Residents of the Marine Drive Apartments were able to review early redevelopment plans for the Buffalo River complex last night. The development team selected to lead the effort, The Habitat Company and Duvernay + Brooks, decided earlier this year that the best approach for the site is demolishing the existing seven-building complex in phases and constructing new apartment buildings, townhouses, parking, and a small amount of commercial space.
Corner of Marine Drive, Hanover Street and Pearl Street
The $225 million first phase will consist of two, 12-story apartment towers to be built on the current surface parking lot on the east side of the complex adjacent to the Skyway. The towers, with 296 apartment units, will be linked by a five-story, 300 space parking garage fronted by four-bedroom townhouses. There would also be three community rooms, including one on the top floor of each tower with an outdoor patio. Laundry facilities will be located on each floor rather than one facility in each building. Three small commercial spaces totaling 5,000 sq.ft. are proposed as well.
“From its inception, we have purposely relied on a resident-driven design process for this once-in-a-lifetime project that will preserve and expand affordable housing on the Buffalo waterfront. The extremely positive resident reaction to the designs they saw at last night’s open house reinforced our mission to create a new Marine Drive Apartments that will make residents proud of where they live while building housing that truly fits the burgeoning Canalside neighborhood,” said BMHA Executive Director Gillian D. Brown.
Base of Northern 12-story Tower
Unit sizes are much larger than existing apartments, for example, a current one-bedroom unit is 502 sq.ft. and the new one-bedroom apartments will be 725 sq.ft. Two bedrooms will be 943 sq.ft., up from 693. Three bedrooms will be 1,150 sq. ft., up from 907, and the four-bedroom, two-level townhouses, will be 1,515 sq.ft., up from 1,100 sq.ft. All apartments will be handicap accessible.
The development will have a pedestrian-friendly layout with grid-pattern streets that connect to the surrounding neighborhood including Canalside. There will be multiple greenspaces, an inclusive playground, and extensive landscaping.
The project team expects construction to begin in early 2025 with completion in late 2026. The overall project, designed by SWBR architects, is expected to cost $400 million and will include a total of 730 affordable units, up from the current 616, and will be finished in 2031. Residents of the complex will be moved into new buildings as completed allowing for demolition of the existing towers in phases.
“It was great to see resident reaction to the designs. The open house builds on an interactive, community-focused design process and the sessions we held earlier this year,” said Jeff Head, Vice President of Development, The Habitat Company, Habitat Affordable Group. “The designs provide a vision for a pedestrian-oriented community that is integrated into the larger Buffalo waterfront with a mix of high and low-rise buildings, and both residential and commercial uses.”
The Habitat/Duvernay + Brooks team was selected as the developer for Marine Drive from a large group of national and local firms who responded to the Housing Authority’s request for qualifications issued in 2020.
Marine Drive Townhouses