By Amber Healy
With the unanimous approval of the Buffalo Planning Board last week, the $40-45 million project to renovate the Broadway Market is back on track.
Earlier this year, during the height of the Easter season, Empire State Development released an update on the long-promised renovation market, which originated in 1888 on a parcel of city-donated land by a group of residents and formalized into the massive 100,000 square-foot building recognized today in the late 1950s.
Work on the project, initially slated to start in the spring or summer, is now likely to begin at the end of 2026 or early 2027, says Kathleen Peterson, the market’s manager, with completion in 2028.
There’s a two-fold reason for the delay in the renovations, she says.
“One, it had to go before the City of Buffalo’s Planning Board first, which it did last Monday and was approved,” Peterson says. The massive project also had to go through final design approval, which also was secured, but there have been a lot of moving parts before shovels could begin to hit the ground.
“We’re also trying to secure new market tax cuts, so as all of that’s taking place, we’re working with the vendors in terms of space during construction” and where everyone will be asked to move, temporarily, when the work begins in earnest, she says.
The whole project is anticipated to go out for bids in the fall with construction to begin between late November and early January.
The market will stay open and operational the entire time, she stresses; customers might just need to pardon the market’s dust next year during the lead-in to Easter and Dyngus Day holidays.
After next spring, that’s when bigger, more noticeable changes will start to take shape, she says.
“After Easter, you’ll really see things start to change. I’m not sure how much of the wall will be in prior to Easter 2027, where they’re going to divide the market, because where the Save-A-Lot was, that’s going to be production space,” Peterson says. “A lot of our vendors make their product in the market, like Greek Guy Bakery and Deb’s Delights. They’ll move into the production area after Easter.”
The wall will help divide the market in a way that restores the original flow of people throughout the building, to the delight of the Buffalo Preservation Board, which also has approved the concepts for the market’s renovation.
“They’re very happy to see this, it’s going to really enhance the exterior. We’re trying to get it as close as we can to take it back to what it looked like in 1956, but there are some things we just can’t do,” like have a continuous wall of windows along Lombard Street, due to the M&T Bank branch located there.
A consulting firm visited the market recently to talk with vendors about the changes and their temporary relocation, and Peterson says the general outlook on the whole project is very positive.
“Everything so far is falling into place, just a little bit later than people hoped for,” Peterson says. “I know we were saying last year at this time it’s going to start in July of 2026 and here we are, but things just take a little time.”
Updates on the construction project will be made regularly on the Broadway Market’s website and social media accounts when work begins.
Funding for the project is being provided by Empire State Development, with additional support for the newly formed Broadway Market Management, Inc., the nonprofit corporation that will operate the market, coming from the Regional Revitalization Partnership. Additional funds will be provided by Downtown Revitalization Initiative Funds, through the New York Department of State.
With the unanimous approval of the Buffalo Planning Board last week, the $40-45 million project to renovate the Broadway Market is back on track.
Earlier this year, during the height of the Easter season, Empire State Development released an update on the long-promised renovation market, which originated in 1888 on a parcel of city-donated land by a group of residents and formalized into the massive 100,000 square-foot building recognized today in the late 1950s.
Work on the project, initially slated to start in the spring or summer, is now likely to begin at the end of 2026 or early 2027, says Kathleen Peterson, the market’s manager, with completion in 2028.
There’s a two-fold reason for the delay in the renovations, she says.
“One, it had to go before the City of Buffalo’s Planning Board first, which it did last Monday and was approved,” Peterson says. The massive project also had to go through final design approval, which also was secured, but there have been a lot of moving parts before shovels could begin to hit the ground.
“We’re also trying to secure new market tax cuts, so as all of that’s taking place, we’re working with the vendors in terms of space during construction” and where everyone will be asked to move, temporarily, when the work begins in earnest, she says.
The whole project is anticipated to go out for bids in the fall with construction to begin between late November and early January.
The market will stay open and operational the entire time, she stresses; customers might just need to pardon the market’s dust next year during the lead-in to Easter and Dyngus Day holidays.
After next spring, that’s when bigger, more noticeable changes will start to take shape, she says.
“After Easter, you’ll really see things start to change. I’m not sure how much of the wall will be in prior to Easter 2027, where they’re going to divide the market, because where the Save-A-Lot was, that’s going to be production space,” Peterson says. “A lot of our vendors make their product in the market, like Greek Guy Bakery and Deb’s Delights. They’ll move into the production area after Easter.”
The wall will help divide the market in a way that restores the original flow of people throughout the building, to the delight of the Buffalo Preservation Board, which also has approved the concepts for the market’s renovation.
“They’re very happy to see this, it’s going to really enhance the exterior. We’re trying to get it as close as we can to take it back to what it looked like in 1956, but there are some things we just can’t do,” like have a continuous wall of windows along Lombard Street, due to the M&T Bank branch located there.
A consulting firm visited the market recently to talk with vendors about the changes and their temporary relocation, and Peterson says the general outlook on the whole project is very positive.
“Everything so far is falling into place, just a little bit later than people hoped for,” Peterson says. “I know we were saying last year at this time it’s going to start in July of 2026 and here we are, but things just take a little time.”
Updates on the construction project will be made regularly on the Broadway Market’s website and social media accounts when work begins.
Funding for the project is being provided by Empire State Development, with additional support for the newly formed Broadway Market Management, Inc., the nonprofit corporation that will operate the market, coming from the Regional Revitalization Partnership. Additional funds will be provided by Downtown Revitalization Initiative Funds, through the New York Department of State.