A new retail building at Niagara and Albany streets anchored by a Tim Hortons will be reviewed by the Buffalo Planning Board on November 5. Ellicott Development is proposing a 4,600 sq.ft. retail building for a vacant 1.59 acre parcel at 1088 Niagara Street. It will house a 2,000 sq.ft. Tim Hortons with room for a second restaurant or retail tenant. Ellicott Development CEO Bill Paladino says the plan for the development is still being refined.
According to the information provided to the Planning Board, the “exterior will feature hardi-plank siding, storefront windows, and gooseneck lighting. Each tenant will have a separate entrance, highlighted by a parapet to break up the mass of the building.”
Proposed two-tenant retail building and site plan with drive through and proposed future parking lot expansion to accommodate future reuse of a vacant adjacent building at 1050 Niagara Street.
Tim Hortons, which opened at Canalside this morning, launched its first restaurant in Hamilton, Ontario in 1964. As of June, Tim Hortons had 4,546 systemwide restaurants, including 3,630 in Canada, 866 in the United States. The company is in the process of being sold to Burger King.
Ellicott Development anticipates starting the project in March and have it complete by next July if City approvals are obtained.
The retail project will occupy one of three large properties Ellicott Development owns along the revitalizing Niagara Street corridor. Ellicott purchased buildings at 960 Busti Avenue and 1050 Niagara Street from Ciminelli Development in April 2008. The company has plans to convert 960 Busti into a mix of residential and commercial space. Plans for the two-story, 52,000 sq.ft. 1050 Niagara Street have not been announced.
Niagara Street has seen a spurt of new investment as of late including a significant investment by Rich Products into its Atrium complex, Resurgence Brewing opening at 1250 Niagara, the planned renovation of 1225 Niagara into a restaurant and apartments, and Sugar City and 12 Grain Studio locating on the 1200 block.
The street, which is scheduled to get a makeover, has gobs of potential. Industrial buildings are ripe for reuse but many are occupied by a mix of manufacturing and distribution companies. Others, such as Ciminelli-owned 990 Niagara Street and the former Agway Warehouse at 1100 Niagara Street owned by Giles Kavanagh, await repurposing. There’s even talk that a developer is eyeing the seven-story Bison Storage & Warehouse Corp. at 1502 Niagara for a conversion project.