Homeland Security expands its presence in Buffalo
Citizenship and Immigration Services agency to move from Exchange Street to Fountain Plaza
The federal Department of Homeland Security is expanding its Buffalo region Citizenship and Immigration Services operations with a new downtown office.
CIS will establish a 33,000-square-foot administrative services office in the Bank of America Building in Fountain Plaza. The office, which will process citizenship and visa petitions, temporary worker applications and adjudicates asylum claims, will employ some 135 staffers.
Currently, CIS has a small operation located at 186 Exchange St. with 35 employees.
Homeland Security representatives did not return calls regarding the greatly expanded Buffalo office. However, the federal General Services Administration confirmed it has signed a 15-year lease to locate the office on the second and third floors of the bank building at 10 Fountain Plaza.
Robert McDonnell, vice president, Ciminelli Real Estate Corp., which manages the Bank of America building, said the lease marks a success for downtown Buffalo.
“It’s wonderful to see the government going into an existing building instead of popping out to the suburbs or going into new-build space,” McDonnell said. “This is positive absorption.”
According to McDonnell, the federal agency will use the space for back office and administrative functions.
“There won’t be a public lobby and no detainees will be brought to the Fountain Plaza office for processing,” he said.
Persons applying for citizenship and other immigration services will continue to visit the CIS field office on the first floor of the Federal Center at 130 Delaware Ave.
CIS is expected to move into its new offices in the second half of 2009. No information was available regarding the timetable for recruiting the additional staff.
The just-signed lease also ranks as one of the largest downtown office space deals in 2008. In late September, Cellino & Barnes P. C. relocated to nearly 30,000-square-foot office on the 25th and 26th floors of Main Place Tower.
And Damon & Morey LLP signed a lease to take 50,000- square-feet on two floors of Avant (formerly the Dulski Federal Office Building) on Delaware Avenue. That law firm is slated to move to Avant next May.
The addition of CIS will boost occupancy at the Bank of America building to 90 percent.
“We were up against at least 10 other buildings on this deal and are very please CIS saw many benefits of being located at 10 Fountain Plaza,” McDonnell said.
Built in 1983, the eight-story building was purchased by New York City-based investor Erwin Zafir for $6.75 million in September 2007. Zafir also owns the neighboring Key Center office complex, which is managed by Ciminelli.
Under terms of the lease, the federal government will pay $640,000 annually for the first five years, for the office space plus six parking slots. The rent drops to $579,000 for years six through 10, and will be $595,000 for the final five years.
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