It's the Avant, See You There


The building is expected to be completed by June 1, 2009. However, as of right now you can contact Uniland's Judi Griggs at jgriggs@uniland.com to express your interest in one of the 37 condos. The condos are located on the top three floors of Avant and range from $370,000 to $1 million. One and two-story residences are available, with sizes ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 sq. ft.
According to Uniland during this morning's 10am press conference, The units are expected to go quick. As of Friday, June 20, Uniland received over 500 calls in relation to the condos. After screening, only 75 of the 500 calls emerged as serious inquiries. With only three floors, there has been substantial interest and they're expected to be on sale shortly.
If you miss out on a condo, don't worry, the first six floors of Avant will boast a 150 room Embassy Suites Hotel. The rooms will be decorated in rich reds and golds, and will have a great view of Buffalo and Canada from the paned glass that encircles the building.
As Uniland and Aquest come together to bring Avant to life. They've kept in mind that, "Buffalo is not making a comeback, it's moving forward into the future, just like the Avant," Carl Montante said.

According to Joy McDuffie, Foreclosure Prevention Specialist at the WNY Law Center, don’t believe everything you hear about foreclosures in Buffalo – they’re still a real problem. McDuffie says many think that Buffalo didn’t get hit hard by the sub prime lending market collapse, but that it just isn’t true.
“We’re really trying to help because Buffalo definitely has a foreclosure problem, but there are things that homeowners can do. We actually have a $700,000 two-y …
Medaille was founded in 1875 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph to prepare its members for teaching in diocesan schools. Later, in 1937 the institute was chartered by New York State to grant baccalaureate degrees in education; the college was renamed in honor of Father John Peter Medaille, and the rest is history.
Since its founding, Medaille has grown into a well-known, private, four-year college with their main campus located in the historic Olmsted Crescent in the heart of Buffa …
Since 1994, people have gone on the self-guided “Secrets of Allentown” tour, discovering the rich history of the area and the beauty of the architecture here in Buffalo. That tour once again returns, and though they’re willing to tell you the main attraction, to find out the rest of the homes, you’ll have to take the tour yourself.
The tour is on Sunday, September 14th and kicks off at the Clement Mansion where the Red Cross is headquartered at 786 Delaware Avenue. There, …
Maybe you read about this one last December, or maybe you took the time and looked over this one in April, and perhaps you considered attending this event back in June. Whatever your reasoning for putting it off, there’s no time like the present for Forgotten Buffalo, unless of course it’s the past.
Forgotten Buffalo Tours take participants on a journey into the history of the area, always striving to produce a unique and entertaining outing. Their success has allowed them to … 





