CityView Property's Genesee Gateway project at the intercept welcome of downtown Buffalo is rapidly speeding toward completion. Windows have replaced boards, while scaffolding is in place with workers fixing outer walls and brick facades. A giant crane is spotted, towering over the circa-1850's historic building landscape, bringing steel to the mid-block gap in the Genesee Block's urban fabric.
Steel is starting to rise in the center of the long-anticipated project where a new infill structure will provide elevator access to the floors of the adjacent historic buildings. Dozens of construction workers are on site each day. CityView expects the $12 million project will be completed by next spring and be open for initial tenants within three months.
For three decades, the first thing people saw coming off the Kensington Expressway was a windowless, rusting block of old, dilapidated buildings. Soon it will be a bustling complex of entertainment, retail, and office space. Awnings and landscaping will contribute to the new character of the beautifully restored historic buildings. Combined with dozens of residences in nearby buildings such as Ellicott Lofts, Ellicott Commons, IS Lofts and Oak School Lofts, the Genesee Gateway will anchor this still developing district, a more fitting welcome for all who come downtown.
Next Spring can't come soon enough!
Photos taken Wednesday by: Nathan Mroz (Buffalonian4life) of BuffaloScenicPrints.com
5 years ago when I moved here from Las Vegas, I came into downtown to check things out and THIS was the first thing I saw. This project is very important to Buffalo and I think we can be proud of how far things have come. Great project!!