Author: WCPerspective

Buffalo and development junkie currently exiled in California.

Covid’s lasting impact on downtown has yet to be determined. Downtown’s office market is in flux as many companies have embraced a hybrid work model and shrink their office footprints. Fewer employees in the office means less customers for downtown shops and restaurants. How this impacts the downtown residential market has yet to be determined as projects continue to be announced and buildings that open are leasing quickly. Map PDF: here Last year, ten projects were completed, thirteen projects were under construction and eleven projects were announced. In 2021, just seven projects were completed, seventeen projects were under construction and…

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One of the largest adaptive reuse projects in the city is welcoming its first residential tenants. The Frizlen Group and BRD Construction are transforming the former Barcalo Manufacturing Company complex at 225 Louisiana Street, where the famous ‘Barcalounger’ recliners were manufactured, into residential and commercial space. As Buffalo enters a new era, there is strong demand for quality apartment homes downtown.  The development team behind Barcalo Living & Commerce has elegantly crafted 116 well-appointed loft apartment homes along with multiple commercial tenants into a lifestyle destination. The one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes are full of unique character synonymous to…

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Oakvale Homes & Development plan to renovate 162 Swan Street for commercial and residential use.  The Hamburg-based company owned by Nick Baldo and Costa Kalonaros purchased the two-story building last week for $654,000. They are still working on renovation plans but intend to use a portion of the first floor as an office for their firm and the remainder as restaurant or retail space.  Two apartments are planned for the second floor. Oakvale Homes & Development provides custom home building and home remodeling services throughout the region. Oakvale currently has its primary operating facility in Hamburg and the additional location is…

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Developer Anthony Ceroy is bullish on Buffalo, despite some hiccups on his first local project, Generation Development Group’s conversion of the American Mill & Warehouse at Silo City into a mix of residential and commercial space. Ceroy is planning for the next phase of work at Silo City, was recently selected to redevelop the City’s Broadway Barns complex at the edge of downtown, and is seeking other development opportunities locally. Ceroy found a good match in Buffalo. “Growing up in Detroit, I’ve always had an attachment to the Great Lakes and jumped at the opportunity to work in Buffalo,” says…

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It was an off year for downtown development with only a handful of projects completed. 2023 is more promising with several large projects under construction that will come online this year. Despite uncertainty over the direction of the national and regional economies and any long-term effects on downtown post-Covid, projects are getting announced and properties are being sold. Last year, just seven projects were completed, seventeen projects were under construction and twelve projects were announced. Activity has been fairly steady. In 2021, fourteen projects were completed, thirteen projects were under construction and nineteen projects were announced. In 2020, fifteen projects…

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Two affordable housing projects are taking shape along Best Street, west of Michigan Avenue at the northern edge of the Medical Campus. The largest, a five-story apartment building is being constructed on a on a 2.72-acre parcel at the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Best Street. To the west, a three and four-story, a 105-unit senior apartment building on 1.91 acres is being built. SAA|EVI is developing both of the buildings. Silvestri Architects designed the buildings. McGuire Development owns the balance of the Pilgrim Village site where a mix of commercial and residential uses are planned.

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Construction continues on Mount Aaron Village, a new affordable housing development on Genesee Street east of Jefferson Avenue. The complex will have 59 units, including 18 apartments that will be dedicated specifically for people who need supportive services to live independently. Mt. Aaron Missionary Baptist Church is building the development on 19 vacant parcels located along Genesee, Adams, and Grey streets. The project will include 59 apartments for families and seniors distributed among four buildings, the largest of which has 43 apartments and ground-floor commercial space for BestSelf Behavioral Health, the on-site supportive services provider, in a three-story building fronting…

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The team planning an Old First Ward residential project on the Buffalo River is also working on a riverfront project in Tonawanda.  Carubba & Company, J.B. Earl Company and Elev8 Architecture are proposing a multi-phase development in Tonawanda along Ellicott Creek, south of the Tonawanda Canal. The first phase, The ELLI, with 128 residential units and 8,000 sq.ft. of commercial space, is planned for a former industrial site at 20-40 Fillmore Avenue. “It’s an existing light manufacturing site that is partially abandoned in the city’s downtown core,” says Michael Conroe, architect and founder of Elev8 Architecture. “We are transforming it into…

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Like elsewhere, the pandemic is having a tremendous impact on downtown. Developers remain confident it remains a sound place to invest however, and the housing sector is leading the way. Of the thirteen projects currently under construction in the downtown area, 11 are residential or have residential components. Residential projects also account for 12 of the 19 projects announced in 2021. Fourteen projects of all types were completed last year. For comparison, in 2020, fifteen projects were completed, fifteen were under construction, and nineteen were announced. Full pdf here. Below is a recap of the development activity that occurred in…

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The team planning an Old First Ward residential project that is subject to an online petition in opposition has passed along their plans.  Local developer Carubba & Company is teaming up Elev8 Architcture and Utah-based developer J.B. Earl Company on the multi-phased residential project proposed for the corner of South and Hamburg streets, adjacent to Mutual Waterfront Park. The development team has been working with neighborhood residents and stakeholders and will be bringing their proposal to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals for review next month. Based upon feedback from Peg Overdorf of The Valley Community Association, Patrick…

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