In November 2024, ULI’s Advisory Services program partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Buffalo Branch, the Buffalo Urban League, and local civic leaders to support the revitalization of Buffalo’s historic Jefferson Avenue Corridor.
Once a thriving site of Black-centered civic life and arts, as well as Black-owned businesses, the corridor has endured decades of disinvestment, structural barriers and population loss. Highway construction, the loss of the Buffalo Bills’ stadium, discriminatory lending and the trauma of a racially motivated mass shooting at the Tops grocery store in 2022 had a cumulative impact. These things left many residents feeling distrustful and isolated from the investment efforts unfolding around them.
To better understand the challenges in Buffalo, the Advisory Services Panel spent an intensive week there, engaging the community and interviewing more than 90 residents, business owners, faith leaders, nonprofit partners, and public officials. A site tour, small-group interviews, and listening sessions provided firsthand insight into the corridor’s assets and challenges.
As chair of ULI Western New York, Adam Walters noted that the Jefferson Renaissance Initiative is currently building a five-committee structure to advance key areas of the ULI report, recruiting members with support from ULI Western New York and preparing to seek 501(c)(3) status.
The full article, “Buffalo’s Jefferson Avenue Corridor a Year Later,” can be read on the Urban Land Institute website.
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