Tishman Building is reborn with a fresh blend

After years of vacancy and neglect, life is returning to the Tishman Building in downtown Buffalo, as its new owner, the Hamister Group, took occupancy of the top three floors last month and apartment residents move in during the next several days.

The tall, dark metal-and-glass edifice at Lafayette Square and Main Street has undergone months of overhaul and renovation by the Hamister Group hospitality firm, with most of the buildings 20 floors gutted and rebuilt from the inside. The longtime office building looks the same on the exterior, where historic preservation requirements prevented any substantive changes to the facade, but its interior purpose is now radically different. Its 18th, 19th and 20th floors now house the headquarters for President and CEO Mark E. Hamisters corporation, with a reception area on the 19th floor. The company has 40 employees there.

The next three floors down contain 18 high-end luxury apartments, with a mixture of one- and two-bedroom units in six different configurations because of the layout of the building. Already, 10 of the 18 are rented, with another rental expected by weeks end, and the first tenant moved in July 31, with the rest expected to take their places by next Friday, said Hamister spokeswoman Andrea M. Czopp.

The bulk of the 140,000- square-foot building will be a new Hilton Garden Inn, with 124 rooms on floors 4 through 14, plus the lobby, restaurant, meeting rooms and a pool on the remaining levels. Work by contractor R&P Oak Hill is continuing on that portion of the project, with the hotel scheduled to open by Oct. 10.

We began this process four years ago before many of the cranes that we now see in downtown existed. We are pleased to be part of the momentum that is transformational to Buffalo, Mark Hamister said. This is an example of adaptive reuse that the city and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership have been promoting for the past several years for the city.

With the conversion and reopening of Rocco R. Terminis Hotel @ The Lafayette just down the street and Benderson Development Co.s Courtyard by Marriott at One Canalside, plus the pending completion by next spring of the Marriott Buffalo HarborCenter by the Buffalo Sabres, downtown Buffalo will have gained several hundred new hotel rooms in a short time.

The new hotels sales staff has been working with local businesses for several months to reserve rooms, so the hotel already is doing well with bookings, Czopp said. Interest is definitely growing.

The $42 million redevelopment of the Tishman Building almost hidden from view because the bulk of the work was inside represents the latest example of the real estate revival hitting downtown Buffalo from the waterfront to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and even beyond.

In the last few years, several billion dollars of public and private investment has been poured into the city for new construction, historic renovation and adaptive reuse projects that are taking derelict urban properties and putting them back to active duty. At the same time, the availability of new loft and luxury apartments, redesigned office space, hotel rooms and entertainment are drawing people back into the city and spurring new excitement and confidence among residents and workers.

The momentum in downtown is continuing to build upon itself, and we are seeing wave upon wave of new projects in various stages of development, said Christian Campos, chief financial officer of TM Montante Development. All of that activity is giving downtown Buffalo an entirely new identity, which is attracting peoples interests.

Originally posted here:
Tishman Building is reborn with a fresh blend