Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - For its first 42 years, the nine-story building at 10 Fountain Plaza was known as a regional banking hub, most recently for Bank of America.
But, now there is a new development chapter about to be written and it could have a huge and positive impact on downtown Buffalo's central business district.
Ciminelli Real Estate wants to turn the 186,000-square-foot building from one anchored by offices to housing as many as 180 market rate apartments.
At $50 million and the prospect of as many as 180 apartments coming into the central business district, the project could be a key development spark that spurs on other conversions of office space into residential units.
"If we don't take this risk, we may not have a downtown left," said Kyle Ciminelli, Ciminelli Real Estate president.
The project comes against the backdrop of downtown having a glut of vacant and available office and with as many as 20,000 less daily workers than the pre-COVID days of 2019.
It also comes against a concerted effort to bring more residents into the central business district, where 3,000 people currently call it home.
The Ciminelli project would increase the number of downtown apartment and condo dwellers by 6 percent.
"My hope is that we can get something going," Ciminelli said.
Kyle Ciminelli said the actual conversion work may not start until 2026's fourth quarter for a number of logistical reasons.
Existing tenants, including Bank of America - the anchor tenant - will be relocated.
Bank of America's regional headquarters will relocate the Ciminelli's 40-50 Fountain Plaza twin tower complex while the conversion work is underway.
The bank's regional headquarters will move back into the 10-12 Fountain Plaza building's 9th floor penthouse once the apartment conversion work is completed.
Bank of America's street level branch will be reduced in size as well, but it will remain in the building after the apartment retrofit work is finished.
The apartments will be a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, with the exact determination coming once the final design work is completed.
Also in the works is a restaurant in the building's southeast corner - facing the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Roosevelt Plaza.
"We are modeling this after what other developers have done in places like Manhattan," Ciminelli said.
The building opened in 1983 as part of a downtown urban renewal initiative championed by the late, former Mayor Jimmy Griffin.
For many years, it was the Liberty National Bank headquarters and then, the regional headquarters for Norstar Bank and, in more recent years, Bank of America's Western New York headquarters.