Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Mohawk Parking Ramp at 477 Washington St. in Buffalo is set for transformation into a mixed-use hub at the hands of Douglas Jemal and Douglas Development.
Jemal and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown were on-hand Wednesday for the official announcement that will see ramp and its surrounding areas developed into housing, parking, commercial space, street-level retail and multi-modal mobility links for the local community.
"It is incredible the progress that has taken place in Downtown Buffalo since 2017," said Mayor Brown on Wednesday. "Even during the pandemic and as we move forward now, there is tremendous progress taking place in the city. One individual that has been at the center, and the heart of that progress is Douglas Jemal, Douglas Development, Paul Millstein."
Douglas Development was selected over six development teams that placed proposals on the 1.1-acre city-owned parking ramp. The plan for the Mohawk Ramp is to reimagine the property and have it as the anchor of a re-developed downtown neighborhood, which includes the transformation of several adjacent and nearby buildings the firm recently acquired on and around Ellicott Street.
"We see an opportunity to take Ellicott Street and bring it all together with the Simon property that we have, not to create so much parking over there because we have the Mohawk Ramp to create the parking, but to make it a walkable, livable retail activated downtown," said Jemal on Wednesday.
The winning proposal from Douglas Development goes beyond the transformation of the 67-year-old parking ramp, as 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.
Jemal says the area around the Mohawk Ramp was once a very active, vibrant area of the city. He, along with Millstein - Vice President of Douglas Development - hopes to bring some of that vibrance and energy back to the are with this project.
"It's the Bugsy Siegel theory of Las Vegas, Nevada: build it and they will come," Jemal said. "We've proved that at Seneca One, we prove that at the police station, the activity at the Hyatt at the present time is unbelievable. We have some properties on Main Street. We just really love this city, love this community, and we see so much opportunity that you have in this city. If someone doesn't get it, let them leave."
Douglas Development is planning on investing approximately $45 million at the Mohawk Ramp site to:
- Create 200 apartments, including at least 30 affordable units.
- Add six stories to the ramp including four stories of residential and two stories of parking, boosting the number of spaces from 627 to approximately 900 spaces.
- Create 4,500 square feet of retail and commercial space.
- Convert the first floor of the redeveloped Mohawk ramp into a "mobility hub" that includes parking, electric-vehicle charging stations, and options for people to use the shuttle, electric scooters or bicycles to get around downtown.
- Increase vibrancy and activate the street through its design including its plans for “Electric Alley,” an alley way to be revitalized into lively commercial and retail space.
- Partner with Medaille College to create an academic and training curriculum for minority and women contractors and developers, who will work with the Douglas Development team on projects.
- Create a free shuttle system to transport around a one-mile loop in Downtown Buffalo.
Douglas Development also plans to invest more than $110 million in the former Simon properties, adjacent to the Mohawk site, where it will create an additional 600 residential units, including 15% affordable units.
"I really want to thank [Jemal] for not only investing in the city, but embracing the city, making it your own and really leading the way in so many different ways in terms of how development should be done," Mayor Brown said. "Done in a way that is inclusive, done in a way that is equitable, and done in a way that puts resources back into the community in a way that residents throughout the City of Buffalo will benefit."
You can listen to more from Jemal and Mayor Brown on the project below: