Buffalo Next: What to know about the week ahead |

Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing economy of Buffalo Niagara – from real estate to healthcare to startups. Learn more at BuffaloNext.com.

A preview of what’s to come and a quick read last week’s news.

It will be a busy day for new projects on Tuesday, in two counties.

Schneider Development will open its new Musical Suites apartment building at 415 Elmwood Ave. in Buffalo. It’s the former community music school, which Jake Schneider’s company has converted into 22 apartments by renovating the three-story building into 12 units and constructing a nearly double building on the adjacent parking lot, with 10 apartments in top two floors, above 18 parking spaces. The buildings are connected by a glass walkway.

Savarino Companies also officially kicks off construction on its $24.9 million Ellicott Station project in Batavia on Tuesday, designed to redevelop a vacant, derelict brownfield into 55 affordable apartments, a restaurant, brewery and events center.

The long-awaited but long-delayed venture — located in a state-designated brownfield opportunity area — includes a $20.7 million residential component and a $4.2 million commercial component. There are plans to revive the former Santy’s Tires property on Ellicott Street and the former Soccio & Della Penna building, while creating 30 jobs and a new ready-to-use site at the corner of Ellicott and Jackson streets in the city of Genesee County.

The two dilapidated structures were reduced and Santy was demolished as part of the project, and the 3.3-acre brownfield site will be restored. This will be followed by the construction of a five-story apartment building with 74,000 square feet of space, with a steel and concrete ground-level parking podium under a 60,800-foot wood-frame apartment structure. squares.

Meanwhile, the 11,285 square foot Della Penna building will be renovated as a restaurant, brasserie and events center, complete with a 5,000 square foot landscaped beer garden. It will have three overhead doors between inside and outside, which can be opened in hot weather. A public “Rails to Trails” walking path will also be improved. And the remaining land around the corner will be prepared for future development.

The project – more than six years in the making – received $425,000 from the Batavia state-backed $10 million downtown revitalization initiative award, $1.9 million from the intermediary from the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, $5 million in loans from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, $12 million in low-income housing tax credits, and nearly 3.7 million in tax relief through the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

If that’s not enough development… Michael Attea and Noah Spaulding are applying for a Special Use Permit to upgrade and expand the beer garden at Ciao Ciao Restaurant at 1368 Hertel Avenue, corner of Saranac Avenue. And Andrew Balash wants a permit to offer beer, wine, ciders and alfresco dining for the Griddle & Greens restaurant at 125 Elmwood, with up to 49 people inside and 28 outside. The Buffalo Planning Board will consider both applications Monday evening, before the city council meeting.

Calling all marketing professionals. 43North is hosting a meetup for those working in marketing from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Seneca One Tower, 1 Seneca Street. The event is a chance for marketing professionals to network, share knowledge and solve problems.

Salaries in force. NAIOP Upstate New York Chapter will host a roundtable discussion on Thursday, May 5 on the state’s new wage law. The program, which will be held at the Embassy Suites in the Avant Building at 200 Delaware Ave. from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., will feature moderator Joe Benedict Jr., Executive Director of the Construction Exchange of Buffalo & WNY, with Erie County Industrial Development agency CEO John Cappellino, Harris Beach Partner Robert Murray, and Jim Loewke , CEO of Loewke Brill Consulting Group, as panelists. The cost for non-members is $35.

The Made in America store is expanding: A grand reopening event and ribbon cutting will be held for the Made in America store in Niagara Falls beginning at 2 p.m. on May 4. The store expanded its second-floor space at 360 Rainbow Blvd. and will celebrate as part of National Travel and Tourism Week, according to Mark Andol, the store’s founder and CEO.

Recent news related to the Buffalo Niagara economy:

A consultant’s report recommends layoffs and early retirement incentives to reduce the size of SUNY-ECC’s workforce, but it does not call for the closure of its south campus.

Moog Inc. has closed its Russian office and expects to lose a few million dollars in sales because of the war in Ukraine.

Douglas Jemal bought the parking lot that was once the site of the Century Theater, with the idea of ​​transforming it into apartments and offices or shops. The Washington developer said details are still in flux and a project may still be a few years away, especially given construction delays.

A new road through the heart of the former Bethlehem Steel complex has been a key part of the effort to revive the site and attract new business. Now officials are starting to plan another new route.

Developer Paul Bliss seeks over $735,000 in tax breaks to construct an 80,000 square foot building and six attached townhouses on two vacant lots at 6842 and 6846 Main St. in Amherst.

Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo will retire at the end of the year after 15 years as President and CEO. She will hand over the reins to Betsy Constantine.

It looks like the probationary period has gone well for Matthew Drake, the new executive vice president and chief financial officer of Kaleida Health. Drake, who has been acting chief financial officer since November, was named to the permanent position on Wednesdayreplacing Paul Belter, who retired in December.

University at Buffalo to launch new research center to improve plastics recycling with a $4.5 million grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Renowned Buffalo architectural firm Carmina Wood Morris experiences first major management changes since the company was founded two decades ago.

A small, Airbnb-style eight-bedroom boutique hotel is planned for Lancaster, near Lake Como Park. The $2.8 million project would be a two-story, 18,000 square foot mixed-use building, utilizing vacant land that once housed Desiderio and then Brother restaurants.

A new A four-story, $2.5 million self-storage facility with 164 rental storage units is proposed for 321 Commerce Drive in Amherst by landscape contractors Eric Bogart and Michael Sinatra.

M&T Bank is halfway to hiring 1,000 technologists in the Buffalo areaan ambitious goal set three years ago, just before making the Seneca One tower the place where the bank would establish its “technology hub”.

Buffalo Next reporters Jonathan D. Epstein, Jon Harris, Natalie Brophy, Janet Gramza and Mike Petro contributed to this roundup.

Five reads from Buffalo Next:

1. Buffalo Angel Investors all hope to hit hard, but this is not their primary motivation. For them, investing in startups is their way of contributing to the economic recovery of the region.

2. Energy roadmap calls for sweeping changes for WNY owners: A new statewide energy plan being discussed would phase out the use of natural gas in homes and buildings, in favor of greater reliance on electricity.

3. Housing prices in Buffalo Niagara continue to climb: When there is competition between buyers, it drives prices up – and that is exactly what is happening here.

4. Western New York’s Newly Licensed Marijuana Producers Eager to Lead the State’s Cannabis Market: Releaf Market in Jamestown and Yager Farms in Eden are among 52 growers who have been awarded the first licenses to grow recreational marijuana for adult use in the state.

5. Hard-to-find workers? Car dealerships create a direct path from college to a job: SUNY Erie Community College has partnered with two local auto dealerships in an essential automotive technician training program.

The Buffalo Next team gives you insight into the economic revitalization of the region. Advice by e-mail to [email protected] or contact Buffalo Next editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.