Business in Buffalo
In this past decade, despite an unfortunate reputation for being a “city in decline” with an ever-shrinking population, Buffalo saw a massive influx of 20 to 34-year-olds moving to the city, increasing the number of Millennials in Buffalo by about ten percent. A vibrant and diverse immigrant community further stimulates our expansion. Though the city fell on especially hard times during the early 2000s, it was then that Buffalo became a major city for refugee resettlement, particularly for those from East Africa and Southeast Asia.
A Princeton University study notes that our City of Good Neighbors has enjoyed a “reciprocal relationship” with our refugee community, whose creativity and ties to their culture have revitalized formerly declining neighbors such as the West Side. Buffalo has also become a major hub for research and development, hosting a Tesla Gigafactory specializing in solar energy services, as well as the expansion of our downtown Medical Campus, home to the nationally renowned Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the Jacobs Institute for innovation in vascular medicine. We are a city that defies expectations and casts off labels contemptuously forced upon us. We are a city with a rich and complex history, but one always looking to the future. Doing business in Buffalo is not only a smart investment for your organization, but it will soon be a necessary and even vital market to capture.
500 Pearl in Downtown Buffalo
As the crown jewel of Buffalo’s eclectic and distinct neighborhoods, downtown boasts not only the center of the city’s reemerging business activity, but it has also become a center of culture and entertainment with something for everyone to enjoy. Its population has increased by nearly fifteen percent in the past decade, creating both a larger demand and a larger market for goods and services unique to the Queen City. Situated on Lake Erie and the Erie Canal, we appreciate every inch of our waterfront with Canalside events such as our low-cost summer concert series (which everyone from The Psychedelic Furs to Public Enemy to Fitz and the Tantrums has headlined) and Riverworks, a sports and entertainment center currently repurposing an old grain silo to become a fully functioning brewery, a testament to the thriving craft and microbrewing industry in the city. Pearl Street itself is home to longstanding Buffalo staples such as the Pearl Street Grill and Brewery, Shea’s Performing Arts Center, and the Guaranty Building. Aleron Inc., an international workforce management company, has already relocated its headquarters to the eighth floor of 500 Pearl. Connecting your business with 500 Pearl means you’d be in good company indeed.
Spaces
500 Pearl is a chameleon for all business events. Host a large banquet, forum, gala, or keynote speaker event in one of our event spaces such as the Fuhrmann, 1914, or Exchange rooms, with the Forbes Theatre and Grand Aeries boasting over 4,000 square feet of space each for especially large gatherings. For mid-sized meetings and conferences, our Tactic Room is the right fit to let conversation, debate, and ideas flow. The Re:Mix Lounge, w xyz Bar, Patrick’s Rooftop, and even our ground floor bowling alley may all serve as more intimate and casual spaces for client meetings or team bonding and development.
Amenities
In addition to a variety of unique spaces for your meeting or event, 500 Pearl also offers an array of services and amenities to make your engagement with us as convenient and comfortable as possible. Parking among our bustling downtown streets need not be of concern thanks to our covered, on-site lot. We also offer catering services for meetings and events of all kinds. Should you require an overnight stay, our Aloft Hotel has 112 guest rooms and suites with great views of the city and high-quality service to accommodate you and your team.
5 Tips for a 500 Meeting
Know Your Stuff
Be prepared. Not only should the meeting leader be knowledgeable about and interested in the meeting material, but other coworkers should be informed and ready to attend. Try to anticipate any questions that may be raised during the meeting.
Tick, Tock
Set a clear agenda and schedule and stick to it, allowing everyone to adequately prepare themselves to be fully engaged for the duration of the meeting. Going over time will cause people to become bored and disinterested but ending early may undercut the importance of the topic at hand. Allow time for questions and discussion, though ensure that this remains on-task and productive. For longer meetings, consider allowing time for breaks.
Set the Tone
Ensure that all participants understand the subject, its implications for the company, and their role in putting the issues discussed in the meeting into action after the fact. The setting has an integral role in intrinsically establishing the tone. 500 Pearl’s variety of spaces and venues allow for meetings and events of any kind.
Catch Their Eyes
Visuals are an integral part of keeping everyone engaged and on-topic. They can help illustrate abstract facts and figures, give context on location or size, or even allow everyone to let off a little bit of steam with a quick gag or joke to break up the necessary but sometimes tedious nature of numbers meetings. 500 Pearl’s meeting spaces can all be equipped
Back and Forth
Keep everyone engaged by allowing for discussion and debate. The twenty-first century workplace centers around connection and collaboration. Everyone having a voice in your meeting allows for the flow of new, different ideas, which only serves to strengthen the company.
Sources:
http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/buffalo-population/
https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/03/26/city-good-neighbors-students-examine-refugee-resettlement-buffalo-ny
https://buffalonews.com/2019/07/31/jacksonville-to-buffalo-show-us-how-to-revive-our-city/
