The redevelopment of the Pierce-Arrow Administration Building in North Buffalo is happening now. The project includes the conversion of 123,099 square feet of the former office building, located at 1695 Elmwood Avenue, into 105 luxury loft apartments, complete with a planned 100-seat restaurant that will occupy the domed auditorium on the second floor.
These luxury lofts will be designed as high-end apartments, consistent with the high esteem the Pierce-Arrow has held in the past. A mix of one, two, and three bedroom apartments will be offered as well as a fitness room, shared lounge with wi-fi, along with retail shops and a restaurant. Residents will have a place where they can congregate, create relationships, and have delicious meals.
New landscaping and crabapple trees along Elmwood and Great Arrow will replicate the trees that existed on the site in the 1920s.
Plans are also in place to renovate the long one-story garage in back, at 1721 Elmwood, into a new 44,751-square-foot parking facility for the tenants of the Pierce-Arrow Lofts, with 110-122 spaces. More parking would also be added around the exterior of the 1.52-acre site.
On the exterior, the brick will be restored to its original condition, windows will be replaced and some original canopies will be re-created on the front of the building. The parking building will feature textured concrete block. A secure walkway will take tenants back from their cars to the apartment building.
The Pierce Arrow Lofts will join a growing list of historic preservation projects in the City of Buffalo, involving the adaptive reuse of previously neglected and underutilized structures. This project is designed to meet a growing need for housing in the City of Buffalo, created by a growing employment base.
This $30 million project marks the third-go-around in the last few years for the historic building, which has been on the National Register for Historic Places since 1975.
This is a building that really represented what Buffalo was like in the 1930s and 1940s, and by bringing it back to life, it will truly add some significance and elegance to what Buffalo once was.
The Project is expected to be completed by the winter of 2020.
