Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - More than two years after Douglas Development was selected as the development team that won the bid for the 1.1-acre city-owned Mohawk Parking Ramp, the wheels are in motion to formally sell the property to Douglas Jemal to begin its transformation into a mixed-use hub.
The Buffalo Common Council adopted a resolution during Tuesday's meeting to approve the agreement between the city and Douglas Development, allowing for the redevelopment of the Mohawk Ramp to move forward.
The plan for the Mohawk Ramp continues to be the reimagining of the property as the anchor of a redeveloped downtown neighborhood, which also includes the transformation of several adjacent and nearby buildings Douglas Development acquired on and around Ellicott Street.
"For many years, we've deliberated and talked about selling the Mohawk Ramp to Doug Jemal for a price of $3.1 million, and ultimately having that site completely redeveloped, where there'll be hundreds of units of apartments and commercial space. And then also the continuation of parking spaces for not only tenants, but also the public," said Fillmore District Councilman Mitch Nowakowski in an interview with WBEN. "This is a vital part of downtown. We need to have a dense urban core, and having people live downtown and making sure that we don't just rely on transactional density is super important. This is millions of dollars of investments from the applicant, Doug Jemal, that will completely transform that section of Downtown Buffalo on Mohawk."
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In addition to transforming the 69-year-old parking ramp, Jemal will forgo all governmental subsidies, and the firm will partner with the City of Buffalo to create a special infrastructure fund that will put money back into the surrounding areas of downtown.
"I think this is something we should all be really excited about and proud about, and making sure that when we're seeing development we're doing it correctly and appropriately," Nowakowski said.
Buffalo's Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon is also looking forward for the project to move forward. He says the willingness of Jemal to forfeit any tax incentives he's eligible for and reinvest them in the City of Buffalo is something that doesn't happen too often.
"You don't see people lining up at City Hall to do development projects where they're going to forego their tax exemptions. This is the second time he's now done it, and I hope, quite frankly, that other members of the community, the developmental community, will follow suit and contribute back to the City of Buffalo the way he is," said Mayor Scanlon.
Nowakowski says it's been a goal for a while now to get that area of the city and other parts of Downtown Buffalo more densely occupied with people living and playing there.
"Downtown Buffalo is not a time or a place anymore where it's just for workers. We need to replace workers with actual human beings living in the urban core, connected to public transit, close to a supermarket, close to jobs, you name it," Nowakowski said.
This massive revitalization project to the area and the parking garage is expected to be completed by Douglas Development in three phases:
Phase I:
- $2 million of investment towards structural improvements to the parking ramp, making approximately 586 parking spots available for immediate use - a minimum of 250 spaces will be available for public use that's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Redevelopment of the Simon West Property, and adding approximately 60 new residential apartments and approximately 5,000 square feet of commercial space.
- Development should take no longer than two years to complete.
Phase II:
- Construction of two additional parking decks in the parking ramp with a new brick façade for a total of approximately 900 parking spots - a minimum of 350 spaces will be devoted to public use that's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Redevelopment of the Simon East Property and/or redevelop the Main Street Properties to add approximately 250 new residential apartments and approximately 10,000 square feet of commercial space.
- Development should take no longer than two years to complete.
Phase III:
- Obtaining the necessary financing to add residential apartments to the parking ramp.
- Construction of no less than 450 new residential apartments collectively.
- Development should take no longer than two years to complete.
Also as part of Phase III, 15% of the total number of new units constructed will be affordable housing units, with 10% of the affordable housing units available to residents who earn 80% or below of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 5% of the affordable housing units available to residents who earn 60% or below of AMI.
"When you're seeing the magnitude of hundreds of apartments, commercial space, the addition of private parking and public parking, and then you see the millions of dollars that will be transferred for the public infrastructure in-and-around the development not only uplifts the project, but it uplifts the adjacent areas," Nowakowski said. "It wouldn't make any sense if a developer came in, did a huge redevelopment of the structure of the Mohawk Ramp, and then everywhere else you're hitting potholes and street lights. This is really to make sure that we're doing development precisely and targeted. And we know that with the reduction of office workers, there's not as many people using the Mohawk Ramp. So making sure that we take these areas and we adaptively reuse them.
"I think that's where I've really been trying to hit home in the City of Buffalo. We shouldn't just be looking at a run-down parking ramp that's used for public parking. We should think about, how do we incorporate public parking into large projects? How do we have a strong urban core in the city and downtown? And downtown belongs to everybody. There's this chronic, archaic mindset among people when they hear the word 'downtown', they think of office worker and they think of wealthy people. Both of those things are not true. So when you go to thriving cities and urban areas, they have urban cores, and Mohawk is right in the Central Business Business District, and it's a premier spot that should be and will be redeveloped."
Nowakowski adds after acquiring a number of assets through decades of decline, the City of Buffalo does not have the ability to have them, only to leave them and they remain stagnant. He believes the city should be looking more into selling off parcels for them to be adaptively reused, maintained and invested in.
As for the Mohawk Ramp, Nowakowski says the city has informed the Council the funding has been secured, and they'll get going on Phase I once Douglas Development sends plans to the city to ensure they're up to municipal protocols.
"This is going to be such a large redevelopment. It's going to take years, but the first phase is going to be the largest, and then we'll continue to see progress and development going from there," Nowakowski said. "Sometimes we, as a city, have to move forward, and you've got to make a decision and move on. I think that's what happened here today."
Nowakowski believes the transformation and redevelopment of the Mohawk Ramp could get underway sometime early next year.