Media Advisory: UB students to present plans for Buffalo's Shelton Square

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Look at old photos of Shelton Square and you’ll see that it was a bustling public space in downtown Buffalo.

But beginning in the 1960s, urban renewal created barriers that choked off the square and it became an urban island in the shadow of such grand landmarks as Louis Sullivan’s Guaranty Building and St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral.

Students in a University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning studio spent the fall semester developing and refining plans that they hope will restore Shelton Square to the thriving urban space it once was. They will present their concepts at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15, during a public presentation at SUNY Erie Community College’s City Campus.

“Our goal was to create alternative visions to transform Shelton Square from the current traffic conduit and no-man’s land to a walkable and livable greenspace in the heart of downtown,” said Hiroaki Hata, associate professor of architecture and urban planning at UB.

Hata’s studio was unique in that it brought together master’s students in both architecture and urban planning. Four groups of four students each developed proposals that include plans for new housing, as well as retail stores and a supermarket, to attract people to the square while offering ideas to connect this part of the city to other booming downtown destinations, such as Canalside and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

Who: Four student groups from Hiroaki Hata’s fall studio class in the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning

When: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15

Where: Minnie Gillette Auditorium, SUNY Erie Community College City Campus, 121 Ellicott St., Buffalo.

Why: To present their plans and concepts for re-energizing Buffalo’s Shelton Square, restoring it to the thriving urban space that it once was.

On-site contacts: David Hill, UB media relations, 716-238-1001; or Michael Farrell, ECC public information officer, 716-851-1685.