The first residents have settled into the Trico Building Apartments, a project in the works since 2017. It was well worth the wait. The former industrial behemoth, a symbol of Buffalo’s industrial might, has been repurposed to meet the demand for new residential and commercial space in the city’s core. The mixed-use, approximately $112 million project, assists in bridging the Medical Campus to the Theater District and downtown.
Vacant since 1999, the Trico complex was placed on the State Historic Registry in 2000 and the National Historic Registry in 2001. The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) and the University at Buffalo purchased the former M. Wile Co. and Trico buildings for $20.09 million in 2007. Title to the Trico complex was subsequently transferred to the Buffalo Brownfield Restoration Corp., a quasi-public agency. The Krog Group purchased the property in 2017 and started work on reuse plans that included residential, hotel and commercial space.
After remedial work was completed, the project was paused in early 2021, shortly after Covid hit. Work restarted in 2022 with additional residential units replacing the previously proposed extended stay hotel. The amount of commercial space was also reduced.
Construction is being completed in phases. The building’s first residential tenants began moving into the initial 138 apartments in August. The remaining 104 apartments will be completed by February. With 242 apartments, it is the largest residential building completed downtown since the downtown residential market began to take off in the early 2000’s. In addition to the apartments, the building also features 60,000 sq.ft. of commercial space and enclosed heated parking for 240 cars. Architectural Resources designed the project.
The main entrance to the building is from a vehicle court accessed from Ellicott Street. The center of the Trico plant, the former ice house of the Weyand Brewing Company, was demolished opening up the complex and creating more usable floor plates. An elevated three-level addition with residential units bridges the entrance to the courtyard connecting to the fifth through seventh floors.
“The newly opened courtyard is being utilized for drop-offs, pick-ups, and deliveries for residents,” says Ashley St. Cyr, Marketing Director at BMW Management Company, the firm managing the residential component of the project. “We hope to utilize the space for occasional events. It is also heated, allowing it to be free of snow and ice this winter.”
The central lobby includes a mail room, secure package room, a multi-purpose room, theater room, coffee bar, and on-site management office. Two retail spaces with 3,000 and 4,500 sq.ft. of space are located on the courtyard. Retail leasing is underway and Krog is open to nearly all types of uses but ideally would like to have tenants that support the residents and workers in the building.
“Current residents would love to see a convenience store, grab-and-go healthy lunch spot, coffee shop, or health and fitness studio such as a yoga studio or fitness facility would be great,” says St. Cyr. Restaurant tenants will be able to utilize the courtyard for outdoor seating with bistro tables.
The building’s 54,000 sq.ft. of commercial space is located in the northeast corner of the building on the first three levels along Ellicott Street and adjacent to the Thomas R. Beecher, Jr. Innovation Center…