Cobblestone Lofts: Coolest Development Downtown?
Buffalo developers Sam Savarino of Savarino Construction and Chris Jacobs of Avalon Development are involved in what could be the coolest development project downtown. It’s a $15 million project that will recast the vacant Benlin Distribution Services complex (five buildings along Mississippi Street between Perry and South Park Avenue) into a spacious first-of-its-kind luxury commercial and residential project adjacent to the Erie Canal Harbor.
It’s a phased project that will begin with the conversion of a five-story warehouse building at Mississippi and Perry into a 36 unit luxury apartment building. The first floor of the structure will be a restaurant, and private garages for residents will replace the one-story building directly behind it on Mississippi.
Lighting is planned on the facade of the building which will be visible from the Niagara Thruway.
Chris Jacobs said, “It's great that Bass Pro is coming and other development is planned, but this project isn't dependent on anything. It can be successful in its own right."
Take a look at the site, especially these renderings. Rarely have we seen such a sexy set of drawings.
This is an absolutely fabulouse project that will transform this neighborhood.
Too bad we still have some of Buffalo's old guard blocking further progress by sitting on some great buildings letting them rot.
That's where Buffalo Rising offices and studio should be located.
WOW! This is just what Buffalo needs! When I first saw that part of town I knew it was just waiting to happen - what potential! It reminds me of close-in industrial SE Portland, which is beginning to develop into a new, hip area now that The Pearl has come of age and become ultra-expensive. I only wish that the residntial units would be for sale rather than rentals. I hope that the restaurant will be designed with giant rollup doors so that it will transfrorm into a big open-air dining experience on those glorious summer evenings: Check out http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/40118135/ to see what I'm talking about. What more appropriate city for an indutrial chic restaurant than BUFFALO!!!!
Awesome...clearly, additional upscale development will take place in area and shows that proactive developers will drive downtown development not goverment.
Does a casino make sense now?
Dear DB,
A casino makes even less sense now. Would you want to live next door to a casino? Would you want to raise kids next door to one?
I thought so.
No I agree..I think now more than ever is reason not to have casino in Buffalo especially in Cobblestone. A casino would only curb any solid devlopment.
Someone should let our elected leaders know what is really going on and a casino is not the solution.
THere is more reason than ever to have a casino. Diverse cities full of amny activeities all combined into a messy mixture are the best cities. That fact that this neighborhood is developing in advance of a Casino is a godsend. Casinos do not drive developement (at least they do not in the isolated manerin which they are currently designed) but if there are other attractive elements in proximity to a casino the multiple functions and traffic that they bring to the area will start to thrive off each other.
Think of it any successful restaurant in this area will most certainly be ever so much more successful if the streets are filled with constant pedestrian traffic generated by a casino (and Bass Pro for that matter). And people will be much happier living in proximity to lively streets than on dark dead scary streets. In turn a casino in this area is going to be much more attractive to visit if the streets around it have some life.
There is nothing about a casino which would make apartment life in this neighborhood unattractive and having 2000 new employees working across the street sure is not going to hurt rentals.
Unfortunately if the casino goes through the full-block surface parking lot that BenLin looks upon will be converted to a parking ramp. Talk about a street-life killer.
Take a drive up to NF, NY and see what kind of private-sector development we can expect from a casino. Well, don't go up today, maybe in five years you'll be able to see one or two examples.
nix the kids in cobblestone! move them to delaware district or near west side or even the suburbs. Cobblestone needs a critical mass of twenty and thirty somethings with an eye for kia not toys R us. Private sector development seems to be working fine across the border...is it the casino's or the cost of business in New York State that has NF in a perpetual development funk? If the seneca's had their choice they'd probably open their next new place in Ontario, not New York.
Great project, though it's too bad the developers plan to demolish a perfectly sound one-story structure in the middle of the block that could be a fantastic small office or retail space. They'd be better off reconsidering that aspect of the development, and it would serve the city better to have a more consistent streetwall and greater opportunities for active ground-floor uses rather than less. There's still too great a focus on off-street parking -- with an underlying insecurity and deference to suburban development patterns -- despite the obvious good qualities of the proposed renovations.
Since the Article did not don so, I thought that the public should know that the project is being designed by the Buffalo Architectural, Engineering and Interior Design firm of Carmina & Wood, P.C. located at 487 Main Street.
I thought it proper to respond to some of the comments regarding the demolition of some of the existing structures on the block.
The "loading dock" building in the middle of the site will remain. It is our hope to have one or more retail or "entertainment" tenants located there. The low rise structure immediately adjacent to the five story building at Mississippi and Perry streets was collapsing and not usable. We had considered keeping the exterior wall near the street so that the existing streetscape could remain but it was too unstable.
Our plans were submitted to the City of Buffalo Preservation Board and were approved.
I would like to acknowledge the good work of our project architect, Carimina-Wood. We will soon correct the fact that they are not mentioned on the project website. Sorry about that Steve!
Thank you for all of the encouraging comments.
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MY NAME IS OLIVER W. CAVITT AND I LIVE IN LEDYARD, CT. I AM A FORMER BUFFALONIAN AND I AM HAPPY THAT BUFFALO IS PLANNING TO BUILD A CASINO. I WORK AT A CASINO IN LEDYARD CONNECTICUT CALLED MOHEGAN SUN AND THE MOHEGAN TRIBE HAVE BEEN A VERY POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON THE ECONOMY OF SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT AND THE CITY OF NORWICH CONNECTICUT WHICH IS NEXT TO THE CASINO IS COMING BACK TO LIFE AFTER BEING ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED FOR MANY YEARS. ALSO, MANY CUSTOMERS FOR MOHEGAN SUN COME FROM ALL 6 NEW ENGLAND STATES AS WELL AS NEW YORK CITY. MOHEGAN SUN HAS AN ARENA WITH A WNBA FRANCHISE AS WELL AS ENTERTAINERS SUCH AS DONNA SUMMER, WHTINEY HOUSTON, TOM JONES DOLLY PARDON AND TOBY KEITH WHO COME THERE. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF DEPARTMENTS AND 10000 EMPLOYEES WORKING AT MOHEGAN SUN. LOCAL RESIDENSTS AS WELL AS IMMIGRANTS FROM AFRICA, CHINA, THE CARRIBEAN, PHILLIPPINES AND SOUTH AMERICA WORK THERE.
I WOULD SUGGEST THAT BARRY SNYDER COMES TO MOHEGAN SUN IN UNCASVILLE CONNECTICUT TO SEE WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE. I ALSO SUGGEST THAT BUFFALO CREEK SHOULD BUILD A HOTEL LIKE WE HAVE AT MOHEGAN SUN AND ALSO MAYBE GET A WNBA FRANCHISE LIKE WE HAVE WITH THE CONNECTICUT SUN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM. I'M SURE THAT THERE IS A MARKET FOR CUSTOMERS IN INDIANA, PENNSYVANIA AND OHIO AS WELL AS CANADA AS WELL AS BUFFALO AND THE SUBURBS.