In the News

Written by SOB Creative - StepOut Buffalo
New year, new apartment home? If you’re looking to upgrade your living space in 2024, Buffalo’s Barton Apartments are calling.

58 Cleanups Completed in 2023, Including More Than 30 New Affordable Housing Projects 68 New Sites Accepted into Brownfield Cleanup Program New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced another year of successful environmental cleanups in the State's Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP).

he next phase of work at Elmwood Crossing is poised to begin in just over a month, with a little-noticed conversion project that would bring low-income seniors to live in a former hospital building.

People Inc., Mt. Olive Baptist Church kick off construction on Mt. Olive Senior Manor Jonathan D. Epstein –

True Bethel Commons was originally built in 1900 as the Sacred Heart School for the adjacent Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church. A partnership between Belmont Housing Resources for WNY, Inc. and True Community Development Corporation, the $15 million project rehabilitated the school into 39 vibrant apartments.

A Schiller Park neighborhood religious organization hopes to renovate an existing house and build two companion apartment buildings on Sumner Place.

People Inc. is converting the former maternity building at the old Children’s Hospital into senior apartments. The project at 140 Hodge Avenue is part of the larger Ellicott Development and Sinatra & Company Real Estate Elmwood Crossing project.

PUBLIC NOTICE CSS Construction is requesting bids from qualified M/WBE, Section 3 and SDVOB subcontractors for the construction of a multifamily project, Folwell Apartments, located at 219 Bryant Street Buffalo, New York For information contact Russell Kyte at 716-882-1226

We cordially invite you to celebrate the People Inc. Jefferson Avenue Apartments with a presentation and ribbon-cutting. This mixed income apartment building is home to people age 18years and older, including people with developmental disabilities who live independently.

Through sponsorship you are making a difference in the lives of more than 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, including those here in Western New York, while increasing your visibility in the community

Two residential projects on Buffalo's East Side could begin construction later this year. The Jefferson and East Delavan avenues projects total $39 million.

The region's largest nonprofit social services agency and one of its most prominent East Side churches are teaming up for an affordable senior housing project that will create 65 apartments adjacent to the church.

Located at 72 E. Niagara St. in the City of Tonawanda, the new Canal View Commons is just steps away from the shops and restaurants along the Tonawanda canal and bike path.

The holidays will be a litter brighter in Tonawanda, NY this holiday season, thanks to the adaptive reuse of a three-story former school building, into 14 affordable apartments and 4000 square foot commercial space.

Tonawanda, NY, December 1, 2020 - The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) and David Pawlik, a principal member of Development Unlimited of WNY, LLC., today announced the closing of $1.675 million in construction financing to transform a former school building into a mixed-use property with 14 affordable apartments and new commercial space in Tonawanda, NY.

Areal estate agent and investor has acquired two prominent church-conversion projects, paying more than $3 million for the Lofts at Warwich and KLP Commons Apartments. Michael J. Hartke Jr.'s Hartke Properties bought the two buildings from developers David Pawlik and Russell Kyte, owner of CSS Construction, who led the redevelopments of the former churches into 29 luxury apartments and four commercial office suites.

The East Side, a swath of Buffalo beginning just east of the medical campus and extending deep into the BroadwayFillmore District and toward the Larkin District, is no longer a development desert. In the past four years, $240 million in projects have emerged there. And more are on the way

Significant construction continues along Jefferson Avenue ushering in a new era of opportunity. The housing development lead by People Inc., Sinatra & Co. LLC and CSS Construction, provides a new reality for four contiguous blocks that stretch from Dodge to Riley along Jefferson Avenue. The overall investments are in excess of $40,000,000. Once completed the Jefferson Ave. - People Inc. development will deliver 89 residential units, retail, commercial offices and access to financial wellness all in a walkable Jefferson Avenue Corridor.

Empty school building piques Pawlik's interest and here is what is going on in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

If you drive down Parkside Avenue in North Buffalo, you’ll find the Lofts at Warwick, a stunning English Gothic Revival church-turned-apartment building. This was one of Creative Structures Services’ first adaptive reuse projects, preserving historic charm while creating modern housing.

Developers Nick Sinatra and David Pawlik are seeking seven variances from the Green Code as part of their proposal to construct a three-story office building on Jefferson Avenue designed for nonprofits. Sinatra & Co. Real Estate and Pawlik's CSS Construction want to erect the steel-frame building with surface parking on a combined 1.49-acre property at 1200 Jefferson. The planned 35,000-square-foot building would feature a brick, stone, fiber-cement siding and glass facade, with two entry towers and 104 parking spaces.

After decades of neglect, more than $250 million in redevelopment projects are underway on Buffalo's East Side, with more planned or in the works. From a smattering of projects along a big stretch of Jefferson Avenue to a couple of large ventures along Broadway and Fillmore Avenue, developers, businesses and government agencies are investing significant money in neighborhoods east of Main Street. It's far from the level of activity seen in other parts of the city, particularly downtown Buffalo, and just a fraction of the $6.5 billion in total development that's happened in the region in the last six years. And there's no guarantee of how much more will come. But it's more than the East Side has seen in a very long time.

