Bass Pro Shops will now be forever known to Buffalo as The One That Got Away.

Friday's announcement that, after nine years of back-and-forth, the national outdoor equipment powerhouse had decided not to build a heavily subsidized superstore in Buffalo's Canal Side project at least puts an end to that elongated process.

The most important thing now, for those who favored the project as a super magnet for other development and for those who opposed it as a corporate-welfare boondoggle, is to move on as quickly as possible.

And, as they move on, there is one thing that the developers of Buffalo's waterfront should always have in the front of their minds. And that's the water.

Bass Pro would have been a good fit in many ways. Though less significant than it would have been when the dreaming began, when there were no other Bass Pro Shops anywhere near Buffalo, the store's merchandise is an ideal connection to Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the Niagara Gorge, all of which draw people from all over the world.

Not only would it have been a fun place to shop, a Canal Side Bass Pro would have shared a focus with the biggest attraction of this part of the world, the magnificent bodies of water that brought Buffalo to life in the first place and that today offer economic opportunities from fishing contests to hockey tournaments, from outdoor concerts to dining with a clear view of the sunset.

There were, though, serious arguments on the other side. Many economists and development experts argue that the day of the big-box anchor is passed, and that taxpayer subsidies for retail establishments, unlike those for manufacturing plants, don't really pay a return in the form of added high-wage jobs. All they do is move the limited customer base from one store to another.

Now that we know there will be no Bass Pro, the reconsidered Canal Side project should not just settle for any tenant, but continue to keep its waterfront focus in mind.

Other projects are already in various stages of development. The possibility of an expanded HSBC campus, built behind its existing HSBC Atrium building just east of Canal Side, would be a fine addition to the neighborhood. It could link Canal Side with the developing Cobblestone District and provide at least a daytime customer base that would help support both.

But any notion that HSBC or any other office project could take the place of Bass Pro would be a move in the wrong direction. That includes the important Webster Block. The actual waterfront property is cramped enough without trying to shoehorn in something that would not fit into the lively hope of a commercial district, heavy on the entertainment and hospitality angles, that Canal Side should be.

And speaking of cramped, the operation that has been the biggest attraction on the waterfront -- the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park -- remains squeezed into a ridiculously small space that leaves some of its artifacts, aircraft and small boats, jumbled in an unflattering way.

There has been no significant addition of ships or planes for more than a decade. Naval parks in other cities make ours look small and disorganized by comparison.

A key to solving that would be to give the park more space, and the way to do that would be to build the long sought-after -- yes, even longer than the wait for Bass Pro -- bridge connecting the inner and outer harbors.

Rep. Brian Higgins, who has single-handedly brought significant funds to the neighborhood's redevelopment already, has begun the drive to win federal funds for such a bridge, costing up to $100 million, that might rise from the foot of Main Street, Michigan Avenue or Erie Street.

Such a bridge, replacing one that has been out of commission since 1959, would provide a direct connection to the outer harbor with a large new opportunity, which would make room for the additional ships. With the $35 million in Bass Pro money now freed up, it's possible that project could be fast-tracked.

It's all about the waterfront, and all the dreams we have of developing the area should play up that key asset.