334 Delaware to get a makeover
A nondescript, 50-year-old office building on Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo is being targeted for a $1.2 million makeover that includes a vertical expansion.
The Buffalo Planning Board is reviewing a proposal for a two-phase project at 334 Delaware Ave. that would start with a new facade and renovation of the existing two floors, followed by construction of an all-glass, partial third floor.
“It’s not an attractive building now, but it could be quite appealing,” said Tommaso Briatico, the project’s architect.
The Buffalo architect’s plans call for an upgraded masonry facade that includes new windows, overhauled front and rear entrances, and eventually the glass third story.
“We want to take it from a ‘C’ building to an ‘A’ building,” Briatico said. “It has the potential to become a very aesthetically pleasing building in a wonderful downtown location.”
He said the 4,200-square-foot “translucent” addition, which covers only a portion of the existing building footprint, will overlook a green roof and roof-top garden. Plans also call for a section of the first floor to be cut away to allow natural light to reach into a new basement level work space.
“A big part of this project is to create open, light, airy spaces that are energy efficient and pleasant to work in,” Briatico said.
Built in 1958 as the corporate headquarters for the Remington Rand Corp., the 13,000- square-foot structure was been vacant since most recent tenant M&T Insurance Agency relocated more than a year ago.
It is owned by 120 W. Tupper Street, Inc., a group led by Jeffrey Davis whose Joseph Davis, Inc. is located on an adjoining property to the rear of 334 Delaware Ave. Briatico said Davis, who leases space in the Tupper Street complex to several other businesses, is running out of room and plans to tap the Delaware Avenue building for growth.
“The original idea was to upgrade the building and look for a single tenant, but there’s a lot of interest from multiple Tupper tenants to expand. It’s still a ‘spec’ project, but we don’t think it will stay that way for long,” the architect said.
Another key drawing card for the Delaware Avenue building is on-site parking. Tenants of the reworked building will share a large private lot, situated directly behind it, with 120
W. Tupper St. staffers. The proposed building overhaul will add to an impressive list of recently completed and ongoing commercial investment along lower Delaware Avenue. That list is lead by construction of the new $123 million federal courthouse overlooking Niagara Square, and the $85 million conversion of the Dulski Federal Office Building to Avant, a mix of luxury condominiums, Class A offices and hotel space. Uniland Development, which is doing the Avant at 200 Delaware Ave., last year completed construction of a $10 million, five-story office building at 285 Delaware Ave.
Other big ticket projects include the $15 million conversion of the former Federal Reserve Bank at 160 Delaware Ave. to New Era Cap’s world headquarters, and the $10 million transformation of the former Asbury Delaware United Methodist Church, at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Tupper Street, to Ani DiFranco’s “Babeville” entertainment complex.
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