Change is coming to Jefferson Avenue. Nonprofit People Inc. and developers Nick Sinatra and David Pawlik on Wednesday formally kicked off construction on their $31 million project to create affordable and supportive housing on the East Side, with local, state and federal politicians touting the venture as a significant piece of the area's revitalization.

There have been multiple projects in the works in Buffalo's East Side that are creating a development buzz in the area. A few of those, which are just a few blocks from each other, are creating excitement over what is to come. "There is going to be a total transformation of this area in about five years" Developer Brenda Calhoun said. Calhoun is in charge of a new muli-use facility on Filmore that is going to create multiple apartments and store fronts.

Jefferson Ave construction moves forward.

The next step for a major housing development on Buffalo's East Side is now concrete and steel. Buffalo's Common Council approved the final stage of a $31 million People Inc. project on Jefferson Avenue.

The new Northwest Bank officially broke ground on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo's East Side on Friday. "We've worked on this for a long time and we're very excited to be a part of this community" Northwest Regional President Rick Hamister said. The bank is going to signal a complete change for the East Side. Following the bank there will be $50 million in investment going towards infrastructure.

personal capital. Private money. Networking. Partnering with larger companies. Experience. ¶ All are prerequisites for minority contractors trying to take on major projects. And one more thing: It takes an abundance of patience, because it can take several years foraminority firm to become a player in Buffalo’s construction and development business.

There will be new projects to look forward to on Jefferson Avenue this year: A bank is moving in. A financial education center will open. And free Wi-Fi will be expanded. Those are just some of the initiatives Mayor Byron W. Brown plans to highlight during his 12th State of the City address Thursday during a luncheon in the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

New affordable housing is coming to Kensington Avenue on a Buffalo site where the principal industry vanished decades ago. The site at 240 Kensington Avenue near Fillmore Avenue was once Hewitt-Robbins, a company that closed nearly four decades ago. Since then, the building has sat and deteriorated. Now, an alliance of developers, David Pawlik and Nick Sinatra, has put together a complicated $8 million deal for 40 housing units on part of the old industrial site. The goal is to start construction in November and be open in the fall. Pawlik said it is a complicated structure to build because the soil is tricky.

People Inc. and a team of developers will start work next week on the construction of an 84-unit, mixed-income apartment project on Jefferson Avenue. The apartments at 1162 Jefferson Ave. will feature two buildings with 66 one-bedroom units and 18 two-bedroom apartments, aimed at families with incomes ranging between 30 percent and 130 percent of the area's median income. Up to 16 units may be reserved for people with developmental disabilities who can still live independently.

Two major Jefferson Avenue developments won city Zoning Board of Appeals approval, allowing the East Side project to move ahead as proposed. "This is a benefit to the Cold Spring area," said the Rev. James Lewis, chairman of the zoning board. The approvals represent the first large-scale commercial projects to be considered for zoning variances since the city's recently enacted Green Code went into effect.

The developers behind a pair of East Side projects on Jefferson Avenue are inviting residents from the surrounding neighborhoods to a community meeting in late June to discuss the proposed new apartment and medical buildings. The development team – which includes Nick Sinatra and ImmediateCare founder Dr. Greg Daniel, as well as People Inc. and CSS Construction – will seek public input on their plans for the new Jefferson Health and Wellness Center and the Jefferson Avenue Apartments.

Elim Christian Fellowship Church is proposing the first new housing in the Highland Park neighborhood. The 30-unit affordable housing project would be built along Holden Street south of Bennett Village Terrace and across from Elim’s parking lot and chapel. Elim is working with Belmont Housing and Silvestri Architects on the $7 million project that would be constructed by CSS Construction.

A proposed mixed-income apartment complex on Jefferson Avenue won praise from Buffalo Planning Board members Monday night for its design and anticipated impact on an empty two-block section of the East Side thoroughfare.

A two-building, mixed-use development for Jefferson Avenue in the Masten District was given a favorable review by the Planning Board yesterday, though formal action was not taken. Sinatra & Company Real Estate, Creative Structures Services, People Inc. and Bellamy Enterprises are teaming up on the $21 million project with Long Associates Architects providing the building designs and site plan coordination.

Arecord crowd showed up at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center today as Mayor Byron W. Brown delivered a State of the City address that outlined a continued freeze on property taxes, increased police presence at Canalside, and further emphasis on redeveloping the East Side.

Sinatra & Company Real Estate is teaming with public and private sector partners to bring new development to Jefferson Avenue in the Masten District. Sinatra is working with Creative Structures Services and People Inc. to construct a two-building, 84-unit mixed-use project on the west side of Jefferson, north of the Johnnie B. Wiley Sports Complex between Dodge and Northampton streets. Work on the $21 million project is expected to begin next spring with completion in early 2018.

