M&T Bank opened its second downtown Tech Hub yesterday. As the Buffalo-based bank continues to accelerate its development of new technology, M&T undertook a $24 million renovation of four floors of the Lafayette Court building at 456 Main Street to create a collaborative workplace that facilitates innovation. Covering nearly 100,000 square feet of space, the M&T Tech Hub at Lafayette Court will house over 500 employees who will work together seamlessly with their colleagues at the Tech Hub at Seneca One to design, deploy and refine financial technology solutions.
The four-floor renovation involved demolition to the perimeter walls and the space fully rebuilt, refurnished, and equipped to meet the needs of M&T’s tech workforce. The modern design inside the Tech Hub at Lafayette Court will facilitate collaboration among multidisciplinary teams to develop meaningful products and services for the bank’s diverse community of customers. Through a digitally forward, locally-focused approach, insights gathered from its communities will be harnessed inside the Tech Hub to inform solutions that improve customer experience.
This innovative new space was designed and built by two firms founded in Western New York that have developed global capabilities — CannonDesign served as lead architect and Arc Building Partners as construction manager. M&T engaged about 40 other contractors that contributed to the project, with the vast majority of contractors either based in Western New York or maintaining significant operations locally. As it pursued the renovation, M&T also worked closely with Ciminelli Real Estate, the owners of the Lafayette Court building, to ensure the project successfully added to the vibrancy of the community.
The M&T Tech Hub at Lafayette Court will generate renewed momentum for Buffalo’s emerging Innovation Corridor, a vibrant section of the city where talent from startups, tech firms, creative businesses, and innovation-oriented companies are colliding to solve problems and spark entrepreneurial activity. Anchored by the Tech Hub at Seneca One, it stretches along Main Street from the waterfront to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. In addition to M&T’s two Tech Hubs, this corridor is also home to thousands of M&T employees based at M&T Center and the company’s headquarters, One M&T Plaza.
Building on the impact of the Tech Hub at Seneca One, the Tech Hub at Lafayette Court is an intentional placemaking development designed to position Western New York as a magnet for talented people who want to build creative, tech-driven solutions that make a difference in people’s lives. M&T previously announced plans to hire 1,000 technologists, and it has already made considerable progress in attracting and retaining tech talent. Toward its goal, M&T has hired nearly 700 experienced technology professionals and over 200 recent graduates in STEM-related fields over the last three years. M&T has also begun developing its own homegrown technology talent through community-focused programming led by its Tech Academy, located inside the Tech Hub at Seneca One.
Event photos courtesy of M&T Bank. Tech Center interior photos by Brian Fiscus / CannonDesign.
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