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Larkin District Street Work Completed

By Jonathan D. Epstein

November 10, 2010
 

Buffalo city leaders joined with First Niagara Financial Group and developer Howard Zemsky on Wednesday to mark the completion of a streetscape beautification project in the Larkin District, while announcing a new $500,000 state grant to restore more commercial and residential buildings.

Public and private-sector officials unveiled more than a half-mile of street improvements along Seneca Street between Larkin Street and Fillmore Avenue, including new streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, curbs, landscaping, lighting, benches, bus shelters and crosswalks.

The Spotlight Larkin Streetscape Project covers sections of Seneca, Van Rensselaer, Swan and Emslie streets. The project was announced in December.

The work was paid for through a $2 million investment by the city, National Grid USA and First Niagara, which moved its corporate headquarters to the Larkin at Exchange Building a year ago. First Niagara committed $1.5 million, plus another $50,000 to the Larkin Community Improvement Fund, while the city invested $200,000. National Grid gave $250,000 from its urban corridor revitalization program, one of several economic development initiatives.

First Niagara now occupies 88,000 square feet on several floors in the building and is its biggest tenant. CEO John R. Koelmel said First Niagara plans additional expansion in either the Larkin Building or nearby properties to accommodate its rapid growth from three bank acquisitions in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

"This is all about making progress, all about pushing the rock up the hill," he said. "We look forward to seeing even better surroundings, better sunshine in the years to come."

The bank currently has about 400 employees at the Larkin Building and another 300 at its original administration building on Transit Road in Pendleton, plus another "couple of hundred" at a site on Niagara Falls Boulevard and another 100 to 200 in the city of Lockport. And it's still hiring.

"It's inevitable that we're looking to further support the [Larkin] campus and make the campus our home. It's not efficient for any organization to be scattered," Koelmel said. "I have every expectation we'll be a key player here in Larkinville for years to come."

Officials also touted other efforts to revive properties in the neighborhood. The Larkin Community Improvement Fund, including money from the bank and Zemsky's group, has already helped to redevelop 24 units of residential housing and two commercial units.

The Old First Ward Community Association said it received a new $500,000 Main Street grant from the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal to help with additional commercial and residential restorations in the neighborhood.

That money will help rehabilitate the Larkin U Building, the Kamman Building and the Schaefer Building, including facade improvements and aid for six residential units.

"Today's celebration represents growth, transformation and a major step forward in creating a place to work, live and play in the Larkin District," said Zemsky, principal of Larkin Development Group. Citing the donations, he added, "Through their generous support and continued commitment, we are on the path to urban resurgence."

Officials praised the collaborative effort as an example of what can happen with a partnership between the private and public sectors.

"When you have companies that are making this type of investment, it's important for the city to support that in any way it can," Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown said. "It shows confidence in the city."

Brown said the work by Zemsky and First Niagara is already stimulating new activity in the area. "There are more and more businesses from throughout the region that are making the decision to locate in Larkinville," he said. "Our larger vision of the city of Buffalo is not one of a shrinking city, but of a city that is starting to grow again."

jepstein@buffnews.com