If you are keeping score, add another building to the list of properties being rehabbed near the 500 block of Main Street. The building formerly housing the Christian Science reading room at 483 Main Street is being converted to residential and commercial space.
Peter and Rebecca McCauley’s 483 Main Street LLC purchased the three-story, 6,200 sq.ft. building on April 1 for $230,000. The ornate building is sandwiched between The Martin Group’s new headquarters at 477 Main Street and Carmina Wood Morris’ office building at the corner of Mohawk.
The Buffalo News has the details:
Plans call for a luxury apartment on the third floor, with access to an outdoor living space on the building’s flat roof. The second floor will be a combination of residential and office space, and the first floor will have a boutique retail shop. Workers from Lehigh Construction already began asbestos abatement and “deconstruction” on the interior, and the building should be ready for its first tenants by June 1, Rebecca McCauley said.
Don’t expect significant exterior changes. The couple is working with Preservation Studios to obtain state and federal historic preservation tax credits for the $600,000 project.
The McCauley’s join a trend of smaller investor/developers buying into downtown Buffalo particularly in and around the 500 block of Main Street. Rebecca tells The News:
“We stumbled upon this building early last spring and just were delighted that we could be a part of the rebirth of the city,” she said. “It’s just such a wonderfully exciting time.”