Author: WCPerspective

Developer Anthony Ceroy is bullish on Buffalo, despite some hiccups on his first local project, Generation Development Group’s conversion of the American Mill & Warehouse at Silo City into a mix of residential and commercial space. Ceroy is planning for the next phase of work at Silo City, was recently selected to redevelop the City’s Broadway Barns complex at the edge of downtown, and is seeking other development opportunities locally. Ceroy found a good match in Buffalo. “Growing up in Detroit, I’ve always had an attachment to the Great Lakes and jumped at the opportunity to work in Buffalo,” says…

It was an off year for downtown development with only a handful of projects completed. 2023 is more promising with several large projects under construction that will come online this year. Despite uncertainty over the direction of the national and regional economies and any long-term effects on downtown post-Covid, projects are getting announced and properties are being sold. Last year, just seven projects were completed, seventeen projects were under construction and twelve projects were announced. Activity has been fairly steady. In 2021, fourteen projects were completed, thirteen projects were under construction and nineteen projects were announced. In 2020, fifteen projects…

Two affordable housing projects are taking shape along Best Street, west of Michigan Avenue at the northern edge of the Medical Campus. The largest, a five-story apartment building is being constructed on a on a 2.72-acre parcel at the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Best Street. To the west, a three and four-story, a 105-unit senior apartment building on 1.91 acres is being built. SAA|EVI is developing both of the buildings. Silvestri Architects designed the buildings. McGuire Development owns the balance of the Pilgrim Village site where a mix of commercial and residential uses are planned.

Construction continues on Mount Aaron Village, a new affordable housing development on Genesee Street east of Jefferson Avenue. The complex will have 59 units, including 18 apartments that will be dedicated specifically for people who need supportive services to live independently. Mt. Aaron Missionary Baptist Church is building the development on 19 vacant parcels located along Genesee, Adams, and Grey streets. The project will include 59 apartments for families and seniors distributed among four buildings, the largest of which has 43 apartments and ground-floor commercial space for BestSelf Behavioral Health, the on-site supportive services provider, in a three-story building fronting…

The team planning an Old First Ward residential project on the Buffalo River is also working on a riverfront project in Tonawanda.  Carubba & Company, J.B. Earl Company and Elev8 Architecture are proposing a multi-phase development in Tonawanda along Ellicott Creek, south of the Tonawanda Canal. The first phase, The ELLI, with 128 residential units and 8,000 sq.ft. of commercial space, is planned for a former industrial site at 20-40 Fillmore Avenue. “It’s an existing light manufacturing site that is partially abandoned in the city’s downtown core,” says Michael Conroe, architect and founder of Elev8 Architecture. “We are transforming it into…

Like elsewhere, the pandemic is having a tremendous impact on downtown. Developers remain confident it remains a sound place to invest however, and the housing sector is leading the way. Of the thirteen projects currently under construction in the downtown area, 11 are residential or have residential components. Residential projects also account for 12 of the 19 projects announced in 2021. Fourteen projects of all types were completed last year. For comparison, in 2020, fifteen projects were completed, fifteen were under construction, and nineteen were announced. Full pdf here. Below is a recap of the development activity that occurred in…

The team planning an Old First Ward residential project that is subject to an online petition in opposition has passed along their plans.  Local developer Carubba & Company is teaming up Elev8 Architcture and Utah-based developer J.B. Earl Company on the multi-phased residential project proposed for the corner of South and Hamburg streets, adjacent to Mutual Waterfront Park. The development team has been working with neighborhood residents and stakeholders and will be bringing their proposal to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals for review next month. Based upon feedback from Peg Overdorf of The Valley Community Association, Patrick…

An apartment building on lower Niagara Street is getting some overdue love.  Cedarland Development has started renovation work at 507 Niagara Street, a 14,290 sq.ft. building it purchased in April for $252,500. “We are excited and proud to tackle this tough project in this growing West Side community at 507 Niagara Street,” says Kevin Dagher, Cedarland’s Vice President. Plans call for 16 apartments including 13 one-bedroom units, two two-bedroom, and one studio.  Apartments will include an intercom system, keyless entry, and in-unit washer/dryers. Cedarland is completely redesigning the interior and exterior of the building. Facade brick work will be restored…

We should all be rooting for Kyle Ciminelli’s success. He’s leading the effort to fill Seneca One tower, downtown’s largest building that was left for dead just a few years ago and is now filling with technology-focused companies. Finished in 1972 for Marine Midland Bank, the complex that spans the foot of Main Street was in foreclosure and nearly empty when Douglas Jemal purchased it in 2016. Shortly thereafter, Jemal began an ambitious $120 million renovation effort. That work included: office space additions and façade changes to activate its lower floors, two retail buildings and two clubhouses on the plaza…

If you thought you would live to see Buffalo’s grain complexes turned into residences, you are probably one of a local handful. Even the lead architect on the Silo City redevelopment project never thought he would see the transformation, let alone play a key part in the effort. That’s not to say Paul Lang never imagined it. Back in 2007, Lang’s Masters of Architecture Thesis at Penn State University focused on reuse of industrial districts and specifically, laid out a vision for reinvestment in the Old First Ward, filling the void between the Cobblestone District and neighborhoods to the south…