Buffalo Rising Online

This building is a mssive win for Buffalo. Reuse of these kinds of buildings is setting the stage for the possibility of future exiting new buildings. People lament that Buffalo has not added a major new office tower to its skyline since HSBC. The thing is Buffalo has been quietly working on infill restoration. This is like laying the groundwork for new construction as these type spaces get filled in. If you turned this building on end it would be equivalent to a 30 story tower. Add in Health Now 10 floors, Paladino's proposed Court Street building 11 floors, and Uniland's proposed 6 story Delaware ave building and you have the equivalent of another 27 story tower. Add in the renovations for new lofts and you have at least another 20 story tower.

building density and use in vacant buildings and open lots will create a dnesity of use that will eventually support much more flashy development in the future.

The fact that the developers of the Lakin did such a great job with a building in a fringe area bodes well for Downtown Buffalo.

What, you mean no one tore down that rat-infested eye-sore when they had the chance? Don't those City View guys know that it doesn't pay to reinvest in these old buildings? We need new buildings people, not reminders of a time when our economy was based on manufacturing. If this goes on much longer we're going to have stop wallowing in self-recrimination and the blind faith that all good things must grow from shovel ready sites.

Projects like this really stand out among all the naysayers. This goes to show that everything does not need to be shovel ready or new build office space. This building is now quite the gem to see off to the north of the I-190.

I used to love drives down the canyon of wharehouses there as a kid in the 80's and was sad to see a number of them come down over the years.

Way to go First Niagara Bank! Where were they located before the move?

Now, if only they would clean up that horrible giant slab of pavement for parking. Some landscaping would do wonders. It's not a very welcoming site to see when entering the city off the 33.

OK. Now that we know this area of the city can support Class A office space and prominent tenants, lets start a conversation about rebuilding the GEM of all architectural gems.......the Larkin Administration building.

This is a beautiful & very well thought out building. Not only is it functional, it's well lit and quite lovely inside & out.

I was very impressed with the idea that they had food/lunch opportunties on the first floor but I thought the idea of a DAYCARE CENTER was completely genius!

Steel brings up some great observations RE: that this is actually a "tower." These developers understand the idea of "userfriendly" in a very big way!

Good job!

The daycare is run by the Valley Community Center. I've heard nothing but rave reviews about the quality of the daycare center. There are several homes in the neighborhood, known as The Valley, for sale. I've never seen this area mentioned as an area to regentrify. It would seem like a natural due to its close proximity to downtown, etc..

This is a truly amazing building, an oasis in an otherwise dormant part of the city. My office is a short distance from the Larkin at Exchange Building, and my coworkers and I often take the short drive down Exchange Street to visit their cafeteria, which is really pretty good--and usually crowded. Adelphia is our neighbor, and I'm sure they have employees who go there as well. That just goes to prove that if you build the ammenities, people will go out of their way to use them.

That is what Buffalo has finaly started to realize.

"If you build it they will come"

Old Buffalo was more like

" they are not going to come and then if we build it they might not go to the stuff we already have and besides who is going to want to be in the city anyways it would be much better off as a shovel ready site then we could attract all kinds of people"

"Build it and they will come".........

But only if it's NICE, and USERFRIENDLY!

Just building it is no guarantee of success. That must be combined with "Give the people what they want!" And need!

Downtown developers: Let's keep this in mind!

Well, I think that the BNE/BNP is right and that Buffalo could easily double its growth rate if it could use its resources cooperatively with developers to build more speculative development.

We need more Larkin at Exchange size buildings downtown and the sooner we get those buildings the sooner companies that are growing or relocating will choose that available space. If its not there, then they will choose the suburbs and if its not in the suburbs then they may skip our area entirely.

WE MUST STOP LETTING THIS HAPPEN. -We have money from the relicensing of the Niagara Mohawk -We have money from the sharing of the sales tax with erie county -We have money coming from the Buffalo Casino

Lets use it to boost our economic octane that fuels our regional engine.

Looking for the next LCo.? Look no further than the Trico plant at W. Tupper and Washington St. It's on the fringe of downtown and would be a great way to connect the Medical Campus with downtown. It has big floor plates and there's plenty of parking. It's conveniently located to the 33 and nearby residential housing for those who want to walk (Sidway, the Granite Works and the lower edge of Allentown). I believe that Ciminelli is a co-partner with the guy from Erie, PA who bought the building cheap and didn't have the bucks to renovate it. This could be a residential as well as a commercial opportunity. I really thought that HealthNow would jump on this building. I'd love to see this building put to productive use.

BuffaloRox, you're on to something. Look for a future post.

BTW- Steve McGarvey, the former owner from Erie PA, passed away last February.

Ciminelli is already in the process of reno on the Trico building...sad how we founded Trico in Buffalo and then had to completely shut it down due to the unions