BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and the Krog Group announced construction has resumed on the development at the former Trico Plant in Downtown Buffalo.
According to the mayor's office, the $112 million project was put on hold at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 following the completion of brownfield remediation and partial demolition. The mayor's office said during the pause, project material costs ballooned by $30 million and the Krog Group went back and decided to replace planned hotel space with additional apartments, secured a new investment partner and $3.7 million in tax incentives from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency (ECIDA).
“The Buffalo Brownfield Restoration Corp., a subsidiary of the Buffalo Urban Development Corporation (BUDC), safeguarded this structure for redevelopment for nearly a decade, until the Krog Group came along. Fortunately, Peter Krog did not walk away when the pandemic hit and redevelopment costs skyrocketed. For that, my Administration and the residents of Buffalo are extremely grateful. The Trico Apartments and the office space this project will create, will be a major enhancement to downtown Buffalo, especially the neighboring Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC), Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Buffalo’s Fruitbelt neighborhood.”
“We would like to extend our gratitude to Mayor Brown, the City of Buffalo, the ECIDA, BUDC, BNMC, and all our lending partners that stuck with us through the pandemic-caused delays. The Krog Group has worked diligently on this project for over five years and we now have all the pieces pulled together to complete this signature project. We are extremely happy to be back on schedule and look forward to a grand opening at the end of summer 2023.”
The 242-unit Trico Building Apartments are described by the developer as “eco-conscious and purposefully designed."
The building will feature:
- A 6th floor rooftop terrace with a dog park, fire pit, outdoor kitchen station, and club house with a fireplace, lounge, game room, and community kitchen.
- A business lounge with private work stations, conference rooms, pet spa, 24/7 gym, SmartHome technology, including smart locks and thermostats, smart package lockers, door-to-door Valet trash pickup, 1GB wireless internet, an indoor parking garage with 240 heated parking spaces, smart phone building access, private resident storage lockers, bike storage, and electric vehicle charging stations.
There will be one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments that will range in size from 630 to 2,000 sq. ft., and select units are expected to have 25x11 foot private balconies. Rents will start at $1,250/mo. The mayor's office said 10% of the units will be designated as affordable "workforce housing."
The apartment community will be managed by LuxuryAptsWNY. Krog Group will manage the overall building with 60,000 square feet of commercial office space.
