Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The economic impact from D'Youville University's decision to bring its fledgling College of Osteopathic Medicine to a five-story building at 285 Delaware Avenue could have a huge boost for downtown Buffalo.
If projections hold true, as many as 720 med students could be studying at the building by 2032 and with that comes a major spin off in terms of dollars spent at downtown venues.
We think it could be a big impact," said John Cappellino, Erie County Industrial Development Agency president and CEO.
D'Youville will be investing more than $85 million on renovations and prepping the 135,000-square-foot building, located just north of Chippewa Street.
While the program will debut next fall on D'Youville's West Side campus. it will shift to 285 Delaware by the start of the 2027-208 academic year with as many as 90 students.
D'Youville will occupy all of the building with current 285 anchor tenants, M&T Bank and GHD Engineering moving elsewhere. M&T is shifting its offices to other downtown buildings it either owns or leases while GHD is still scouting locations in the central business district.
In the meantime, D'Youville is also working on a $30 million-plus development on its West Side campus that will see a five-story, 218-unit apartment building constructed at 443 West Avenue.
The building should be move-in ready by 2027.
Both the 285 Delaware renovations and the West Avenue apartments will be reviewed by the Buffalo Planning Board on Sept. 22.