Benderson Development’s transformation of the former Donovan State Office Building into One Canalside is just about complete. The 102-room Courtyard by Marriott opened on the first through fourth floors this week. Rooms start at $161/night according to the hotel’s website.
On the buildings top floors, Phillips Lytle LLP has settled into its new offices. Three hundred of the law firm’s employees relocated from One Seneca Tower to One Canalside over one weekend last November. It occupies 85,000 sq.ft. of space.
Phillips Lytle, one of the region’s preeminent law firms, was founded in 1834. Their relocation to Canalside was the first big private-sector commitment to Canalside and a boost to long-held plans to revitalize the inner harbor and the foot of Main Street.
The move also improved the efficiency of their work space. The company’s employees were spread over six floors at One Seneca Tower. Atlanta-based Jova Daniels Busby Inc., an architecture and design firm that specializes in law firm office design, was brought in to lay out the new space.
The 128 attorney offices are designed for increased work efficiencies and attorney collaboration. The new facility also has a dedicated training and technology-enabled mock courtroom.
There are 13 conference rooms available, many on the eighth floor. The main conference room has double-height ceilings and is located at the south end of the building with a patio area overlooking Main Street and Canalside. Also in the main conference room is a 10′ x 30′ abstract mural by Spoon, an Atlanta-based artist whose Macro Graphic Pointilism style blends historical and cultural subject matter into striking pieces of art. It depicts the War Memorial Auditorium that stood across the street for nearly 70 years (below).
David J. McNamara, Managing Partner, said, “This new space offered us a blank canvas to create a law office that will be a vehicle for outstanding client service by enabling collaboration, efficiency and innovation. Our firm has grown and prospered on lower Main Street for the last 179 years and we look forward to continued success while contributing to the vibrancy of Canalside.”
As expected, the law firm’s lobby and offices are well appointed. Conference rooms are named after companies Phillips Lytle has worked with in the past such as Bethlehem Steel, Piece Arrow Automobiles and Birge Wallpaper, famous employees such as Grover Cleveland, or significant events such as the Pan American Exposition. Each conference room has memorabilia, pictures, or historical law documents connected to the room’s name.
The interior spaces are top notch and the views from the offices are spectacular. The building is at the epicenter of a significant amount of new construction and highways, yet inside, the noise is unnoticeable. McNamara explains that all of the windows are double-paned glass and fronting the I-190, triple-paned. He says the office space is quieter than the upper floor space the firm occupied at One Seneca.
The eight-story building was acquired by the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation in 2008. Benderson was the only bidder that responded to a request for proposals to redevelop the property. Clark Construction Group, LLC, the nation’s largest privately-held construction company, was general contractor and Fontanese Folts Aubrecht Ernst Architects, P.C. was the architect.
There is one missing piece to the One Canalside puzzle. Benderson has ground floor retail and restaurant space available on the north end of the building fronting Main Street. There has not been any word of leases out for that space.
Get Connected: Phillips Lytle, 716.847.8400