Second life sought for Trico building

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Two big development projects in downtown Buffalo were being discussed at public meetings Wednesday night: Re-use of the former Trico plant, and a facelift that will transform Ohio Street into a waterfront parkway.

Entrepreneurs and preservationists are on a mission to save the former Trico plant, despite a 2012 study by the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus that recommended its demolition.

Director of Operations for Preservation Buffalo Niagara Jason Wilson said, "They justify demolishing half the building [by] saying that there isn't a market for the space. And at tonight's meeting we're going to gain community input, to figure out what the end user -- the community -- ultimately wants to see there."

The "Cheers for Trico" meeting and fundraiser was held inside the Hotel Lafayette, itself a historic building, saved from the wrecking ball and repurposed by Signature Development President Rocco Termini.

"I'm just acting as a cheerleader," Termini told News 4 Wednesday night. "This is a young group of preservationists. And these are the type of people that we want in the city, and to help rebuild the city. And I think they have some legitimate ideas."

Among those ideas: lab space for the Medical Campus, much-needed downtown parking spaces, and Wilson added, "The ECC new health and science building, that presently is proposed to be located out in Amherst, could be located right downtown, next to the Medical Campus. It would also be a really great location for a downtown grocery store. That's something that people have always said has kept the [residential] real estate market in downtown from really taking a leap forward, because there is no grocery store."

Trico has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2000. Because of that, it qualifies for both state and federal tax credits, including New York's recently-extended Historic Tax Credit. That alone could pay 40 percent of the renovation costs, if someone decides to redevelop the Trico structure.

Aside from a few blemishes, engineer John Schenne says the building is structurally-sound.

"The previous developer died while the building was being re-roofed. The roofing never got finished, so there's some of leaking water. There's a little bit of deteriorated concrete here and there, but for an 80-year-old structure, there's nothing there that can't be easily fixed," Schenne said.

"All the major structural elements are intact," Schenne explained. "You can build anything you want there. It was designed to take heavy industrial loadings. It's easily convertible to parking, commercial use, office use, residential use. It's just a very well-built structure."

Wilson estimates it could take $100 million to fully rehab Trico - about half the cost, he says, of building the new Children's Hospital.

Meanwhile, an old industrial stretch in the First Ward is receiving a makeover. The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation plans to add parks, green space, signage and bike lanes to a one-and-a-half mile stretch of Ohio Street, building on the momentum and progress at Canalside.

President Tom Dee said, "Fixing up the street, beautifying the street, and then connecting to the Outer Harbor. I think this is a revitalization of a neighborhood. It's going to help this neighborhood. It'll help the water, the river side - in terms of people and development. It'll help the land side, where people live."

The designs for Ohio Street will be complete in the third quarter of 2013, Dee said. That means the city could begin construction on the $11 million project late this year.