Yes, they ripped that FLW Larkin building for a … parking lot. I’ve been privileged to work in the “U-Building” on Van Rennesselaer and Seneca St… That whole “Larkinville” area is turning around… I guess they are going to give that whole Seneca warehouse a facelift. I’m sure it will look still mad sketchy on the inside. I was climbing onto the roof one day for exploration purposes and the ladder broke free from the brick.
Nope, it’s not. George B Post & Sons.
i dont understand the point of having that many night clubs in one building, but im sure it will do well for 10 years and then fail like everything else.
The only successful nightclub i can think of locally is PURE. Because it is actually a real night club, and not just a bar with a DJ, and it doesn’t suck, and they actually have shows there along with celebrities etc. Obv they make serious bankroll though. I feel this will be the same thing, just more upscale… and probably more like canadas night clubs. Which are sweet and themed kind of.
once i saw deebo posted I just had to see what kinda of knowledge he would drop. i am not disappoint.
Ouch. lol
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Poll added.
Ah balls, you’re right. Damn you Fry and your knowledge. It is still a great structure.
Frank Lloyd Wright designs include; Darwin Martin Complex, Larkin Building (Demo’d), Heath House, Davidson House, and the “new” Boathouse. I can’t think of any others off the top of my head.
Fixed. lol
There’s Graycliff down in Derby. I was just there about a month ago.
meh. i couldn’t care less about you people.
Yeah… i said you people.
Fallingwater and Graycliff are two of the coolest places I’ve ever been. Take guided tours to really get the whole jaw-drop.
I like it. He has the money to spend, I say let him do it.
I love the Statler. Nicest wedding I have ever been to in my life was there. I am super amped on this.
I am not a night club guy but this has great potential for many things. Hell if they made a nice enough lounge that didn’t attract orange people and music that makes me want to kill myself I would hang there and feel important.
Wow…Buffalo looks nice in that photo lol.
Any attempt to bring business or decrease the vacant buildings is great.
Ha. Fixed correctly. I had no idea, but I was interested in the history of the place so I used the google to find the wiki and read a bit about the history of the Statler hotels and that popped up.
This thing’s got potential. It’s not just a bunch of clubs in one building. It used to be the social center of the city and this guy is aiming to do it again. Cafe’s and shit, lounges, clubs, banquet halls…
Wait… someone is investing money into a older building with hopes to create a NEW attraction there to bring people downtown?
In before the city blocks his plans or does something stupid to cause him to pull out.
This guy has every city official wrapped around his finger. It’s been rumored and maybe Josh can verify this, I heard that Mark Croce flies around in his helicopter watching over his parking spots in all his lots downtown. Yeah, all those lots that serves the bogus parking tickets, those are his. This guy has money falling out of his pockets, honestly this is just pocket change for him.
I sincerely hope that you’re right about his intentions.
Yeah, that’s just one reason why I’m not holding my breath for this.
EDIT:
I have heard that he’s very well connected. Bobbyg just mentioned it too. ^
Hopefully. Its nice to see someone actually putting money into something to bring a NEW thing to downtown and not just restoring something that no one cares about anymore. Yea, there is history in things like the grain elevators but Buffalo needs to do stuff to bring new life into the city and get people to come into it. This seems like one hell of a start so hopefully it goes through and other developers follow suit if this works.
There is a lot of misguided speculation being stated as fact in this thread, don’t have time to get into all of it but…
If you were following this from the beginning you would know that the city pledged him 5 million dollars to stabilize the building before the first board was taken off a window. I dont think anybody could be more behind him on this project.
this is the most fantastical story I have ever heard lol. No possible way he watches over his parking spots from a helicopter… he pays people $10 an hour to do that and write tickets for him. Besides, do you think he could see who has a 2" x 4" slip of paper on their dash from 600 feet up? Or maybe he has a high powered telescope on his helicopter. or hey, maybe sattelite parking enforcement… that sounds cost effective.
If he is hands on with any of his companies you can bet he would be doing something much higher value, like making sure the chop house maintains its status
Not to mention that carl palladino, aka ellicot development is more than likely the largest lot owner in the city. Croce is a small player and late to the party on that one.
If he had so much money that this was pocket change for him, he would obviously just renovate the whole building, not the first three levels and possibly the top (and then waiting years to finish the build out). croce is a small time developer as far as 800,000 sq ft buildings in need of gut rehabs go. he owns a few restaurants, small buildings and some parking lots.
As for his intentions, it doesnt really matter, the work hes having done is adding value to the statler, no matter what happens next the building as a whole is now an incredible asset to the city, instead of a liability.
He also has a plan for a glass atrium / bridge over the street to the convention center to add more convention space. genius since our convention center is just over 100,000 sq ft and cannot support large conventions even if we could attract them here.
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one last thing, this is the latest in a string of redevelopments downtown, not a start to one. theres almost nothing significant left that isnt in some stage of renovation.
see: genesse gateway, baker shoes, hotel lafayette, tishman building (10 lafayette square), spaghetti factory building, ailing & cory warehouse, buehl block, everything on the 700 block of main also multiple buildings on the 600 and 500 block, am&a’s lofts, calumet building, donovan building, avant, electric tower, now the statler, ect. and thats just in the last few years and off the top of my head.
there wont be any substantial unrenovated pre war buildings downtown in 10 years, the only exceptions being buildings that are to far gone to save.
Love it! Every time I come back to Buffalo and clients/distributors want to go out I’m like humm… lol This place would be my go to place if they make it classy not hip hop assy.
Croce definitely flies around the city in his chopper. He doesn’t count exact cars in his lots or look for tickets on windshields from the sky (duh) and probably doesn’t go up with this purpose in mind, but he does pay attention to what’s being filled and when. I’ve been standing in a parking lot with him circling overhead and on the phone with management on the ground.
I’m all for as much private money being spent downtown as possible, but when I hear this my eyes roll… I’ve personally been told this so many times that I almost instantly write off anyone who says it.
Sphere claimed this before they opened, and failed.
Blue Mirage claimed this before they opened, and failed.
Level claimed this before they opened, and failed.
Duo claimed this before they opened, and failed.
Even Shanghi Reds & Hyde Park made similar statements minus the nightclub parts.
There are not enough “high-end” people in Buffalo to sustain this dream. Sure, in the beginning it will be great but then the numbers sill start to dwindle and they’ll ditch the dress code, change the music and instead of being high-end they’ll focus on high-volume. Not to mention the drug angle that is inevitable at these places.
More power too him though as this club angle is only one part of his approach.