Roget’s Thesaurus suggests these root synonyms for “fake:”
Untruth
Deception
Falsehood
Result of Imitation

Unfortunately, Denizen, as much as you and I might share disgust with “the plethora of other crappy suburban retail developments nearby,” these developments can generally not be characterized as fake, as they rarely purport to be something that they are not.

A Town Centre like that proposed by Benderson, however, IS the self-proclaimed result of imitation of the attractive qualities of either Small Town USA or an urban retail district like EV, such as walkability and combined work-live spaces. By eliminating potentially unattractive qualities, such as through the exclusion of affordable housing units, along with many of the incidental charms of a non-simulated town center, the developments can also be considered untrue, deceptive, and false in their imitations.

Whether you believe this development will have a positive or negative effect on the region, it certainly cannot be argued to be anything but fake.

• Population living in a certain radius (mileage and driving time).
• Percentage of families versus singles in a certain radius.
• Average family and household income in a certain radius.
• Average age of the population in a certain radius.
• Cumulative income of all people in a certain radius.
• Education level in a certain radius.
• Number of jobs in a certain radius.
• Traffic volume at a location.
• Utility availability at a location.
* Appropriate venue for a location (wealthy urban neighborhood, lifestyle center, high-end superregional mall)
• Proximity of other mid- and high-end retail development (positive).
• Proximity of low-end commercial development (negative).
• Property size and geometry.
• Potential return on investment.

As for the waterfront, the likely tenant base is probably going to be much different than a lifestyle center in a middle-to-upper-middle income area. Expect a mix more like Village West in Kansas City, Kansas (the rough-and-tumble little brother to Kansas City, Missouri) rather than Legacy Village or Crocker Park.

Another thing to consider: high-end chains usually don’t open in Buffalo because the demographics just don’t work; city or suburbs. They prefer to be in the heart of an area that is solidly upper-middle-class for miles around; Amherst/Clarence doesn’t come close to Oakland County, Michigan; the Heights/Hillcrest/Chagrin Vallley suburbs east of Cleveland; Johnson County, Kansas; or even the eastern suburbs of Rochester. They’ll come to the Buffalo area only after they’ve exhausted most other locations where their paper pushers calculate they can get a greater return on their investment.

I guess what I’m saying is “don’t expect the really high end stuff at Amherst Town Centre yet”. Borders, Starbucks, H&M, Coldwater Creek, maybe California Pizza Kitchen or P.F. Chang, but probably not Restoration Hardware, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Arhaus, Design Within Reach, or Whole Foods.

Wealth is relative. Urban is relative. Connecticut Ave in DC is wealthier than Elmwood. Given. But Chevy Chase is far wealthier than Amherst, and far more “urban.” You’re being deceptive when you say that upscale stores will only go to urban areas that are wealthier than Buffalo’s, but the “wealth-i-ness” of the suburb doesn’t matter provided it isn’t in a city. That’s a “city vs. suburb” mentality if I ever heard one.

My argument is that the region can only support one of these upscale retail developments, lifestyle center or not. So, if it gets built in Amherst it will effectively kill any further retail development on the waterfront.

The question in, “What effect will this development have on retail development downtown?” (Assuming you’ll concede they are banking the Bass Pro project on attracting future retail development to the area.) There’s only so much money to go around in the region, so where you put things makes a difference. Some very vocal residents of Amherst have said, predictably, “We don’t want this.” Well, why force it on them? Unless there’s a silent majority out there who’ve issued an unspoken mandate.