A development team comprised of Paul Lamparelli, Peter Lamparelli, Steve Przbyla and Sean Insalaco is bringing five apartments and ground floor commercial space to the hot Genesee Gateway block downtown. Since the purchase of the property in June 2012 for $165,000, 112 Genesee Street (entry image, right) has been gutted and upgraded. The residential units will be ready for occupancy in about a month.
The developers are excited to bring the 7,200 sq.ft. building back to life, joining other projects such as the Genesee Gateway complex across the street, the nearly finished Administrative Center (Catholic Health’s new headquarters), and Dog é Style under construction a few doors away. One straggler, the vacant building next door at 110 Genesee, is owned by Christopher Juliano.
“We were looking at areas that were up and coming and this building fit the bill,” says Insalaco. “For the price, it’s a wonderful building and the traffic count is amazing. With two of our partners in the construction business, the numbers worked even with all of the improvements needed.”
Work included all new electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems, and a new roof. “Everything is completely new,” says Insalaco.
All of the apartments are one-bedroom units and rents are expected to range from about $850 to $1,050/month. There are two apartments on both the second the third floors with 700 to 850 sq.ft. of living space and the largest unit with 1,000 sq.ft. occupies the fourth floor.
Apartments feature hardwood floors, granite countertops, high-end appliances, recessed lighting, exposed brick walls, in-unit laundry facilities, and high ceilings.
2,200 sq.ft. of ground floor commercial space rounds out the project.
“There’s a copper ceiling in the commercial space giving it a late-1800’s feel,” says Insalaco.
Insalaco says there has been heavy interest in the first floor space from a range of user types and a letter of intent is out for a lease.
Elsewhere downtown, Insalaco and his partners purchased the four-story office building at 392 Pearl Street south of Chippewa (above). They have recently finished upgrades to the building’s common areas, including redone bathrooms. Other improvements included a new HVAC system, a keyless entry system, and a new roof. With the upgrades wrapped up, the team has just started marketing space in the 32,000 sq.ft. building which is about half leased.
At 406 Linwood Avenue, the partners are completing renovations to a carriage house on a property they purchased last August. The circa 1873 main house contains office space and the carriage house will contain two revamped, large apartments. One is a 1,300 sq.ft. unit and the second is a two-bedroom, two-bath unit on two floors plus a loft with 2,000 sq.ft. of living space.
The development team also has properties in North Buffalo and Amherst and is looking for other projects in the city. In a familiar refrain these days, Insalaco says pickings are slim in and around downtown. There are not a lot of ideal conversion candidates available at a reasonable price and the competition amongst developers is fierce.
“The momentum downtown is incredible,” says Insalaco. “There are lots of gorgeous buildings, they just aren’t available.”
Leasing Information: Sean Insalaco, 716.480.5842