Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - For several years, the vacant Commodore Perry projects in the Old First Ward were considered a blight to the Buffalo skyline.
Now, shovels are in the ground to revitalize the neighborhood.
"The transformation already is incredible," said Brendan Mehaffey during an appearance on WBEN on Tuesday. "With so much of the site cleared out, you get a sense of what the possibilities are for the future."
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In the first phase of constructio,n there will be over 400 units, for singles to multi-family. There will be a significant amount of commercial development along South Park Avenue as well on the 18-acre parcel.
Mehaffey, the Executive Director of Buffalo's Office of Strategic Planning, called it a really big deal.
"You've got downtown so close, Larkin to the east, and to the north is the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, so it's in the middle of a lot of significant activity and investment that's going to continue in that area," Mehaffey said.
The project is listed as affordable housing.
"This is public housing, in addition market rate housing will be available in future phases of the development. It's a real mix and will fill a critical housing need," added Mehaffey.
It's not just Perry, but development is also underway at the old Trico building
near the Medical campus with a couple of hundred mostly market rate apartments that are expected to open in August.
Also, a multi phase project is underway to redevelop the Marine Drive apartments with approximately 700 affordable housing units near Canalside.