The Erie County Industrial Development Agency Board of Directors today approved a $2.6 million mix of property, sales and mortgage recording tax savings to aid conversion of an historic property at 2915 Main Street in to 87 market rate loft-style apartments. Ciminelli Real Estate plans to invest $15.5 million in the project to revitalize the long-vacant site as Bethune Lofts.
The four-story structure was designed and built by Lockwood, Green & Company in 1915 for the Buffalo Meter Company, a manufacturer of liquid meters. In 1971, the State of New York acquired the building from The Singer Company, as successor to Buffalo Meter Company, and after a rehabilitation in 1973, the SUNY School of Architecture and Design moved into the building and renamed it Bethune Hall (named after Louise Blanchard Bethune, architect of the Lafayette Hotel, the first professional woman architect in the United States). Classes ceased at the building in 1993 and SUNY had been using it for storage.
Ciminelli purchased the property on June 17 from Meyer Landau for $1.05 million. Landau bought it for $384,000 in April 2006 through an auction conducted by the State. At the time of purchase, Landau announced plans to convert the building into loft-style apartments, artists’ studios and offices. Those plans went nowhere.
The building and its 2.3 acre site will house a mix of luxury one- and two-bedroom loft apartments, with an on-site fitness center. Carmina Wood Morris is designing the project.