that demonstrates coordinated efforts that may have gone unnoticed.
• Strategic Leadership: Lead collaboratively, with all oars rowing in the same direction and with communication up and down the planning process. This increases the importance of coordination between and among local community-based organizations and collaboration with public, private and philanthropic partners. Focus on equitable development that is centered around the needs of the neighborhoods and helps to intentionally mitigate any negative effects upon the community.
• Strategic Communications: Prioritize the social, cultural, and economic aspects of investments in Jefferson Avenue, empower the community to participate to facilitate more effective communication and build trust.

The panel offered a wide range of recommendations in the following areas: community infrastructure, physical infrastructure, market and development, economic development, business retention, expansion and attraction, small business development, and cultural placemaking.

Within the next six months, the panel recommends that the Jefferson Avenue Corridor stakeholders start by identifying the leadership team to drive the community development.  From there, the following actions are recommended:

• Host stakeholder meetings and form a coalition to support business attraction and retention including work with Economic Development Agencies to launch a pilot incentive program and offer business workshops
• Begin rebranding strategy for Jefferson Avenue with marketing frameworks and social media campaigns
• Create a database for funding resources, placemaking resources, and planning resources
• Commission a market study and property inventory for the corridor and surrounding neighborhoods
• Establish the Youth Success Network (early childhood – college)
• Develop a Neighborhood Communication Plan with the city to standardize and create a process for disseminating information to the public
• Develop an anti-displacement and anti-gentrification plan
• Recruit a Chief Cultural Officer to champion placemaking plan development
• Enable block clubs to implement a community-oriented safety strategy that aims to reduce crime on the East Side