Comment Options
Kip
Oh boy now there is going to be at least 20-30 people whining about the name....I am just hear to tell you there other things to worry about “move along please, focus your energy on more positive things”, carry on!
-Thank You
This a public service message from S.B.A.A.D.S
“Stop Buffaloians arguing about dumb shit”
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STEEL
You can be SBAADS' first client Kip
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rubygreta
But nobody in Bufallo makes more than 40K. Why couldn't the developer built 75 or 100 smaller condos and sell them for $150,000?
/sarcasm
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vivian
Did the building grow another story from the previous post about the building this AM?
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TownLine
I really like how you can see some of the vertical structure through the glass.
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SLEEPL8
is it "The Avant" or just "Avant" ...one name like Bono and Madonna. Will the hotel be "Embassy Suites at The Avant?" The could name it "Big Box of Dog Shit" for all I care. It looks great and thats what counts.
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carl
im sorry, its great this building is being remodeled, but that name is really pretentious.
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BuffaloSoldier
I love the name 'Avant'. As Carl Montante put it it "Buffalo is...moving forward into the future" and that name reflects such. It certainly beats some lame name as would be after its primary corporate tenant.
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kooksapalooza
gimmie a break...what woudl be a better name? "a former shitty bulilding that defined buffalo for years"?
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rb66
Did the building grow another story from the previous post about the building this AM?
If you count the basement floor it's 16. Basement, 1st - 15th.
250.75 feet from the basement to the penthouse roof.
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sally
Gotta love a building named after an Audi!!!
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wizardofza
Did this "news" really require 2 posts in the same day?? Or did Uniquest pay double the ad rate this time for these "articles"?
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NewBuffalo
"But nobody in Bufallo makes more than 40K"
Boy are you lost, a lot of jobs here pay 60K to 100K.
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Tuco
$1 million is WAY overpriced for downtown. They can get that in NYC and other large cities, but who in this area is going to pay that much for a place where they have a good chance of getting mugged or vomited on after the sun goes down?
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NewBuffalo
Better than "DULL"..SKI......much more modern and attractie.
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rubygreta
NewBuffalo - you missed my "sarcasm" tag.
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buffaloboy14
Tuco- $1million is not alot anymore. believe it or not there are mony wealthy people in the area that would have no problem buying this. Many people that can afford a million dollar home look to the suburbs because the city never even offerd a place in there price range untill recently. Watch for the penthouses to go quick!
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Ike
1 Million dollars probably gets you a one bedroom apartment in manhattan...it's not a lot of money as far as real estate is concerned for most of the country
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Tuco
I agree that there is a decent market for $1 million homes in the area, I just don't think that market includes a condo downtown. I really hope I'm wrong, and those higher-priced condos sell really quickly.
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buffaloboy14
Tuco- Condos are the new way to go these days. There #1 in the market right now and they were never offered in downtown Buffalo before so yea these will have no problem going.
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buffalogal
I live on Rabin Terrace - a block from Avant. I've been watching it from my kitchen table - as well as working on the project. There are 50 restaurants within a mile of my front door. My husband and I - often with visiting family and friends - walk to resturants, clubs, theater and sporting events - a few times a week - often times straight up Chippewa - and I can report with confidence that we have yet to encounter vomit or muggers. Come off the stereotypes and recognize we've got a good thing going in this neighborhood, which will only get better with 30 or so new households excited about living downtown...
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RonR
buffgal.
Bang a left instead of a right. :P
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BADASH
You GO, buffalogal!
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sonyactivision
I hope it sells out fast so Uniland can build another one!
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GDC
Finally, an all GLASS building in our downtown. And the condo's are almost sold out before completed, I do believe it's time to start planning another Tower downtown.
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DietSoda
This is redonk--it's like every time Buffalo RISING posts something good, commenters find a way to transform it into a hotbed of negativity! I urge us ALL to stop complaining about opinions and start looking for the bright side!
I live in Manhattan. I can't imagine a safer or better place to plan condos than here, and money in WNY is hardly an endangered species. Give it a rest.
Most people did comment with positives on this post, but for a few...
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scottnorwood
Fantastic Building. I drive by it every morning on my way to work and can't believe the transformation. I'm impressed with Uniland and i'm impressed with Buffalo.
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blackrocklifer
I remember people saying the "new housing" on the waterfront would never sell, they were wrong. Then it was the downtown housing that the critics claimed would never succeed, wrong again. This project is one more example of the rebirth of the city, a trend that is bound to continue as energy costs continue to rise.
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gaustad
Waterfront is nice, but you are crazy if you buy down there right now. Invnetory is piling up, NOTHING is moving.
Prices have already dropped over 20%!
Realtors (except MF) are looking at a 30-40% correction on waterfron like the rest of the country!
Furthermore, it will be real difficult for existing sellers to compete with new buildings that do not have a tax payment.
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AvaRouge
Gaustad, please list the source for your fiction: TonyMacaroni. 'Nuff said.
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sbrof
GDC is the Tishman blg too little glass for you?
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sally
sbrof: Tishman is not all Glass walk up Main from Shea's and all you see are some small outdated windows.
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KLW
Buffaloboy14 -- its great to see you getting so excited, in a positive way, about something (in all seriousness)! You spoke the truth; you're heart is with the glass buildings. ;)
This is an awesome building and, hopefully, the trend of redevelopment, mixed-use, and re-use will continue!
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buffaloboy14
Haha KLW, you must be referring to the other post about this building. I do like glass and brick though. buffalo would look good with a combo of both. Right now it hardly has any glass so this is needed. Re-use is great but there comes a point where you cant re-use anymore and I wish there wasnt a halt to the demo team to buildnings that have no hope. And for the best of both worlds (brick+glass) the Palidino buildings will consist of both which will be nice.
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buffaloboy14
Gaustad, did you go to a Buffalo Public school?
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MJWorthington
"Re-use is great but there comes a point where you cant re-use anymore and I wish there wasnt a halt to the demo team to buildnings that have no hope."
What is the definition of hope? And what is stopping building on the half of downtown that is parking or empty lots?
This was a great reuse of a structure with a removalble skin. Would be nice if there was more older buidlings in tact around it to be reflected. City hall, niagara Square etc will look great relected on the new courthouse.
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