Belmont Housing Resources of WNY (BHR) is close to completing $7.5 million renovation/reconstruction of a warehouse at 1490 Jefferson Avenue. Once finished, the former 66,000 square foot warehouse will include 30 apartment units, a community center and two commercial spaces. The project, in the hands of CSS Construction (General Contractor) and Silvestri Architects, is scheduled for completion this summer.

A gorgeous circa 1866 building located at 142 Archie Street on the city’s East Side is heading in the right direction. The 11,000 square foot structure will be developed into a mix of residential and office by CSS Construction. The conversion will be completed at a cost of $1,200,000.

Much progress has been made on Frontier Group of Companies’ Seneca Street Lofts project at 550 Seneca Street. A healthy group of workers are getting closer to completion under the direction of construction superintendent David Russell, who provided a tour of the building along with co-developer David Pawlik, who owns CSS Construction, the general construction firm that is renovating the 98,000 sq. ft. complex.

The proposed apartment complex by Anthony LoRusso at 295 Maryland Street (corner of Maryland & West) was given full approval by the City of Buffalo Planning Board Tuesday morning after making some minor changes to a previous plan. Called “Casa Serena”, this project consists of a new building housing 54 market-rate one and two-bedroom apartments fronting West Avenue. There will be a main parking lot accessed from Maryland Ave, along with a smaller parking area located to the south accessed from West Avenue.

A warehouse at the northeast corner of Seneca and Hamburg streets will become the Larkin District’s first significant residential project. “The Square at Larkinville” will feature 31 market-rate apartments and 18,500 sq.ft. of office space at 550 Seneca Street. It is being undertaken by Frontier Group of Companies. CSS Construction will be an investor and serve as the general contractor for the $5.4 million project that has been designed by Carmina Wood Morris.

Another Buffalo church has found new life as residential space. Creative Structures Services (CSS), a general contracting, project management and development firm headed by David Pawlik and Russell Kyte, has recently finished work on the former Buffalo Covenant Church at 786 Kenmore Avenue. A dozen apartments and one live-work unit are now located in the building located at Kenmore and Harvest avenues. The Evangelical church decided to shut down due to declining membership and held its final service in the building one year ago. The congregation had occupied the structure since its construction in 1947.

Creative Structures Services (CSS) has wrapped-up conversion of a historic Buffalo library into luxury apartments and is diving into a similar project on Kenmore Avenue. The general contracting, project management and development firm headed by David Pawlik and Russell Kyte transformed the former Fairfield Library at 1659 Amherst Street into five apartments and a small amount of office space.

Creative Structures Services (CSS) is planning another adaptive reuse project in North Buffalo. With one residential conversion under its belt and a second under construction, the development is proposing to convert the 13,000 sq.ft. Buffalo Covenant Church at 786 Kenmore Avenue into residential and commercial space.

The Fairfield Library, already a landmark in the hearts and minds of thousands of Buffalonians, is poised to become an officially designated city landmark. Unless, of course, a developer has his way. The building has been vacant since 2005, when Erie County closed the branch. The building stands prominently on a sweep of green lawn at Amherst and Fairfield streets in Parkside, a familiar landmark for over 100 years, even for those who never walked in its doors. The building opened as a Unitarian Church in 1897. Designed by eminent architect, Parkside resident, and Unitarian Willam Sydney Wicks, the structure is a unique Classical Revival building with cedar shingle siding.

Creative Structure Solutions (CSS) is closer to converting a vacant, historic North Buffalo library into luxury apartments. David Pawlik’s firm has a contract to purchase the Fairfield Library at 1659 Amherst Street from the City and rehabilitate it into five apartments and a small amount of office space.

Time is running out for this local landmark, built in 1863 and known as the Wilkeson House. It is owned by the Public Bridge Authority, which has plans to demolish it and several other properties in order to make way for an expanded Peace Bridge Plaza. Interested parties were invited to acquire and remove any of the seven Busti properties that would be demolished; proposals to do so had to be submitted by April 26, and any structures purchased with a refundable deposit of $10,000 must be removed by June 29. The possibility of such removals—which would be complex and expensive—seems unlikely. At press time, we had not heard that any of the Busti houses were being preserved in this manner.

Six townhouses have been completed at 363 E. Ferry Street. The attractive, $1.35 million project was developed by Second Chance Ministries and is a women’s facility. It occupies a formerly vacant lot that was purchased from the City last fall for $14,400.

True Bethel Baptist Church, Belmont Housing Resources, and Creative Structures Services are teaming up to construct a 30 unit residential development at 858 E. Ferry Street. The $6.6 project is contingent on receiving financial assistance from the NYS Department of Housing and Community Renewal. It would be built on a remediated former industrial site in the Delavan-Grider neighborhood, across from True Bethel church, and provide housing for families whose household income is less than 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).