Just two months after taking title to the Trico property, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) is not wasting time in planning improvements. The non-profit agency has received a $4.5 million grant under the Restore NY Communities Initiative program to begin renovations to the four-story portion of the former manufacturing complex.
Restore NY is designed to encourage economic development and neighborhood growth by providing municipalities with financial assistance for revitalization of commercial and residential properties. The City of Buffalo applied for funding under the program on behalf of BNMC.
“This grant allows us to immediately move forward on renovations of the former four-story Trico building at 640 Ellicott Street. Our goal is to help grow local biotech companies while at the same time trying to attract companies from Canada, internationally, and across the United States to the medical campus,” said Matthew K. Enstice, Executive Director of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
BNMC purchased the Trico complex to provide space for medical research expansion and the University of Buffalo will take the M. Wile building as part of its long-range 2020 plan of increasing its downtown presence. The $20 million sale was finalized in November.
Plans for the larger, six-story portion of the Trico building at the corner of Ellicott and Goodell streets have not been finalized according to Kari Root Bonaro, BNMC’s Director of Communications and Government Affairs.
BNMC was founded in 2001 by key health care and research institutions, the City of Buffalo, and neighborhood stakeholders, and serves as the single entity charged with collaboratively planning and implementing projects and programs for the medical campus.
More than 8,000 people work at the medical campus each day. Together, the BNMC institutions host over one million patient visits annually and account for approximately $1.5 billion in economic impact each year. The medical campus consists of more than 4.5 million square feet of research, clinical, and support space.