Douglas Jemal to redevelop buildings on Main Street in Buffalo

Douglas Development Corp. de Jemal plans to spend $4.2 million to convert the three- and four-story buildings located at 515-521, 525 and 529 Main. All are located on the east side of Main, south of Genesee and East Huron streets, across from the hotel.

The project will include restoration of the historic exterior appearance and character of the buildings, including facades and window arrangements, and is designed to qualify for state and federal historic tax credits. Remaining historic windows will be retained, restored and repaired wherever possible, while contemporary windows will be replaced with aluminum-clad wooden windows for a historic appearance.

• 515-521 Main. The four-story, L-shaped complex is the southernmost of the three properties and abuts a large parking lot behind it at the corner of Washington and East Mohawk streets.
• 525 Main. A three-story yellow stucco building that most recently housed the Dragon Express Chinese restaurant, but previously the St. Paul Catholic Book & Film Center and earlier the Happy Hour Theater. It was built in 1878.
• 529 Main. A four-story building that formerly housed Stewart Clothes.

Jemal will modify the interior of the L-shaped complex by converting the upper floors into 10 apartments, while retaining existing commercial tenants on the ground floor.

The $1.95 million project will result in three retail spaces and a residential lobby on the first floor, a commercial tenant and five one-bedroom units on the second; two studios, four one-bedroom and one two-bedroom apartments on the third floor and a single two-bedroom unit on the top floor.

Exterior work will include the installation of new windows on the upper floors on the south side and the removal and filling of a window on the north side. An exterior staircase and door at the rear will also be removed, while a new exit staircase will be installed at the rear but south end of the complex that is not considered historic.

At 525 Main, there are plans to convert the upper two floors into six apartments, with commercial space on the ground floor. The project is estimated at $900,000.

Crews will uncover and restore the Main Street facade at the ground floor storefront by removing existing stucco and synthetic wall covering, while adding a new storefront to the one-story section on the opposite side or east of the building, extending toward Washington Street. Window openings closed with concrete and masonry will be reopened.

Once completed, it will have 2,000 square feet of commercial space at the front and 1,595 square feet of space at the rear, while each of the upper floors will include a studio and two one-bedroom apartments. bedroom. The first floor entrance will be redesigned in a 1920s style, replacing the existing metal framework and contemporary display windows.

For the $1.35 million project at 529 Main, Jemal plans nine apartments on the upper floors, with a residential lobby and commercial space on the ground floor. Each of the three upper floors will include one two-bedroom apartment and two one-bedroom apartments.

The project includes replacing modern windows on the east or rear facade with aluminum-clad wood windows, reopening the original glazed spaces that were sealed, and redesigning the Main-facing retail store in replacing the existing half-barrel storefront with a 1920s design. At the rear, a steel frame attached to the building will be reused to support the apartments’ exterior balconies.

The plans were approved Thursday by the Buffalo Preservation Board.

Developer and former representative Chris Jacobs wants to convert an office into a single apartment on the second floor of a building he owns at 715 Main St.

The Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo plans to install a new pavilion and temporary storage shed at 2351 Delaware Ave.

Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church hopes to install a pre-built greenhouse at 55 Grape St. in the Fruit Belt neighborhood.