Businessman Mark Croce was intrigued when he was approached by City officials with a proposal to put a parking ramp on a lot owns at the corner of S. Elmwood Avenue and W. Huron Street. Croce agreed to keep an open mind on the proposed public-private partnership, but is insisting that the City meet several conditions if the project is going to proceed.
Croce told the City that he wasn’t interested in creating another “concrete bunker parking ramp” and that what he had in mind, parking with mixed-uses, would cost more but have curb appeal.
“I always wanted to do mixed-use on that property,” says Croce. “I bought it as a development site, not for a surface parking lot.”
The City is interested in increasing parking supply in the growing south Delaware Avenue corridor where the Avant opened last year, New Era’s new headquarters is located, and the new Federal Courthouse opens in 2011. Additional parking can also alleviate a major impediment to reuse of the mothballed Statler building. Croce’s site is where the original Statler parking garage was located before it was demolished in the 1980s.
Croce proposes a mixed-use building that would incorporate ground floor retail and restaurant space, eleven floors of parking topped by four floors of office space. He is insisting that the façade be attractive and “not look like a parking structure.” Croce also wants the building to be as ‘green’ or sustainable as practical. And, he wants the City to consider overhauling their current parking policies and system that keeps rates artificially low thereby filling existing ramps with monthly parkers.
According to Croce, a private developer cannot cash flow pencil-out structured parking in the current downtown market, primarily due to the subsidized competition from Buffalo Civic Auto Ramps. That is why none get privately built in the downtown core.
The City-Croce deal is far from finalized. Mayor Brown was in Washington this week seeking $7 million in federal funding to help pay for the project. Croce admits it will be a complex partnership but understands the need for the City to help provide parking in the area, particularly for the Statler.
“Everyone who looks at it [the Statler] cries about parking,” he says. “Potential buyers are hammering on the City to solve the parking issue.”
Croce says he has no interest in buying the Statler but wants to be part of the solution. “It has to make sense for everyone.” He agrees that available nearby parking is needed to market the Statler.
“No one in their right mind is going to take on an 800,000 sq.ft. building without one parking spot. Put the parking piece in place,” says Croce. “It is not the end-all, but it improves the marketability of the Statler.”
When asked if he knew of any serious buyers for the building he says he knows of a “few people sniffing around.”
“No one guy is going to come in and redo the building,” he predicts. “It will likely need to be a team of developers.” Croce worries about the property being purchased on the cheap by a speculator.
“I’d hate to see another AM&A’s situation where a buyer comes in without a plan and the property sits vacant for years.”
If a buyer is not found soon, Croce endorses a proposal put forward by Howard Zemsky to steer the property to a nonprofit entity. The nonprofit could stabilize it until a realistic reuse proposal comes along.
Young + Wright Architectural has drawn up plans for Croce’s mixed-use proposal. Croce says the design is still preliminary and points out that he is driving the design, not the City. The rendering depicts a glass and masonry façade with varied detailing to break up the mass of the building.
The building’s entrance will be on S. Elmwood Avenue. Though there is no other retail space along this stretch of the street, the building will have approximately 2,000 sq.ft. of first floor retail or restaurant space flanking the main entrance to serve the neighborhood and the building.
Garage entrances will be provided on both on S. Elmwood & W. Mohawk streets. The parking structure is an efficient design utilizing “speed” ramps with flat parking at every level for quick & convenient access.
State-of-the-art parking technology would be employed to direct parkers to the next available space on different levels utilizing parking stall sensor technology & LED signage. There would be automated Pay-n-Display stands at every-other level and credit card readers at the exits. Validated parking can be accommodated with this technology as well.
Seeing comments about building parking underground, Croce says it is “it substantially more expensive to go down than it is to go up, which is already very expensive to start with. Plus, the higher you build, the more dramatic effect you have on Buffalo’s skyline which hasn’t changed much in the last 20 years. People don’t realize that the water table in this part of town is only 10-12 ft. down.”
The ramp will be topped by 150,000 sq.ft. of office space on four levels. “Imagine parking and taking an elevator right up to your suite,” says Croce. “The views on the top four floors are dramatic and panoramic like at Avant. There are no buildings obstructing a beautiful view of the city and the lake at this height.”
The site is in the heart of the government district, close to banking, entertainment, theatre, restaurants, coffee shops, and several hotels including the boutique hotel Croce is building at the corner of Huron and Franklin streets. Croce believes this is an ideal location for “multiple high profile professional office tenants.”
Croce sees the project as an investment that grows the tax base, assists with redevelopment of the Statler, and supports the creation and retention of quality jobs.
“I want the neighborhood to grow,” says Croce. “It helps my restaurants and other businesses and it will add to the vibrancy of downtown.”
Typical parking level.