Downtown development is rolling along, particularly on the residential front. Is retail ready to follow suit? Maybe so. Even the Main Liberty Group is starting to market space in the Main Place Mall. An ad was posted on craigslist last week listing retail space for lease: The 171,000 sq.ft. mall has seen its tenant roster steadily shrink since AM&A’s closed in 1995. Last renovated in 1988 with columned porticos and Main Street storefront canopies, the two-level mall once boasted over 70 stores. Much of the former retail space has been leased to telecommunications firms due the fiber-optic infrastructure in the…
Author: jcamhi
A tidal wave of in-rem properties is heading to auction next week, including several religious facilities. While owners can still save their property from the auction block by paying their arrears, the latest listing on the City’s website shows 4,668 properties up for sale. Staggering. There are so many that the City is spreading the auction over three days, Monday thru Wednesday, at the Convention Center. In-Rem properties being offered through the City were foreclosed on due to delinquent taxes, user fees and/or water bills. The auction list includes 1,530 vacant lots, 1,157 single-family homes, 1,427 two-family homes, 284 commercial buildings,…
Canal Side seeks to create a setting for year-round, family-oriented sports, entertainment, cultural and recreational usages. The main attraction will be a series of water features, event spaces and the development’s anchor, Bass Pro. All of these components are shown in a project fly-through produced by the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation team. Canal Side Video here. (Note, large file, may load slowly) Bass Pro has been designed to resemble a canal-era warehouse. The store would include 130,000 square feet of development space, with 121,000 square feet of retail space and 9,000 square feet of restaurant space above a three-level,…
The details of the Canal Side development are revealed in the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) now out for public review. A public hearing on the 2000+ page document will be held tonight at 6:00 PM at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwood Avenue. The following is a summary of the project’s proposed layout from the DGEIS document. Project ScopeCanal Side consists of one million square feet of commercial, cultural, and residential space on 20 acres of land at the foot of Main Street. The “preferred alternative” analyzed in the DGEIS shows 277,250 square feet of retail space; 173,750 square…
A historic Swan Street building is getting a rear addition- a first step towards reuse. Plans prepared by Lauer-Manguso Architects for a new entrance and elevator tower on the south side of 145 Swan Street will be presented to the Planning Board tomorrow morning. The circa-1896, four-story building is owned by the Buffalo Transportation-Pierce Arrow Museum. “We are doing the elevator and new entrance, but not the side with the new windows in this phase,” says James T. Sandoro, founder and executive director of the museum. “It also may not be a cycle museum, but will be a museum use.” The…
Fixer-uppers are cool. Granted, 428 Porter Avenue may be an extreme case, but someone with a little time and a few big ideas could really make something out of this building. The exterior seems to give the idea that this is a little more imposing than it really is, but if you visit the listing you can see some interior shots of this amazing house. Inside you will find a grand staircase, five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and two fireplaces. The listing suggests dividing the space up for rentals, but instead maybe it could become another project for the Nickel City…
A second Waterfront Place condominium sale has broken the $1 million mark. Surgeon Jeffrey J. Visco purchased the largest penthouse in the Pasquale, Ellicott Development’s mid-rise residential tower in Waterfront Village. The 3,633 sq.ft. three bedroom unit on the 11th floor sold for $1.32 million. It features 10 to 14 foot ceilings and nearly 800 sq.ft. of patio space. Visco shares the floor with attorney Stephen Barnes who closed on his unit in August. Approximately two-thirds of Pasquale’s 49 units are sold with several others under lease. Twenty-one units have closed to date. Tower residences include gourmet kitchens with custom cabinets and…
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Carl L. Bucki, chief of the Western District of New York, cleared the way for Grace Manor Nursing Home to be sold at a public auction on October 31st by local auctioneer, Cash Cunningham. Grace Manor Nursing Home is located at 10 Symphony Circle. The facility is approximately 81,200 sq.ft. on 2.14 acres and has a 167 patient capacity. Ten years ago, the building underwent a seven million dollar renovation. It is currently assessed at $5.66 million. Marketing material describes the site as ideal for student housing, a hotel, residential or assisted living. Other assets, including…
The Alling & Cory conversion project has a new name, Lofts at 136; a retailer, Wilson Farms; and by the fall 2010 semester, its first tenants. Workers are busy turning the six-story former warehouse into 88 loft-like apartments geared to college students. The design and development team is led by principal investor and architect Jake Schneider. R&P Oakhill, with experience in the construction of student housing facilities, is construction manager. Entry image and photo above by David Torke. Schneider is committed to providing a state-of-the-art student housing facility that will be eco-friendly. Its proximity to Erie Community College’s city campus and availability to…
Kaleida Health has gained additional Main Street frontage. The health care organization purchased 977 Main Street, a key parcel in the medical campus located at the northeast corner of Main and High streets. The property includes a one-story medical office building occupied by Physicians Imaging Center that was built in 1989 (below). Kaleida paid MR Venture Associates $2 million for the quarter-acre site yesterday. Plans for the site have not been announced, but the property is adjacent to a parcel owned by Ciminelli Development that fronts High Street. Ciminelli has been working with Kaleida to develop a medical office building…