WALTER J. MAHONEY STATE OFFICE BUILDING TO BE SOLD
State workforce to remain in downtown Buffalo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – RealEstateRama – Office of General Services Commissioner RoAnn Destito today announced that the Senator Walter J. Mahoney State Office Building located at 65 Court Street in Buffalo will be sold at auction in 2020. A work group formed earlier this year made up of City, County, and State officials working with professional real estate consultants CBRE, determined that in the current competitive and robust Buffalo real estate market, the highest and best use of the building is no longer State office space. The committee recommended that the property be sold on the open market. The date and further details on the auction will be announced in the near future.
“As Buffalo’s transformation continues, the Senator Walter J. Mahoney State Office Building presents an incredible opportunity for further development in the heart of downtown,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “For almost 90 years, the Mahoney Building has served our state well, and I look forward to seeing how it will be repurposed and used in the future.”
Commissioner Destito said. “The State is committed to maintaining its large footprint in Buffalo. The renaissance of the City of Buffalo and the success of recent development in the downtown core opens the door for a multitude of potential uses for the building.”
ESD Board Chairman Howard Zemsky said, “Just as the former Donovan State Office Building, transformed into One Canalside, has become an integral part of the City’s celebrated Canalside district, a reimagined Mahoney building has similar potential on Niagara Square. Its auction will add it to the many Western New York buildings that have been revitalized under Buffalo’s resurgence.”
“As economic investment in Buffalo nears $7 billion since 2012, the downtown property market is extremely strong. The State’s decision to sell this iconic, but underutilized anchor building located on Niagara Square, opens the door to another innovative reuse,” Mayor Byron W. Brown said. “I’m very pleased Governor Cuomo will be keeping the State employees who currently work at the Mahoney State Office Building in downtown Buffalo and look forward to welcoming our new neighbors on Niagara Square when the building is sold and repurposed in 2020.”
State employees will remain in the downtown footprint that currently encompasses more than 600,000 square feet of space leased by the State in the City of Buffalo. Approximately 130 employees who work in the building are being relocated to leased space in the City of Buffalo.
The five-story, 69,000-square-foot building sits on a 0.61-acre parcel on Niagara Square. Architectural highlights of the property include an impressive lobby, tall ceilings, and intricate facade work. Portions of the movie “Marshall” were filmed inside the building.
The property originally housed the City’s first public high school, built in 1854, until the City of Buffalo sold it to the State. The City used proceeds from the school to help build City Hall. After acquiring the property, the State demolished the school and built the State Office Building in 1930.The building was named for Walter J. Mahoney who served as a State legislator for nearly 30 years before becoming a New York State Supreme Court judge.
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For Immediate Release
Heather Groll
518-474-5987 |
New York State
