Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Former Buffalo Sabres owner and billionaire philanthropist Tom Golisano has purchased the former Buffalo News building from developer Douglas Jemal with the intention of using the building for his Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship.
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The reported $10 million deal includes both the building on Washington Street and the adjacent warehouse. Jemal purchased the property for $5.2 million in 2024.
It could just be the start of a flurry of activity in, what's now. a dormant block of downtown. The group looking to bring a professional soccer team to Buffalo has identified the adjacent parking lot as a preferred option to build a stadium.
"It improves the attractiveness of that location," president of Buffalo Pro Soccer, Peter Marlette Jr. told WBEN on Monday. "This has been referred to as the Buffalo News lot... publicly just because that's the building most people recognize. In reality, the HSBC Atrium parking lot is the much more significant portion there, and is actually the portion where the stadium has always been considered.
"I think it's phenomenal that Tom Golisano and his group are investing in the cobblestone district and investing in that area because it shows the interest from outside just our group in pursuing building up that district."
Marlette says his group is "not far" from making a final decision on a site, and the downtown location next to the HSBC Atrium is one of a few left in consideration.
The deal is also a reflection of both Golisano and Jemal's changing presence in the Buffalo area.
For Jemal, it is the latest step in his scaling back from area projects. Jemal recently sold his stake in the Boulevard Mall in Amherst, and stepped away as operator of the Richardson Hotel in June.
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Golisano, meanwhile, will now have a significant presence in the heart of Downtown Buffalo just months before the Oishei Children's Hospital is set to be renamed Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo after his $50 million donation.
Buffalo Pro Soccer will hold another community town hall meeting on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 42 North Brewing in East Aurora at 6 p.m.
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