Chason Affinity Cos. is diving into the hotel and luxury condo market in a big way. Despite today's difficult economic climate, the developer is planning an eight-story, mixed-use project for the corner of Elmwood and Forest avenues. The $25 million building will include ground floor retail, a boutique hotel with 125 rooms, enclosed parking for 160 cars, and 20 condominiums on the top three floors according to today's The Buffalo News:
The building, designed by local architect Charles Gordon, would feature a "stacked" design, with the first floor built out to the sidewalk and upper floors getting progressively smaller.
"It allows us to build a larger building with great density without overpowering the site. It can be tall without appearing tall," (Affinity Chief Executive Jeffrey) Birtch said.
The building also is designed to anchor the high-profile intersection, with a rounded, lighthouselike tower at the corner. And exterior facade materials also vary, with extensive use of glass on the corner tower and lower floors and a mix of brick styles and colors on upper levels.
The rear of the building, which overlooks Granger Place, is designed with windows angled to face adjoining portions of the structure rather than directing down into backyards. Parking for 160 vehicles is incorporated into the first two floors of the building, completely out of view.
"There would be nothing else like this in Buffalo. It's more like something you'd see in Toronto," said (Affinity President Mark) Chason, who lives a few blocks from the site.
The Amherst-based firm is hoping to succeed where plans for a smaller hotel project failed two years ago. Savarino Companies' plans for a boutique hotel met with neighborhood resistance and were ultimately done in by deed restrictions that prohibited commercial use on much of the site.
Savarino's proposed 72-room Wyndham Hotel proposal.
Chason Affinity is counting on a better outcome and has had meetings with neighbors to discuss its plans:
"We need to work with surrounding residents and businesses on this and want to be good neighbors. No project ever gets 100 percent support, but we think a majority will be very excited about this," Affinity Chief Executive Jeffrey Birtch said.
The developers met with immediate neighbors of the site last February, months before the company purchased any of the properties, to get their input on what type of project would be appropriate.
"They were very clear that they weren't interested in student housing, which is something we were thinking about, so we went in a different direction," Chason said.
The company assembled the eleven property site from five separate owners at a cost of $2.06 million.
With plans to start construction next year, Chason will have little competition in the new-build city condo market when units are available in late-2011. Ellicott Development has sold 29 of 49 units in the recently-completed Pasquale at Waterfront Place.
On Delaware Avenue, Uniland Development expects to have its 27 residential units in the Avant sold by mid-2010. Residents will start moving into the glass-skinned building this fall.
Other condominium projects on the horizon include the FJF Development's Elmwood Village Condo project, Uniland's proposed tower on Gate Circle, a possible second tower at Waterfront Place, and two projects in Waterfront Village- 30 townhouses by NEMO Development and eight town homes along with 18 condos in a mid-rise building at Casa Luce.
Chason's project must still undergo an environmental review and obtain City approvals.
To be honest I liked the design of the failed hotel project better. Its wasteful on many levels to hack down several viable properties in an area that is succssful because of its density and unique atmosphere. It would be nice to see somthing this ambitious proposed at Elmwood and Auburn over the Willson farms or over the EV's numerous suburban style gas stations.
I will say its nice to see the developer go out of their way to involve the local residents before this was made public. Its also good to see a more diverse project involving retail residential and hospitality. Although if the last proposal failed, Im not sure why this one wont.