A contractor has purchased a long-vacant building fronting Roosevelt Plaza, a vote of confidence and money in the critical 500 Block of Main Street.
Genesee Block LLC, a company headed by Buffalo contractor Nathaniel Fountain, purchased 9 Genesee Street yesterday for $60,000. Fountain is said to be planning two residential units on the building's second and third floors and reportedly has a tenant in tow for the first floor commercial space.
Fountain purchased the building from Spa Lofts LLC which had similar plans for the property. That partnership, made up of five friends, three in Buffalo, one in Rochester and one in Manhattan, , purchased the property in July 2005 for $74,500. The Spa Lofts proposal called for two apartments on the upper floors with retail on the ground floor of the six decade-old building.
Their redevelopment plans were sunk by time constraints and spiraling restoration costs. The fully-gutted building was put up for sale in 2008 with a $140,000 asking price and has been on and off the market since.
Fountain joins a growing number of recent buyers and investors in the 500 Block of Main Street where construction work to return vehicular traffic is expected to start next year.
Yippee. Get it done. Roosevelt is a no-brainer for the City. Why hasn't Snyder been more adamant with the City that they do something to promote it? It's gotta be embarrassing for your hotel guests; and even more embarrassing for the City hosting 20k+ on New Years Eve.
I'd be embarrassed if I was Snyder. He has continued to rely on taxpayers to keep the Hyatt viable since its beginning. Instead of looking across the street, he should look at the appearance of his own building, which has not changed or been updated since the 80's.
What has Paul Snyder done to improve this city in the past 10 years, and why does he always get a free pass? How about investing some of that money you earned from the sale of the Braves into the rehab of a building or two downtown?
You're killing your father Larry.
I don't know how the city of Buffalo is Mr. Snyder's problem. Just because he is a successful businessman does mean it owes it to the community.
Yes, he benefitted from tax breaks and other things to promote business, but so do many other developers. It's not like the inducements are not available to others.
I'm glad this is moving forward!