Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was in East Buffalo on Monday to help cut the ribbon to re-open the Eckhardts building, capping off a $13.5 million project that renovated and converted a 50,000-square-foot, vacant and underutilized building at 950 Broadway into a mixed-use development.
The completed project in East Buffalo will feature 28 new affordable housing units, as well as a free Head Start child education program.
The building has been unused for 18 years, with portions of the building being vacant for decades. The renovated structure brings new life to the former retail store- turned-office building near one of the most visible intersections in East Buffalo.
Gov. Hochul previously announced 950 Broadway LLC was chosen with 10 other transformational projects in Buffalo’s Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood as part of a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative award.
"When you see the finished product, you know that someone's going to be able to call this their home, and their children are going to be safe and nurtured here. This brings back pride," said Gov. Hochul during Monday's ribbon cutting ceremony. "Remember the old 'talking proud, walking proud', whatever we were doing proud? That was a slogan, and it was nice. But now it's real. It's not just something on a sign or a banner, it's what people are living now, because this ribbon cutting today will just be a symbol of all the projects, all the initiatives."
In the past five years, New York State Homes and Community Renewal has created or preserved more than 11,000 affordable homes in Erie County, including over 7,500 in the City of Buffalo.
950 Broadway continues this effort, and complements Gov. Hochul's $25 billion comprehensive Housing Plan that will create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes across New York, including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes.
Located at the corner of Broadway and Fillmore, the former Eckhardt’s department store is now home to the Eckhardt Lofts, which consist of 28 affordable apartments. These range from studios to 1- and 2-bedroom units on the second and third floor of the building. The fully renovated units feature new stainless-steel appliances, gated parking, modern kitchen designs with islands, ample storage, and efficient layouts.
These units accommodate a diverse population, and aim to bring new life and excitement to the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood.
"This is a model for around the state," Gov. Hochul said of the project. "I want you to know that I'm pointing to this project and what we're doing here, integrating education for children in a place where families can live in the same building – this is how you change people's lives. And I'm working every single day to make sure that this is successful."
"I spent a lot of time in this community, I know what was here," added State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes on Monday. "I remember Norban's, I remember you could literally come to this community and buy anything you need. You can go to a millinery store, you can have your shoes repaired, you can go to a cleaners. I remember when the first McDonald's came right here on Fillmore Street, decades ago. But I also remember when people left. And when people leave, business leaves. And when business leaves, you're left with just poverty and despair. So for us to be here now, rejuvenating this area under the Downtown Revitalization Initiative under Gov. Kathy Hochul, it is just amazing."
The Community Action Organization of WNY will occupy the entire first floor of the building. This 12,000-square-foot commercial space was transformed into the Eckhardts Academy, a no-cost child Head Start education program, which aims to cater to more than 55 families in the community.
"We're talking about something that I believe in, to my core, is making sure that every child has the best start in life," Gov. Hochul said. "I just walked past a room that is going to be open to children who participate in the Head Start program. It was filled with toys and little books and crafts, and I said 'This is life changing for the families that'll be able to come to this place right from birth to age 3-and-a-half-years-old. Setting them up on a path to success that'll never be reversed.' If you could get them when they're that young, you can change their life forever."
Buffalo’s Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, with a relatively dense stock of largely historic commercial buildings, was a DRI winner in Round 5. Located in East Buffalo and one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, it is the focus of Buffalo’s plan for a downtown investment, with a vision of creating special urban places, key park spaces, retail-oriented streets, improved neighborhood connections, bike and pedestrian connections, streetscape improvements, and public realm improvements.
Building on this momentum, Buffalo aims to encourage more redevelopment of vacant structures, provide better connections between anchors and amenities through greenspace, increase affordable housing opportunities, and enhance the streetscape.
"I will continue to invest in this community, invest in the people, and more importantly, invest in the future. The future of Buffalo is so bright and it starts with projects like this," Gov. Hochul added.
To assist Cedarland Development LLC, New York State provided a loan valued at $900,000 and grant valued at $1.1 million from Empire State Development’s Better Buffalo Fund to support the commercial renovations and building’s stabilization.
Additionally, the project was awarded a $427,150 grant for the buildout of the daycare facilities through the Department of State’s Round 5 Downtown Revitalization Initiative for the Broadway Fillmore neighborhood.
New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) provided $2.1 million in construction and permanent financing toward the affordable housing portion of the project through its Small Building Participation Loan Program. The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) provided a $7.8 million construction loan, as well as a $3.2 million State Of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA)-insured permanent loan financed through its partnership with the New York State Common Retirement Fund.
In addition to the developer’s contributions, over $2.9 million in Historic Tax Credit Equity and additional incentives from National Grid round out the project’s sources. SONYMA’s Mortgage Insurance Fund provided mortgage insurance on CPC’s permanent financing.
The project is a key element of Gov. Hochul’s revitalization of the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, alongside projects such as the Playter Gardens (Cedarland was co-developer on this housing project), revitalization of the Broadway Market, Apartments at the Lyceum, improvements at the Torn Space Theater complex, a number of properties taking advantage of small business assistance through ESD’s Commercial District Program and Building Stabilization Program, and the evolving restoration and repurposing of the Buffalo Central Terminal.
The Art Moderne building — with its rounded façade of granite, terra cotta and stainless steel — was designed by architects Bley and Lyman and built in 1940 as a department store, first by Eckhardt’s and later several other retail establishments, from 1940 until 1957. Later, it served as office space for the New York State Department of Labor.
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