A Delaware Avenue apartment building is to become the city’s next condominium complex.

The owners of a nine-story, 48-unit building at 849 Delaware Ave. have filed with the state to convert the building to condo status.

“We’ve been thinking about it for quite a while. We actually bought the building back in 1990 with the idea it was a good candidate for conversion but decided to wait until the time was just right,” Rosemary Loffredo said.
She and her business partner, Ronald Smith, recently put up a sign in front of the 46-year-old building announcing “Condos Coming” and the response has indicated their timing couldn’t be better.

“We wanted to get a little buzz going and test the waters. I guess it worked. The phone has not stopped ringing,” Loffredo said.

It’s no secret that Buffalo’s downtown core and first-ring neighborhoods have experienced a residential surge in the past five years, with more than 500 new housing units hitting the market, primarily loft-type apartments in former commercial buildings. But that flood of new addresses has been dominated by rental units, with very few options for those looking to buy.
If all goes according to plan, Loffredo and Smith will have state approval to begin marketing the apartments as condos late this summer. Current residents will have first dibs and get discount pricing.

The units range in size from 539 square feet to 973 square feet, and initially will be priced at $87,900 to $146,500. The price tags are well below those of the upscale condominium projects planned by other developers, where the least expensive units start at around $300,000.
“We think the prices are attractive and will be an affordable way to own rather than rent,” Loffredo said.

Carole Holcberg of Holcberg Ltd. said these condos will “fill a void.”
“There just aren’t very many moderately priced units in the market. I think they’ll attract a lot of attention,” Holcberg said.

Current residents not interested in buying their units will have the option to stay on as renters. The owners also plan to invest $400,000 to update the building’s entryway and lobby as 849 Delaware becomes Executive Condominiums.

No major Buffalo apartment building has been converted to owned units for more than a decade. A high-rise building at 1088 Delaware Ave., with more than 150 units, converted to condos in 1991.

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