Years of planning is now down to just a few weeks for the Artspace in downtown Buffalo.

The legal documents, which clear the way for construction, are in place and should be signed within the next week. From there, construction will begin in April and a formal ground breaking slated for early May.

After considering a number of downtown locations, Artspace selected the former Brietweiser Printing Building at 1219 Main St., an 85-year-old, 80,000-square-foot structure. The building is being dubbed the Buffalo Electric Vehicle Co. after its original use.

Artspace will convert the vacant building into an artists "live-work-play" colony with 36 loft-style units plus another 24 that will be constructed on an adjoining parcel along Northhampton Street.

Artists get a rent break by combining their living and studio arrangements under one roof. The collective artist's colony is viewed as huge draw.
City leaders consider the $15 million project a key cog in the continued Main Street development with Artspace serving as bridge between the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and upper portions of West and East sides.

Artspace has a proven track record in 18 other cities that their projects become both an artist's mecca and an urban development anchor

In Seattle, it became the hub for a monthly art crawl that attracts thousands.

The project is drawing a lot of interest from the Buffalo area artist's community. Holmes said Artspace has had inquiries from more than 300 artists before it has even begun to accept applications.

That puts Buffalo on par with cities like Reno, Nev. that had the same similar pre-construction anticipation. Holmes said the day the Reno applications hit the streets, artists were waiting in lines for hours.

"Buffalo should be just like Reno with a lot of people very hungry for the project," Holmes said.

Sam Savarino, whose firm Savarino Construction Services Corp. will serve as the project's construction manager, said the retrofitted of the building should take about 12 months to complete


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