Connected by design.
The DL&W is a new hub for access and mobility.
The DL&W Terminal sits where Buffalo’s waterfront meets its industrial past. Its restoration will reclaim the century-old transportation hub—first built for trains and freight—and reimagines it as a place people can reach by rail, trail, water, roadway, or sidewalk.
When fully open and active, both levels of the DL&W will play a more central role in the city’s daily movement than anyone might expect for a mothballed monolith few have been inside for 50 years.
Light Rail
The terminal’s upper level includes a public market, pocket supermarket, food hall, full-service restaurant, and flexible indoor and outdoor event spaces, making it a destination that’s accessible from inside the (currently under-construction) first-floor Metro Rail passenger station. This station also connects Metro Rail riders to Buffalo Seneca Creek Casino, the Cobblestone District’s Helium Comedy Club and Buffalo Ironworks, KeyBank Center, and Canalside, and serves as a boarding or jumping-off point for regional commuters wishing to park their car and ride the rail from the waterfront to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, the University at Buffalo’s South Campus, or anywhere else along the way.
Trailways
The DL&W sits on the Shoreline Trail, which links to the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, the Empire State Trail, and the Niagara River Greenway. Its location puts it in direct conversation with the proposed Riverline, which plans to convert the former rail corridor into a public greenway. Together, these trails form a continuous network that connects city neighborhoods to state parks, river crossings, and historic sites that span New York.
Bikes and Boats
The DL&W project also anticipates growing use of non-vehicular travel. Bike amenities at the terminal will include short-term secure storage and a repair station. In Savarino’s vision for the project, kayakers and paddle boarders will have the option to dock and enter the building from the Buffalo River.
The terminal’s position strengthens Buffalo’s growing networks by providing a central, useful, and visible link. It is uniquely situated to serve pedestrians and cyclists, casual users and commuters, residents and visitors. It is also one of the few public sites in the city that offers direct connections between land and water, road and rail, and civic and cultural uses year-round.
Active and Engaged
Savarino DL&W Development LLC’s design of the terminal’s second floor also supports active use by the groups who already move through the area, including run clubs, cycling organizations, walking groups, and outdoor recreation programs. At the DL&W, there is room to gather, recharge, and participate. The deck and indoor spaces offer amenities not often available at public trailheads or rest areas.
Together, these features position the DL&W as both a destination and a place that strengthens Buffalo-area public transportation links. This vision for the DL&W’s accessibility is a reflection of its overall purpose as a public space.
