Thieves stripped $100,000 worth of copper and other metal items from Bethune Hall at 2915 Main Street. According to the owner, Meyer Landau, and reported in the Buffalo News, the theft occurred sometime between November 11 and Sunday. Landau is based in Brooklyn.
Landau purchased the four-story building adjacent to Bennett High School for $384,000 in April 2006 through an auction conducted by the State. At the time of purchase, Landau announced plans to convert the building into loft-style apartments, artists' studios and offices. Foit-Albert Associates was retained to draw up plans (below). Four months later the property was put up for sale.
The structure was designed and built by Lockwood, Green & Company in 1915 for the Buffalo Meter Company, a manufacturer of liquid meters. In 1971, the State of New York acquired the building from The Singer Company, as successor to Buffalo Meter Company, and after a rehabilitation in 1973, the SUNY School of Architecture and Design moved into the building and renamed it Bethune Hall (named after Louise Blanchard Bethune, architect of the Lafayette Hotel, the first professional woman architect in the United States). Classes ceased at the building in 1993 and SUNY had been using it for storage.
The State Historic Preservation Office has determined the property is eligible for listing on the State and National Register of Historic Places and therefore, it may qualify for Historic Preservation Tax Credits and other special programs for historic properties. Architects Lockwood, Green also designed the 10-story Larkin at Exchange Building in the Larkin District.
The property has an asking price of $2,150,000. It might be safe to say there have been no tire kickers since November 11.
Get Connected: Arthur Judelsohn of Pyramid Brokerage, 716.691.9329