AM&A's Warehouse Conversion Underway This Week

Hurry, put signs on the buildings so Mayor Brown doesn't tear them down as a therapeutic demolition.

Too bad they could not keep that 70's style warehouse for parking. The "building in a sea of parking" system of development currently in vogue among Buffalo developers is not healthy for the city over the long run.

The AM&As building is actually 6 buildings (3 on Washington with the original independent facades and 3 on Main Street with a united internatonal style facade)

The AM&As building owner should take the 3 individually fronted buildings on Washington should be broken back up into 3 individual buildings and developed as residential or office.

This would allow the other 50% front Main to be developed as a seemless building.

They could even put an ellicott style atrium in the center with elevators and staircases.

judging from the recent poll where BRO readers entered their ages, I guess I am among the few who remember the old store. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy to see the new incarnation of one of my most favorite buildings. But, I am struck with the return of old memories of my home store. Back in the day when I wanted to shop for clothes, My parents (from the age of 10) would allow me to spend 10 cents to ride the bus into downtown to buy my own clothes with the family charge-a-plate. There were no malls north of the city yet, so downtown was a very busy place. I can still remember the smells of the store, the well dressed, stuffy retail workers who waited on me, and the air of sophistication they presented. I loved going downtown and always felt safe there probably because it was. As s side note, I was always given three dimes per trip. Two of them were for bus fare coming and going. The other one for a telephone if I got lost. My further instructions were to never accidentally get off on the dangerous West Side. If I accidentally got a bus heading east (presumably a safer mistake), I was to ask the driver to put me on the right bus. Age 10.
This means that the store is never coming back ever. But, in the words of Martha Stewart, "It is a good thing."

Great news; I sure hope they can rent all 48 of those loft apartments when they are completed. I wonder what the current market is looking like for apartment rentals and condos downtown? Is there a high demand?

This project is good news especially coming from Rocco Termini. He has done some nice work. I'm not a big fan of parking lots either but that ugly 70's style building belongs on the UB Amherst campus.

these will make great living spaces, real loft s instead of loft "style". Pity about the parking lot though.

Go Rocco go!

I'm glad they're keeping the "AM&A's" sign. Nice idea, and sure to be a nice project for downtown.

I am a firm believer that if you build it they will come. If you are looking for this sort of living situation, regardless of cost, and there is nothing available then why would you consider moving to this area? If you want people to buy a product it helps to have one available to sell. I hope this works out. Good luck fellas!

It isn't that parking is unnecessary but how it is located and perceived around the city. Many developers see surface parking as the only option when looking at a project. The city also require individual projects to provide for their own parking instead of looking at the whole parking system as an infrastructure for downtown.

Probably 25-30% of the develop-able land in downtown (aka everything outside of ROW) is parking. There is plenty of parking in downtown, and in all parts of downtown. The problem is that it often locked up and unusable by people. Many offices just lot their lots after hours leaving the public to fight and scrap for what's left. We need to properly manage parking around the downtown core so that access to parking is available to everyone, not just individual projects.

Think of this housing project. When people leave for work (assuming they drive someplace) the lot will sit empty all day while the commuters coming into downtown don't have access to it. Same with bars and clubs. There is plenty of supply but the management of the resource creates the problem and leads to more buildings being demolished and fewer reasons for people to go downtown.

i agree, steel. turn that old building into a ramp instead of knocking it down. ramps and parking lots are a disease of the mind in buffalo. and although i hate ramps, i'd rather see that building converted to a ramp (if possible) than yet another surface lot. i believe we have enough of those from the like, 90 percent of buildings demolished in the 40's - 60's for parking

Great to see more building reuse downtown.
Sad that there will be another demolition for surface parking when there is an 8 story parking ramp across the street and a huge surface lot around the corner.
Let's try to be a little creative - or even thoughtful.

Outside of the parking conversation, this is another great re-use project overall. Another 48 units and perhaps 65-100 residents in our downtown core can go along way to spurring new business ventures.

I just stopped into 2nd cup over the last weekend, then the Washington Market the weekend before and Feras in the electric tower. All these places are opening their doors along what is quickly becoming the residential corridor in downtown.

