The Buffalo Preservation Board will be reviewing new plans for renovation work and an expansion to the Colored Musicians Club at 145 Broadway. Originally proposed in 2017, the revised project includes restoration of the building storefront, an addition to the south that will improve access, and renovations to the building’s second floor. New mechanicals, electrical and plumbing will be installed throughout.
Minimal work is proposed for the first floor which functions as a museum. The second floor club room is currently not handicap accessible except by a chair lift along the existing wood stairs.
The proposed addition to the south adds a secondary means of egress and an elevator. This addition is attached via a second story hyphen located to the west on the south elevation. The addition also provides a green room, meeting rooms, and offices.
The New Addition:
• Facilitates accessibility requirements (elevator) and a secondary means of egress (stair). It also functions to provide additional support space including a green room, classrooms, meeting rooms, and offices.
• Minimally touches the historic building at the second floor glazed connecting hyphen and reads as a distinct building.
• Presents an independent elevation facing Michigan Avenue at a slight angle. The corner dematerializes on the second floor to provide views of the historic Michigan Avenue Heritage Corridor.
• A small “alley” created between the historic building and new construction references the “alley-like” condition historically associated with jazz clubs, where the entrance was often located in a back alley off a main street. This also references the existing historic stair with a door at the top where one had to knock to gain access to the club.
Stieglitz Snyder Architecture is designing the project.
