Buffalo Rising Online

Feb 22nd 2006, 7:18am By West Coast Perspective

Buehl Slideshow

Renovation work is continuing at the Buehl Block building, 36 Broadway at the corner of Ellicott that we featured back in November.

Work has taken longer than anticipated due to unexpected complications that come with restoring a 130-year-old Second Empire style brick building. The good news is the project has been expanded to include the adjacent two-story building at 285 Ellicott Street that will be home to a firm relocating to downtown.

285 Ellicott Street will soon be undergoing renovations for conversion to industrial loft-type office space. The space is being renovated to the specifications of Northern Ecological Associates, Inc. (NEA) who will be putting their staff of approximately 15 environmental scientists, planners, and archaeologists on the second floor and part of the first. NEA does natural resource based environmental consulting, specializing in environmental impact assessments, restoration ecology, wetlands studies, energy project development, and archaeological investigations, and works on projects nationwide, and occasionally internationally.

Roger Trettel, founding Principal of NEA and owner of the 36 Broadway/285 Ellicott complex is excited about the prospect of moving the operation downtown and being part of the downtown Buffalo renaissance. NEA is targeting moving into the building sometime in April. The 285 Ellicott building will sport new windows, storefronts, cornice, and paint, and will remain consistent with its appearance in Charles Burchfield's painting "Rainy Night". At least one of the two storefronts at 285 Ellicott is still available.

Work is nearing completion on the 1875 Buehl building. The four-story structure will feature five beautiful, state-of-the-art residences on the upper floors and two highly visible storefronts (which could be combined into a great corner space). Space from 1,000 to 3,700 sq.ft. is available for retail or office tenants. David Doerr at Hunt Commercial Real Estate is handling leasing of the retail space at the project.

The residential units, which are being set up for potential future condo conversion, will have some of the finest finishes and features available downtown. One unit will comprise the entire 2nd floor (2300 sq.ft.) and will have three bedrooms and two baths, and has 14 floor to ceiling windows overlooking Lafayette Square and the library. The other four units are two-bedroom, two-bath, 2-level units that will occupy the 3rd and 4th floors. All have great city views and funky, individual floor plans. Jim Mack at Holcberg Realty is marketing the residential portion of the property and is establishing a list of interested parties.

The developer is hoping to be ready for an open house in the next few weeks. We hope to give you a sneak peak of the apartments in an upcoming post.

Get Connected: David Doerr, Hunt Commercial, 854-5943. Jim Mack, Holcberg Realty, 716.743.6588.