Tishman Bids Due Today

its pretty smooth when you have a vacant high rise right in the middle of your city that you can't even give away....way to go Buffalo, nothing has changed in 30 years!

BuffaloObesity, that's just vague, ignorant naysaying.

I'd love to see the Rand building mirrored, those two structures really don't fit well together... fingers crossed!

Perfect location for condos.

B.O.: This town isnt for everyone. Instead of *****ing about Buffalo why dont you just move away?

It's in a great location. The building needs to upgrade its interior. A mixed use plan could really make this property a gem.

Tough time to be selling a building but I am confident that this location, with some of the highest pedestrian traffic in the city will find a new purpose.

A good mixed use could help this building and location create even more life. It would also help to alleviate such limbo periods in the future.

PS, really like that mirror rendering.. Kind of neat. I am all form architectural variety... but these two buildings are just too much for my eyes. I never likes the contrast...

I think it has something to do with the fact that they physically touch.. modern buildings like the Tishman really are not meant to share walls like that. Maybe it's just me.

B.O.

Time to have your coffee.

Nothing's changed? There is over a billion dollars of construction going on in Buffalo.
And that's going to grow.

Soon we're going to have high speed rail, a new downtown UB campus, and a new waterfront.

The big problem with this building, as much as it pains me to say this, is the lack of vehicular access. When Main Street was closed to traffic and Lafayette Square's traffic pattern was reworked it really limited access to this building. Its essentially on an island. What would help this property immensely is to design in a mix of uses, put cars back on Main and possibly incorporating some form of internal parking within the building. The Buffalo-Niagara area is very car oriented but, if done correctly cars and people can coexist quite easily and together contribute to the creation of a relatively dense urban environment.

The big problem with this building, as much as it pains me to say this, is the lack of vehicular access. When Main Street was closed to traffic and Lafayette Square's traffic pattern was reworked it really limited access to this building. Its essentially on an island. What would help this property immensely is to design in a mix of uses, put cars back on Main and possibly incorporating some form of internal parking within the building. The Buffalo-Niagara area is very car oriented but, if done correctly cars and people can coexist quite easily and together contribute to the creation of a relatively dense urban environment.

the previous problem with this building is that the land was owned by someone else. would you make significant upgrades to your own home....if you didnt own the land?

if indeed the land and the building are owned by one entity, then this should get sold and redeveloped.

although...this really isn't the best economy to try to sell something this significant in. just buffalos luck...we start to build in our downtown core...and the world economy takes a big dump.

this would make great condos...and upgrade the lafayette hotel...would change everything in that part of downtown.

The building needs a lot, including all new windows and HVAC as well as extensive remodeling. I hope it goes to a deep pocketed local developer (take your pick among a handful).

The underlying land lease was the biggest barrier to investing in this building previously. It's certainly not the case that the building 'couldn't be given away', Obesity. This is a long way from the disposition of the AM&As building.

Still, even with the land, it's not an easy sale and it's not an easy conversion to residential as some have occasionally advocated. The floor plates work, the location works. What doesn't work is parking. Residential requires parking. Maybe in Manhattan residents will walk a block or two to their cars. In Buffalo, people paying big bucks (any conversion would be costly) will not buy a condo or rent a pricey apartment where they can't park. Just ask Ron Alsheimer. His Pearce Building apartments across from Shea's rent far below cost due in large part to the parking. He secures parking across the street a few buildings away instead of next to his building (uncooperative neighbor). That inconvenience hurts at the upper end of the market. People don't want to park their Mercedes or Jag in some public lot a block away from their home.

WCP, thank you providing the rendering. I hadn't seen that previously.

Biniskiewicz, I appreciate your informative comments regarding the building.

Gaustad, you're now calling yourself BuffaloObesity but your nonsense remains the same.

Speaking of parking.....

What are some logical options?

