BUFFALO — In a waterfront area once sprinkled with decay and rot, there now is vibrant life everywhere you look.
Where there once were vacant lots and weed-clogged fields surrounding the Buffalo Sabres home, known as the KeyBank Center, the transformation that has taken place here over the past few years is stunning.
Two high-rise hotels. Numerous restaurants and bars. A well-manicured park where people are enjoying this misty western New York spring day, making the most out of a patch of pristine land that soon again will be hosting concerts when the weather improves.
Perhaps the most prized addition to the landscape in the past few years is the HarborCenter, the 1.