Days after obtaining key Green Code variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals, Eastman Machine Co. and Southern Tier Environments for Living are hoping to win approval for projects in downtown Buffalo and the Fruit Belt neighborhood.
Eastman Machine, located at 775-779 Washington St., plans to construct a 7,392-square-foot warehouse addition to its 130,000-square-foot facility which sits on 3.55 acres at the corner of Washington and Goodell streets.
The $1.67 million project, designed by Dean Architects, would provide more space for loading docks, materials storage and automated assembly, and would include a partial second floor and a new entrance.
Robert Stevenson, left, president and chief executive officer, with an employee at Eastman Machine, a manufacturing facility owned by the Stevenson family for over 100 years, on the manufacturing floor Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, in Buffalo.Â
Eastman Machine produces cutting and material handling equipment for customers worldwide, and is one of the oldest continuously operating manufacturers in Buffalo.
The company, which is also buying an adjacent property, wants to construct the addition on vacant land and a parking area on the west side of the property. It needs the extra room to rearrange its equipment and operation more efficiently, so it doesn't have to store material on the factory floor.
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It received four variances from the ZBA on Feb. 17. The Buffalo Planning Board will review the project on at 4 p.m. Feb. 22.
A rendering of the proposed new apartment building in the Fruit Belt by Southern Tier Environments for Living and the Fruit Belt Community Land Trust.
In addition, Dunkirk-based Southern Tier Environments, known as STEL, is seeking approval for a $20 million affordable housing project on 27 city-owned parcels and 2.03 acres of land on four streets in the Fruit Belt.
The project would include a 42,000-square-foot apartment building at the northeast corner of High and Peach streets, with 33 one- and two-bedroom apartments. It would occupy part or all of eight parcels. Rents would be priced for people earning 50% or 60% of the area median income. Fifteen units would be reserved for those with special needs, with rents set for 30% of the area median.
STEL also proposes to build five three-bedroom duplexes, one two-bedroom duplex and five single-family homes on a total of 21 other properties. It's working with the Fruit Belt Community Land Trust, which is the city's designated developer for vacant sites in the historic neighborhood. The overall project would be funded with state low-income housing tax credits.
Schematic elevations of the proposed new apartment complex in the Fruit Belt neighborhood, by Southern Tier Environments for Living and the Fruit Belt Community Land Trust.
That project, which received several variances, is also up for consideration by the Planning Board, which will also consider:
• A request by Natale Development to combine 1485 and 1491 Niagara St., so it can obtain a certificate of occupancy from the city. The property is the site of the four-story former Aldrich & Ray Manufacturing Co. building, on which developers Angelo Natale, Robert Corrao, Frank Parisi and Carl Savarino spent $5.6 million to convert into a mixed-use building, after delays from financing and the Covid-19 pandemic. The 33,550-square-foot complex features 24,000 square feet of commercial space on the first three floors – occupied by Horvath Chiropractic and MVP Network Consulting, with 3,500 square feet still available – and seven two-bedroom apartments on the fourth floors. MVP owner Ikram Massabini is also a owner of the project.
The building at 1485 Niagara St. (Google Maps)
• A special-use permit to allow Leon Rung of Cafe 59 at 62 Allen St. to move the restaurant's outdoor patio around the corner to 488 Franklin St., where there is more room to allow seven tables and seating for up to 20 people.
• A special-use permit for Dahveed Muhammad to create an open-air flea market on an acre of vacant land at 5 and 17 Walden Ave. and 1137 and 1141 Genesee St., with up to 25 stalls or tables for vendors to sell new and used items from Monday through Saturday.
• A special-use permit for Ali M. Ali to convert a small vacant retail shop at 682 Abbott Road into a smoke and hookah shop.
• A proposed easement from the city to Mollenberg-Betz, granting the mechanical contractor at 300 Scott St. the right to use a portion of Bessemer Street for pedestrians and vehicles, with new paving, driveway, parking and landscaping.
