Douglas Jemal puts HSBC Atrium up for sale

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Developer Douglas Jemal has put another of his local commercial holdings on the real estate market - with this one, the HSBC Atrium, a key Washington Street building.

Jemal has a $50 million price tag on the 36-year-old, 270,000-square-foot six-story building at 95 Washington Street. The listing includes eight acres of prime downtown real estate anchored by the Atrium and an adjoining 650-space surface parking lot.

CBRE Upstate New York has the listing with Shana Stegner and Sarah Cashimere-Warren handling the listing that went live on Nov. 3.

Jemal bought the building from HSBC Bank in December 2022, paying $9 million.

"Sometimes, you just have to make a business decision," Jemal said.

At the time, Jemal was toying with a project that would have seen the building retrofitted into either apartments or a hotel - or a mix of both.

The project was aimed at serving as a development companion to Jemal's plans for the former Buffalo News building - that he owned - at the time.

""Buffalo was booming then and then, Covid hit," Jemal said.

In the post-Covid world, developers like Jemal were faced with rising interest rates, increased construction costs and, in the case of downtown Buffalo, a limited office market.'

"I just didn't see myself going forward with this project," Jemal said.

Jemal, in the past few years, has sold off some of his Buffalo commercial real estate portfolio including the Buffalo News building that is now home to the Golisano Institute.

The HSBC Atrium building, located at 95 Washington Street, still has a lot of development potential Jemal said. It is netsled betwen KeyBank Center and the LECOM HarborCenter and also sits on the eastern edge of the Canalside District.

Jemal still has significant local commercial real estate holdings including the Seneca One Tower, the Statller and a mixed--use project at the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Bidwell Parkway.

"I still believe in this area immensely," Jemal said.