Located at a major gateway into downtown Buffalo along the re-emerging Niagara Street corridor, the Turner Bros. Loft sits on the edge of downtown Buffalo and the historic West Village. The project seamlessly combines and adaptively reuses 55,000 square feet of historic inventory spread across a patchwork of five interconnected structures. The earliest of these structures was built in 1853 for the Turner Bros.—a producer and international distributor of syrup, cordials, bitters and other “medicinal tonics.”
The project features 40 high-end apartments and a full-scale, USDA-certified kitchen that supports production and distribution operations, an on-site restaurant/bar. The project also features on-site gated parking, a fitness gym, a pet wash station, bicycle storage and a rooftop deck with sweeping views of the downtown skyline and Lake Erie. Historic architectural features, such as large timber and concrete post and beam framing, original fire doors and brick walls, and clay speed tile have been meticulously woven into the project’s finished design.
The age and very poor condition of the properties, including environmental contamination from former industry, added enhanced complexity to the project’s financial feasibility and redevelopment. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the project utilizes State and Federal Historic Tax Credits, which require ongoing coordination with the New York State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service. The property was also remediated through the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program and is leveraging Brownfield Cleanup Tax Credits. The project has also been awarded a permanent loan through the Empire State Development Corporation’s Better Buffalo Program, part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative. The project is also leveraging programs from local utility providers and the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.
