Preservation Buffalo Niagara is recognizing outstanding preservation projects and those contributing to regional preservation efforts at its annual awards ceremony May 31, 11:30 AM at Kleinhans Music Hall. Buffalo Rising has been profiling this year’s winners leading up to the event.
The Remington Lofts on the Canal encompasses over 170,000 square feet of space situated on the Erie Barge Canal waterfront in the City of North Tonawanda. In 2007, Tony Kissling bought the property at 184 Sweeney Street with the vision to convert the daylight factory and powerhouse into residential and commercial space. The complex, six different buildings constructed between 1895 and 1948, contains 79 work/live lofts, retail and indoor parking.
The complex was restored in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The exterior façade of this building replicates its original grandeur from the industrial revolution. Daylight windows were recreated and interior details such as the original fluted columns were retained. The renovation pays homage to the building’s past life as a manufacturing plant with references to the Remington era and daylight factory elements.
The first building on the site was built in 1895 and originally contained Power House No. 4 of the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Electric Railway Co. The Herschell-Spillman company, the largest manufacturer of carousels for some time, moved into the building in 1899.
In 1951, Remington Rand, an office equipment manufacturer, bought the complex. Remington Rand produced the world’s first mainframe computer for the U.S. Census Bureau there but mostly used the building to manufacture typewriters. It closed in the 1970s.
Underutilized for over two decades, North Tonawanda officials say the redeveloped property is a cornerstone for future development in the city’s historic core.
One of the major challenges faced with this site was the fact that there was contaminated soil surrounding the building. In 2010, the site successfully completed a New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program and now exceeds the environmental standards for remediation set by the DEC.
The Remington Tavern & Oyster Bar occupies the late 19th century “powerhouse.”
A wellness center and hair salon/beauty school occupy the first floor commercial space, with indoor parking for the residents contained in the back portion of the building’s first floor.
Carmina Wood Morris, a local leader in historic preservation work, did the project layout and commercial design. Jennifer Kissling did loft interiors. R&P Oak Hill Development was general contractor on the project.