Is it even possible to retrofit the 2nd and 3rd floors to parking? Letting cars in and out on Lafayette Square or Main once access to cars is restored?

no parking =National Fuel jetting to the southtowns... Noone will take this...no parking...thats reality!
BO...i agree with u...and it's sad

There is ample space for a garage across Washington street. Someone could build condos and partner with whoever owns the parking lot there to build a garage. Auto problem solved. The condos dont have to be upscale either. You could make them fall in the 100k to 150k range and wouldnt need private parking. If the $ doesnt add up use historic preservation credits to bridge the gap like Holling Place or IS Lofts. The way pent up condo demand is in downtown I dont think parking will be an issue.

@ iluvbulls

Do you know who the owner of that lot on Washington is? Does anyone know? Are they selling? Problem still exists.

Besides, IF this turns into something good AND downtown turns the corner, that lot is PERFECT for a high rise of it's own w/ parking included.

I also do not think lower units would work, simply because @150k per, you would not be able to cover the cost of needed repairs.

Just throwing out ideas. Property ownership is public record so you could easily find out who owns that lot. If that one doesnt work expand the nearby mohawk st ramp. Again I think with demand for for sale units downtown you could have parking a block away and the places would still sell like hot cakes.
As far as the cheap unit thing goes, you can get federal money to bridge the gab between the cost of renovation and the rent-sale price that the market will bear. Thats how the Holling place can rent out their apts for 500/month even though it cost well over that to refurbish that industrial building The only catch is you have to make a portion or all of your units availible to people under a certain income level. For example you could buy a Tishman condo for 120k but your income couldnt be higher than 35k.

keep drreaming...no credit, housing crisis...anyone watch CNBC??? get a clue people...no parking=no company
thats why its empty

you people are all dreamers and are the reason why Buffalo is so vacant...b/c you fail to address its problems. So many people here still believe there is nothing wrong with down town! Its comical.

Sony, there are no other major cities with as many vacant buidings as Buffalo. tool?

Go to any major city, see the hustle and bustle of downtown, then come back here. Its a depressing war zone!

Be realistic Buffalo!

Whatever: My deepest apology for not being as well versed in mortgage underwriting as you.
Its not like Im pulling these ideas from the moon. There are at least three rental properties downtown that have used similar financing to get done. (Holling Place, Oak School, IS lofts). Im not sure what the national mortgage crisis has to do with the already strong demand for downtown housing.

pit,

just so you know, if the building ends up being eligible for historic tax credits, it could not be converted to condos, the propety must be income producing so they'd have to be apartments for a minimum of five years.

There are plenty of people doing great things in this city.
Stop complaining and ---do something. Lot's of other people are.

Gotta love all these great ideas. Problem is that there are no new jobs coming to Buffalo, therefore no need for office space. Flatten it and build a parking lot.

Really,

My guess is the Tishman building is nearly as old as those that were demolished. While it may not suit your taste, cities change and this building is part of the urban fabric. The first step towards historic designation is being 50 years old, so yes the Tishman is eligible to at least be considered for the historic designation process, the first step in the tax credit process.

I wish this site existed when they rendered the addition to this building. I would love to read people's comments. I can only imagine...

Nick,

I actually like the look of the building. It is a classic "filler" for a city. I am not sure what the interior looks like but I have been watching "Mad Men" and the office on that show is from the 50's and would be "hip" today.

However, what was there before the Tishman was the Buffalo German Insurance Co. Building. I guess you did not know this.

This building was a "one of a kind" and often listed as one of the biggest "why did we demo it"....

Here is a link:

http://www.buffaloah.com/a/elmwd/590/hist/image/3.jpg

The building on the left is the Tishman site. THAT 6 story gem WAS the Buffalo German Insurance Co. Building.

Here is another link:

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/TYPE/1879_Buffalo_German_Insurance_Co_Buffalo_NY_1883_photo.jpg

and another:

http://www.wnyheritagepress.org/photosofweek/german_ins_bldg.htm

Really,

I know what was there, but I'm 26, so it was never there in my lifetime. I'm not denying that the German Insurance Co. Bld was a good piece of architecture, of course it was, but its been gone a long time, and the Tishman has gained its own significance, which shouldn't be diminished because of previous bad decisions.