Tagged: buffalo

Western New York has missed out on being the setting for a major motion picture, but Republican State Senator Patrick Gallivan hopes the loss of the movie “Draft Day” starring Kevin Costner will help push along a bill that would offer tax credits for films to be shot here.

This week producers of the movie announced that that movie, written about the Buffalo Bills, will now be shot in Cleveland and rewritten around the Cleveland Browns.

Gallivan says Cleveland offered Director Ivan Reitman a 35% tax deduction incentive. The incentive is five percent higher than in New York State. Gallivan is currently proposing a 45% deduction for upstate New York.

A Buffalo private school is taking innovation to the next level and bringing new technology into the classroom. Holy Angels Prep has incorporated 3D television into their curriculum this year.

The school is the first in the region to use the Rover, a 3D learning program specifically tailored for the classroom. Student Julia Benedetti says she enjoys learning this way.

“I think it’s a fun way to learn. It sticks in your mind easier and it’s a good activity to do,” said Benedetti.

An expert panel from the Urban Land Institute presented preliminary suggestions for the future of the HSBC tower in Buffalo on Thursday. The building, owned by Seneca One Realty, is facing the loss of two tenants, HSBC Bank and Phillips Lytle LLP, by Jan. 1, 2014.

Their departure will put the occupancy rate in downtown Buffalo's tallest office building at five percent.

The proposal recommends hiring a developer and update the 40-year-old building into a mixed-use center.  The panel is proposing a banquet facility, resident, hotel and office space.