Work is underway at Neighborhood Health Center of WNY’s future Niagara Street location, called “Riverway.”
The former warehouse/storage facility at 1569 Niagara Street is being renovated, added on to and repurposed into a new healthcare facility. Outpatient services will include family and internal medicine, podiatry, OBGYN, dentistry, and various community health programs including behavioral health, dietary, and social work.
The new 26,000 square foot office will be joining the two already established Neighborhood Health Center city offices – Neighborhood Health Center | Mattina and Neighborhood Health Center | Northwest.
“Neighborhood Health Center is a welcoming primary care facility for all of our neighbors and community members and is something that we definitely wanted to capture in not only the naming process, but also in the selection of a unique name for this location and office concept,” said Joanne Haefner, Chief Executive Officer of Neighborhood Health Center. “We were thrilled to receive so much enthusiasm and engagement from our supporters regarding our expansion and naming process for the new office. We love how the selected name of Riverway, ties well into the fabric of this specific area of the city.
The facility will immediately become the primary care home to more than 4,000 patients in need of quality and affordable healthcare.
“As public health advocates, we know that the current pandemic has shined a light on the importance of our preventative services and need to continue to address the social determinants of health that many of our patients and beloved community members experience,” added Joanne. “Anchoring a new community wellness center at this site is a part of our ongoing strategy to continue to move the needle on our emergency room divergence programs by providing additional on-site comprehensive support services to improve the lives of patients.”
This is the medical practice’s fifth location. This new facility coincides with a number of recent expansion efforts over the past three years including:
- The recent purchase of the long occupied office at 300 Niagara Street from Kaleida Health
- The Neighborhood Health Center Southtowns office relocation
- Expansions to Neighborhood Health Center at Blasdell
- Recent additions at the organization’s Northwest office
As a primary care safety-net provider for more than 30 years, the Center has become an indispensable medical facility for 25,000 Western New Yorkers.
The existing 12,000 sq.ft., two-story building will be doubling in size with parking provided south of the building and behind it off of West Avenue. Plans call for a vestibule along Niagara Street leading to a lobby on the north side of the building.
Paint will be removed from the existing façade which will be tuck pointed, repaired and sealed. The 13,128 sq.ft. addition will be composed of brick and metal panels to complement the existing brick building.
The project team includes Kirst Construction, Colby Development and engineering and architecture firm LaBella Associates.
Neighborhood Health Center of WNY, a nonprofit organization and Federally Qualified Health Center that provides medical, dental and behavioral health services in Western New York. The new state-of-the-art medical center (and wellness center) is the future home to the practice’s full complement of services, including internal/family medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, pediatrics, dentistry, behavioral health, nutritional counseling, podiatry and pharmacy services. The Riverway office will also operate as an additional anchor administrative office.