Schneider Development’s Apartments at the Hub at 145-149 Swan Street is bringing new life to the southeast corner of downtown through the revitalization of two previously under-utilized buildings. The complex’s first floor tenants are moving in shortly and loft apartments will be completed this summer.
There are three first floor commercial spaces that have been leased. Adam Trost and Rebecca Erb, owners of the Bike Shop in East Aurora, are planning on expanding their business in two of them. Bike Shop @ The Hub is opening later this month and features a retail bicycle and repair shop, a bicycle fitness facility open to the building’s tenants and membership-based for the public, a rental service that will collaborate with cultural tourism for bicycle-based excursions next year, and a 12-15 person conference center available for bicycle clubs and not-for-profit bicycle-related community organizations.
The balance of the commercial space will be occupied by HandleBar, a pub and café run by Sarah Schneider, owner of Merge restaurant, and Evan Thompson.
A 15 foot tall stainless steel bicycle public art sculpture by Foundry in-house artist Sarah Fonzi is planned for the outside of the building. The sculpture is sponsored by the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation.
Matt Hartrich, Vice President of Business Development for Schneider Development discusses first floor build-out with a supervisor for R & P Oak Hill.
Upstairs, loft apartments are quickly shaping up for August 1 occupancy. The building’s fifty apartments make it one of the larger downtown residential projects to date.
The apartments are a mix of 18 one and 32 two-bedroom units ranging in size from 960 to 1,575 sq.ft. with nine to fifteen foot ceilings. The units will feature granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, solid core doors, hardwood flooring in the main living areas, an in-unit laundry, and generous walk-in closets. Master bathrooms contain a double vanity, a shower, and a soaking tub.
There is basement parking for 21 cars along with storage units for building tenants (below). An additional 51 surface parking spaces adjacent to the building.
Tenants will have access to a rooftop garden deck with panoramic views of downtown.
Pre-leasing is expected to begin shortly with a model unit opening in coming weeks. One-bedroom units are priced from $1,200 to $1,530 and the two-bedroom units are $1,550 to $2,010. The building is pet friendly with a deposit and certain restrictions.
Like other downtown loft projects, the target market is young professionals working downtown, on the medical campus, or elsewhere and empty nesters.
Besides being bicycle-focused, the project is named The Hub due to its location. The site is at the crossroads of downtown, the Larkin District to the east, and the Cobblestone District/Inner Harbor to the south. Adding to the transportation theme, it is also located near the Buffalo Transportation Pierce Arrow Museum.
“We’re perfectly situated in the middle of Larkinville, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and Canalside, allowing our tenants to take full advantage of all the exciting activity taking place in and around downtown,” says Jake Schneider, president of Schneider Development.
145 Swan Street was built in 1908 for Witkop & Holmes, a grocery business that commissioned the 30,000 sq.ft. brick and frame structure. 149 Swan Street, sold by Synthetic Textiles Inc., was designed by Lansing & Beirel, Architects and constructed in 1896 for Sibley & Holmwood Candy Company, a local confectioner that later partnered with several other businesses nationwide to form the National Candy Company. The two buildings have been merged into one amazing package (top photo below).
The buildings have been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. Preservation Studios handled the nomination and historic preservation tax credit work. R&P Oakhill is overseeing the construction work.
“We are really proud of this project,” says Schneider. “Our team took extreme attention to detail and designed in a package of top-notch amenities that go above and beyond to offer the best in downtown residential living.”
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