Sinatra & Company Real Estate and Ellicott Development Company held their initial public meeting this evening, to showcase their plans for, Elmwood Crossing, a multi-phased reuse plan for the seven-acre former Children’s Hospital site. The plans are subject to change based upon stakeholder feedback, though the development group stated that certain components of the project are anticipated to begin as early as this summer.
An overview of the campus is as follows: a hotel, a grocery store, a daycare center, 22 townhomes, 45 upper floor condominiums, 240 apartments throughout the campus, small retail on Elmwood and West Utica, health and wellness, commercial office, pocket parks, pedestrian pathways, public art, and dedicated ramp parking for a good portion of the business and residential.
There are a number of exciting components associated with the extensive project, starting with a new build at the corner of Elmwood and Bryant (lead image). This is a game changing development for the corner, mainly due to the surface parking lot that has occupied this site for years. The plan is to construct an 80,500 sq.ft. mixed-use building with 14,000 sq.ft. of office space, 32 apartments, and retail and restaurants on the ground floor. This would be a real boon for this section of Elmwood, which has under-performed compared to the rest of the street for decades.
Minimal demolition of less than 5% of the overall site will be needed.
Next up is 125 Hodge Avenue, which will see a 3,800 sq.ft. addition to the former Hodge Pediatrics building, with end use as an EduKids Daycare Center, a couple of apartments, dedicated parking, and a playground. Enrollment is scheduled for fall of 2019.
On West Utica, a grocery store up to 45,000 sq.ft. in size is being planned where a former drug store and parking lot was once located.
The market would be built to the street and topped with residential units. Surface parking would be located in the back along with a connection to the Gallagher parking ramp.
Keeping in step with modern realities, the developers are negotiating with City of Buffalo to purchase the ramp. Under the proposed terms, public parking spaces would remain available.
The property to the east of the market would be dedicated to 22 ‘for sale’ townhomes, with garages, private patios and open floor plan living spaces. The three-story townhomes, to be built by Essex Homes, are expected to be priced in the $475,000 to $700,000 range.
Finally, the historic portion (the former Annex extends from Bryant to Hodge) of the former hospital will be fully dedicated to residential.
The tower building (see image – below right) will be comprised of mixed use condos, apartments, amenities, and a 75-room hotel.
Moving eastward on Bryant, the middle tower building will see a mix of uses including condos and apartments. And then finally the third newest structure will be used for commercial office space. An RFP for the facade of the newer medical-looking buildings has been issued, which intends to solicit smart design proposals from top international designers.
Tying the projects together will be a set of pocket parks, greenspace, and art components.
Twenty percent of the residential units will be dedicated to affordable housing. The development team also says that it will be “actively engaging local workforce and businesses for bidding and hiring.”