It is a wedge of buildings that were left standing between the Elm \ Oak devastation and the office that is between Delaware and Main. These streets have the resource to make projects like this possible. Existing buildings. Remember that except for the waterfront draw there is very little NEW construction for residential in downtown... mainly because new construction comes at a premium to renovation if you want a similar amount of space and character.

I think we all would prefer to see parking structures to surface lots, but the cost is over ten times that of what a surface lot is. I imagine converting an old building like the 60s add-on to a parking ramp would be even more expensive. What this really comes down to is a realistic approach to economics in this City. This isn't to say we can't have good development here, because this is obviously an example of it. But we have to resign ourselves to the fact that the market demand in downtown Buffalo is not overly competitive, especially in this economy where banks are loath to lend. Did anyone ever stop to think that Mr. Termini most likely would not be able to secure financing for this project if it incorporated a $25,000 cost/space parking garage?

Great news that Rocco is getting underway with this.

As for the 1965 building, I think the Eagle facade could have been kept and spiced up, and would have provided a nice screening of the parking lot from the street. Framework could have been kept which would have allowed some of the parking to be covered -- a plus in a snowy climate. In other words, I think that with some creativity, some of that building and streetscape could have been retained, and added value to the overall project.

On the other hand, I'd guess Rocco and the Carmina folks looked into this. I understand that the funding for this project was a bit touch-and-go after the enhanced preservation tax credits (which had been passed by both houses of the legislature) were vetoed by the Governor last year -- and I'm sure the tanking economy didn't help either -- so perhaps those funding constraints squeezed out the possibility of that kind of creative reuse. If so, it's a shame.

Hey bflobr, I too have lived downtown for over 3 years in a building that doesn't offer parking for its residents, but there are 2 surface parking lots and a ramp on 3 sides of my building. Buffalo Civic Auto Ramps runs the ramp next door (as well as the ramp adjacent to this AM&A's project), where tenants in my building can park overnight from 5:00 p.m. until 9:30 a.m. on weekdays and all weekend long for $33.50/month. That is about the cost of one city parking ticket - well worth it. If you need to park outside of those hours, you can pay more. I rarely have trouble finding a free spot on the street if I need to stop home between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

While I agree that parking can be a nightmare downtown, you can't argue that there is an abundance of surface parking in the CBD. The city even allowed Ellicott Development to pave over a portion of W Mohawk for the Belesario's parking lot. What about bringing cars back to Main St? That portion of Mohawk could have been reopened. Where are the city's planners!!!??

I think that a comprehensive parking plan that takes the relatively recent influx of downtown residents into consideration would be in the best interest of our city. (i.e. if you want to encourage people to live downtown, develop a discounted parking program for downtown residents)

^ feelings long lost in the walmart and target America of today.

I've had mixed feelings regarding the use of tax credits and IDA incentives for housing development downtown. Consider, however, a possible (perhaps likely) alternative: gradual dilapidation, decline in property value, and eventually demolition at the expense of the taxpayer. I'd prefer renovation to the alternative in this case, and believe we likely scored a break in total cost sustained by the taxpayer in the long term.

bflobr, is there were complaints from my about Brown hiring someone new it would be because he already doesn't listen to is actual planners, let alone us 'armchair' ones out there.

The city should have a comprehensive parking strategy but hiring a czar to make 80k a year only to have the mayor not listen to him either doesn't make sense.

Next door to the AM&A's building, on Main St, is the Brisbane Building. I passed by today, and the red granite panels had been removed surrounding the entrance. Underneath, the original entrance is visible. It has two large columns, topped by an arch. On either side of the arch are two angel-like figures. It appears the crevices were filled with brick and mortar, and protruding pieces were chisled off. The entire thing was covered in granite slabs back then. Does anyone know if the original entrance is being restored? It is reminiscent of the Ellicott Square Building entrances.

This is a great project; more like it please!!!!

Not to take away from this great idea, but WHY does every step forward come with a step back? Every project here in Buffalo comes with a parking not. This is NOT how CITIES are laid out!!! WHY waste the $11 mil creating critical mass and liveliness, and then PURPOSELY create a dead space next door?

A parking lot will only EVER provide parking. How many great businesses could that little building house that would be SO MUCH BETTER!