Ellicott Development is wrapping up construction at The Pasquale, Waterfront Village’s new mid-rise residential tower. To date, 31 of the tower’s 49 units are sold. Purchasers have closed on 13 of the residences at prices ranging from $349,000 to $572,500 on the first through eighth floors in recent weeks. Penthouse suites are expected to top $1 million. “We have also leased three units, bringing the total to 34 of 49 which are under contract, closed or leased,” says Ellicott’s Chris Martoche who is overseeing sales at the development. “Some of the higher units are still under construction, which is why we don’t have…
Author: WCPerspective
The Adam’s Mark Hotel’s new owners, Western New York Lodging LLC, are investing $700,000 in upgrades to the downtown hotel after the Erie County Industrial Development Agency board today approved a sales tax exemption. The hotel, expected to soon fly the Crowne Plaza flag, is going to receive a facelift and extensive renovations. Included in this phase is a new Internet/phone system, upgraded equipment for the parking ramp, an enhanced guestroom locking system and improved shower valves. It represents the first phase of two planned for the hotel. The project will create an additional 25 jobs, increasing total employment at…
I got beaten back on my recent gigantic sign posting. The first 10 or so commenters thought I was off base, criticizing the biggie-sized street signs seen around Buffalo these days. Then, on another Internet forum, I scored strike two while criticizing the giant wickets on the Main Street pedestrian mall. On that forum I said that one of the great benefits of returning cars to Main was that the corny arches over the street would have to be removed. Pretty much 100% of the others commenting thought I was crazy for not liking the lighted steel arches. Huh? I…
Have you seen the gi-normous street name signs dotting various intersections around the city? Perhaps the question is better phrased ” How could you not see them?” They are about 72 inches long and perhaps as much as 16 inches wide, a good 8 to 10 times larger than normal signs. The size of these signs is more akin to something you would expect at the massive commercial intersection of Transit and Main rather than residential Richmond and Delavan. They are so far out of proportion to the streetscape they inhabit that I become embarrassed for the city each time…
I have not done a Buffalo street tour story in a while, so I thought I would jump back in with one of the city’s very best and most diverse streets. It is a relatively short street, running from a distinctive and quirky, blue-green 1960’s apartment tower on Delaware Avenue at the east end, to the popular Spot Coffee sidewalk cafe at Elmwood on the west end. The approximately ¼-mile long street holds two highly respected schools, an exclusive social club, a converted historic fire station and many great houses in several architectural styles, all shaded by a forest of trees.…
Has there ever been an animal on earth that caused itself to go extinct by its own actions rather than by new outside forces? Could the human race be the first to do so? Lately I have been coming across a series of interesting stories that deal with the extreme stress human activity puts on our life-sustaining environment. There may be debate as to whether increased carbon in the atmosphere causes global warming. This debate unfortunately clouds and overwhelms serious environmental damage by humans, which is very clear and provable. For instance, a few months ago a furor broke out about…
Erie Canal Harbor is gaining a new attraction. The Spirit of Buffalo, a 73′ replica schooner currently moored in Baltimore, is heading this way thanks to ex-pat owners Kathy and Richard Hilliman. The couple purchased the boat, currently named the Jolly Rover, with the intention of bringing it to their hometown for charter sails and maritime education sessions. A six week voyage to Buffalo was scheduled to begin yesterday. The Buffalo News has the story: The two-masted schooner will be based at the historic Commercial Slip and is certain to add to the growing recreational opportunities at Canal Side, the…
A few projects are moving forward even in trying economic times. Architect Karl Frizlen and contractor Paul Johnson’s 257 Lafayette LLC have started renovation work at the former Catholic Academy School. The pair are converting it into a mix of commercial and residential space. The three-story, 1928 school building on Lafayette Avenue near Grant Street will be transformed into 20, two-bedroom loft apartments and 11,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. Johnson and Frizlen will also be relocating their offices into the building and Frizlen’s wife will run a day care center in the building. “Our goal is to reinvigorate a…
This time of year can be very trying on the soul in Western New York. The gloom-blanket that smothered the area last week was enough to send one’s psyche over the edge. “Damn the brush fires and earthquakes! I am heading for California.” That was perhaps the number one thought on the minds of WNYers as the cold gray sleet burned into unprotected skin. It would be so easy to live in California or some other mild clime. Soft breezes and light clothes and sunlight! Oh for the simple pleasures of sunlight! Buffalonians like to think that their gloom is…
An ornate piece of Main Street’s 500 block is for sale. Chris Malakowski of Hunt Commercial Real Estate is listing the three-floor, 7,680 sq.ft. building at 523 Main Street with a $165,000 asking price. It is one of several properties on the block currently on the market. “523 is a very interesting building and I think the price is right.,” says Malachowksi. “The interesting part is that the back of 523 is actually ‘attached’ or contiguous to the back of Jay Newman’s (500) Washington Street listing creating several possible scenarios” if the two were combined. 500 Washington is a two-story,…