Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation is seeking to fill unmet need for affordable city condominiums. The company is converting 87 apartments in its Bethune Lofts complex at 2917 Main Street into condominiums. Pricing starts in the mid-$100’s to high $300’s. The building, adjacent to Bennett High School and one block from the LaSalle light rail station, was converted to residential in 2013.
According to Ciminelli Real Estate President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Ciminelli, the timing of the conversion is great.
“It’s off the chart the amount of demand that we are getting,” says Ciminelli. “At the open house there was a line out of the door. We’re seeing a very high level of interest. Some are current renters and also people who want to own something in North Buffalo.”
The New York State Attorney General’s office approved the condominium offering plan this month and 716 Realty Group has been retained to manage sales. The building will remain both for sale and for rent as purchasers come forward and current leases of the building are honored. Subject to the offering plan, approximately 13 units need purchasers to come forward to initiate the closing process.
Given the strong rental market in North Buffalo, many of these units’ price points will make purchasing a possibility for many that previously chose a luxury apartment over a single or multi-family home which is more common in the area. Citywide, currently there are 31 condominiums on the market per the Multiple Listing Service and only seven under listed for under $400,000. None of the condominiums are located in or around the hot North Buffalo area of Main Street and Hertel Avenue.
“We thought that the timing was right,” says CIminelli, “there is nothing for sale at that price point in North Buffalo. The building always had strong occupancy. It is close to Hertel and is transit-oriented development with the LaSalle station across the street. We priced appropriately for the market.”
A model will be available for viewing staged by Designed to Sell WNY Inc. and is available for private tours by the 716 Realty Group sales team. Open houses are also planned.
Special financing will be required given the conversion process and two local banks – Northwest Savings Bank and Bank on Buffalo – have committed to financing the project.
Of the 87 apartments, 37 are one-bedroom units. There are 28 different floorplans in the building and original features such as fluted columns, brick walls, first floor loading dock doors, and fireplaces, have been incorporated into the units. Eleven of the fourth floor apartments are two-bedroom, two-story units with the master bedroom on the fifth floor. A one-level, 1,250 sq.ft. penthouse unit on the Main Street side of the setback fifth floor has two-bedrooms and 270 degree views.
Currently on MLS is a one-bedroom, one bathroom unit with 643 sq.ft. of living space for $144,675, a two-bedroom, one bathroom unit with 776 sq.ft. space for $174,600, and a two-level two-bedroom, one and a half bath unit with 1,027 sq.ft. of living space priced at $237,075.
Units feature white oak flooring in the main living areas, carpeted bedrooms, stone tile in the bathrooms, stainless steel appliances, maple cabinets, solid surface countertops and tile backsplashes. Units are spacious with ceiling heights up to fourteen feet. Carmina Wood Design was the architect for the conversion project.
Designed in 1915 by the nationally recognized engineering company Lockwood, Greene & Company, the building is an intact example of a reinforced concrete frame daylight factory. The Buffalo Meter Company had its main offices and shipping on the first floor, a machine shop and assembling on the second, another machine shop and tool room on the third floor and the brass foundry on the fourth floor. In 1969 or 1970, the Buffalo Meter Company left their long-time home.
In 1971 the building was purchased by the University at Buffalo. The building was then used by the university to house the Department of Art, the Architecture Department and also portions of the Division of Continuing Education. It was renamed as the Louise Blanchard Bethune Hall, after the first professional woman architect and the first woman fellow of the American Institute of Architects, who maintained an active architectural practice in Buffalo at the turn of the twentieth-century.
Get Connected: Greg Straus, 716 Realty Group, 716.266.6691
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