Malls · New York

Main Place Mall

From the authors' mapReinhabitedPartly retrofittedBuffalo, NY

Opened 1968. Partial Reinhabited in 2013.

Status nowPartly retrofittedauthors' map

Site size250,000 sq ft GLAEsri 2014 layer

Retrofit year2013authors' map

Walkability18.5 of 20 · 15-minute 6 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap

Rail within 800 mYes · Opportunity ZoneOpenStreetMap, HUD

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Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from.

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Site profile15 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Place

100k+ jobs within 45 min by transit

This site: 115,209 epa-walkability · all sites with this

15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)

This site: 6/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this

200+ tax-credit housing units within 1 km

This site: 1,481 units in 9 properties hud-lihtc · all sites with this

Bike network nearby

This site: 200 ways openstreetmap · all sites with this

Grocery within 800 m

This site: 1 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this

High inland flooding risk

This site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with this

National Register place within 500 m

This site: Young Men's Christian Association Central Building; County and City Hall nps-nrhp · all sites with this

Opportunity Zone

This site: 36029016500 hud-oz · all sites with this

Rail within 800 m

This site: Canalside, Church, Fountain Plaza openstreetmap · all sites with this

Renter-majority tract

This site: 90% census-acs · all sites with this

Tract income up 60%+ since 2013

This site: +205% census-acs · all sites with this

Tract population up 25%+ since 2013

This site: +42% census-acs · all sites with this

Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)

This site: …index 18.5 epa-walkability · all sites with this

Strategy

Reinhabited

This site: Partial reinhabitation: data center record · all sites with this

New use

Data center

This site: Partial reinhabitation: data center arcgis-webmap · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

From the authors' map

NY, Buffalo: Main Place Mall, 2013
• Partial reinhabitation: data center

Now

Status	Partly retrofittedauthors' map
Strategy	Partial Reinhabitedauthors' map
What is there now	Partial reinhabitation: data centerauthors' map
Retrofit year	2013authors' map

Site context

Transit within 800 m	Canalside, Church, Fountain Plaza, Lafayette Square, Seneca (rail); 16 bus stops within 400 mOpenStreetMap
Motorway junctions within 2 km	5, 6, 7, 8OpenStreetMap
FEMA flood zone	no NFHL polygon at point (unmapped or outside coverage)FEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m	85: 135 FIRMARK CORP; 290 MAIN ST - SWAN GROUP; ACQUEST CONSTRUCTION LLC; ADAM MELDRUM & ANDERSON CO; BARRISTER INFORMATION SYSTEMSEPA FRS
Census tract 36029016500	2,121 people, 2,883 per sq mi; median household income $66,532; median gross rent $1,463; 90% renters; 8.6% vacant units; 2.6% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)	index 18.5 of 20; 166 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 55 m; land-use mix 0.67; 80,551 jobs within 45 min by car, 115,209 by transit; 17% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)	6 of 6 daily needs: 1 grocers, 3 schools, 35 parks or playgrounds, 2 health, 7 civic, 73 food and drink; 200 cycleway segments, 786 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity Zone	yes, tract 36029016500 (rural)HUD
National Register places within 500 m	9: Young Men's Christian Association Central Building; County and City Hall; U.S. Post Office; Buffalo City HallNPS
Housing permits, Erie County (NY), 2024	578 units in 5+ unit buildings, 46 in 2–4, 584 single-family; 2023: 404 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)	overall percentile 0.59; socioeconomic 0.66; housing and transport 0.87; 33% below 150% of poverty; 20% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby	2 within 10 km, 6 within 25 km: J. N. Adam–AM&A Historic District (0.2 km); Seneca Mall (9.3 km)computed
Overture Maps	place Steppin Main Place Mall (shoe_store, confidence 0.55, from BrightQuery, Overture); building footprint 12,069 m², 17.24629020690918 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Tract change 2013–2023	population +42% (1,489 → 2,121); median income +205% ($21,786 → $66,532); renters 97% → 90%; median home value +164% ($260,000 → $687,500)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)	relatively moderate overall (score 76.8); expected annual loss $1.9M; high: inland flooding, cold wave; community resilience very highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km	9 LIHTC properties, 1,481 units: Waterfront Ii (472 units); Braco & Linwood Apts. (296 units); Harbor View (208 units)HUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	3,116 establishments (-7%); 49,839 jobs (-6%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $295,625 (+3% 1 yr, +31% 5 yr); typical rent $1,480/mo (+4% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	8,646 vehicles a day on NY16 to I190 EB; 1,148 trucks; 38 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Similar sites

Summit Park Mall, Wheatfield, NY · Malls · opened 1972; same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY
Midtown Plaza, Rochester, NY · Malls · opened 1962; same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY
Rainbow Mall, Niagara Falls, NY · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY; 27 km away
Dutchess Mall, Fishkill, NY · Malls · opened 1974; same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY

Elsewhere on the web

Pages with photos

Main Place Mall | Buffalo, NY 14202 iloveny.com
Main Place Mall Project - Architectural Resources, NY Architecture ... archres.com
Proposal: From Main Place Mall to the Buffalo Learning District - Buffalo Rising buffalorising.com
See the new plans for the Main Place Mall wkbw.com
Downtown: The Main Place Mall (Buffalo, Rochester: neighborhoods, shopping mall, bus) - New York (NY) -Western New York city-data.com
Main Place Mall nearly vacant, but owner says redevelopment still in ... bizjournals.com
390 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14202 - Main Place Mall | LoopNet loopnet.com

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Multifamily screen

retrofit already built
county grew 3.3% 2018–23

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Opened	1968Esri 2014 layer
Gross leasable area	250,000 sq ftEsri 2014 layer
Stores at peak	50Esri 2014 layer
Address	Main & Court Sts.
County	Erie
Census division	2 · Mid-Atlantic

Not yet recorded: acres, original developer. Know it? Tell us.

Timeline

1968 Opened
2013 Retrofit: reinhabit

Sources

Esri StoryMaps: Closed_US_Malls feature layer (2014) · 2014-10-02
Retrofitting Suburbia Interactive Mall Map (ArcGIS web map ce33ab26…) · 2021-01-20

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Main Place Mall, Buffalo, NY." Record m-1da0625ba2, from the authors' map. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/ny/buffalo-main-place-mall/ (accessed 2026-10-20).