BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Phase One of the new Marine Drive Apartments is progressing. The parking lot below the Skyway, where the Phase One apartments will be, was closed down last week to prepare for excavation.
"This is a once-in-a-generation kind of change," said Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority Executive Director Gillian Brown.
WATCH: 'Once in a generation change': Construction to begin soon on new Marine Drive Apartments
The nearby Perry Homes are also being redeveloped, and Brown said they are going to "transform this whole part of the city."
The multi-million dollar projects will provide hundreds of affordable housing units. Phase One of Marine Drive is estimated to cost $240 million of local, state and federal funding.
"I think it's gonna be transformational for the waterfront," said Brown. "It's going to complement what's on the waterfront already, it's going to work in tandem with all the other developments that are ongoing. There's market-rate housing going in there, there's new commercial development going in there. This is gonna fit right in."
Brown said BMHA does not control rent for the new units.
"You will pay 30% of your income for rent plus utilities," said Brown. "Now, these are many of the units, if not all of the units in Phase One, will be separately metered, so that means you'll get what's called a utility allowance as part of living there, because your rent plus your utilities cannot exceed 30%."
The 12-story, seven-story and five-story buildings of Phase I will provide 254 apartments, plus an enclosed parking garage capable of accommodating 188 vehicles. The Phase One apartments will have units ranging from studios to four-bedroom units.
While Phase One is being built, BMHA has leased more than 300 parking spaces at the nearby Waterfront Village Center.
"It's already an inconvenience to the current residents that I had to move the parking, but the reality is this is necessary; it has to come down," said Brown.
Applications are not open yet.
