Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Does the future of the HSBC Atrium building see it finding a new, repurposed development life?
That is the very likely future for the Washington Street building that finds itself nestled between KeyBank Center and the LECOM Harborcenter.
The fate of the HSBC Atrium - vacant for nearly a decade - has come into the forefront when earlier this week building owner and developer Douglas Jemal put it on the commercial real estate market with a $50 million asking price.
Jemal bought the six-story, 270,000-square-foot building in late 2022, paying $9 million with plans for retrofitting it into a mixed-use complex with market rate apartments and, perhaps, a hotel.
Post-Covid rising interest rates and rising construction costs were contributing factors in Jemal scrapping those plans and putting a 'for sale' sign on the property.
"It was a business decision," Jemal said.
In the first 24 hours that the listing went live, it drew a lot calls and interest, said CBRE Upstate New York's listing agents Shana Stegner and Saraj Cashimere-Warren.
Buffalo Place Inc. Executive Director Pete Burakowski thinks the building has a second life - repurposed as a mixed-use property anchored by market rate apartments as envisioned by Jemal.
"It sits at a perfect location and lends itself to a lot of different uses," Borakowski said.
The listing comes at a time when the Canalside/Lower Main Street neighborhood in downtown Buffalo is seeing a wave of development activity.
Among the projects under construction include Nick Sinatra's Heritage Pointe apartments, Pennrose's residential-anchored project on the North Aud Block and Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority's Marine Driive Apartments.
The Golisano Institute recently welcomed its first business and entrepreneur class in the former Buffalo News building that Jemal sold to former Buffalo Sabres owner and Paychex founder B. Thomas Golisano.
"There is a lot to build on," Borakowski said.
As for Jemal, while he has sold off some of his Buffalo real estate holdings, the Washington-based developer said he remains committed to remaining and developing new projects in the city.
"I believe in the area immensely," Jemal said.
The downtown building is on the market with a $50 million price tag
The downtown building is on the market with a $50 million price tag
