UPDATE: The Buffalo Common Council unanimously voted to place a lien on the former AM&A's building located at 377 Main Street after emergency repairs were performed by the city.
"The Common Council's unanimous decision to authorize this lien is a necessary step to protect the City's financial interests and ensure that property owners are held accountable for maintaining their properties in a manner that safeguards public safety," said Fillmore District Council Member Mitch Nowakowski. "This action reinforces our commitment to the well-being of our community and the responsible management of city resources."
According to the Common Council, the lien will remain in effect until $682,296.45 is repaid and will be added to the general tax roll, carrying the same legal weight as property taxes.
ORIGINAL: For more than 50 years attorney Anthony Abbarno has walked right past the former AM&A's building to get to work and remembers the department store fondly.
"It was important, it was prosperous," said Abbarno
But for years the once-celebrated staple of Downtown Buffalo has sat idle. Abbarno says it's become an eyesore.
"I'm sorry to see it in this condition," said Abbarno. "I know there have been a few failed attempts to do something with it. I'd like to see them do something with it."
So would the City of Buffalo.
"We want that building to be engaged like every other building," said Nate Marton, the City of Buffalo's Department of Public Works Commissioner.
So, just this week, the Department of Public Works requested authorization from the Buffalo Common Council to place a lien on the former AM&A building for $682,296.45. The move is the latest attempt by the DPW to recover the money the City of Buffalo spent in 2021 to repair an underground vault that was causing public safety concerns above.
"The DPW requested, worked with the owner of the property, requesting to make those repairs. They didn't make the repairs necessary from our safety perspective" said Marton. "So, the DPW took ownership and performed the work. A little under $700,000 of work that we performed."
Marton says the DPW has requested payment multiple times from the building's owner, 377 Main Street Realty, Inc., but those payments have not been received.
So the City of Buffalo is taking action.
"The long-term goal is to have it be a vibrant part of Downtown Buffalo," said Marton.
The request has been scheduled on the agenda for the Common Council's September 3 meeting.
"It's important that this building gets done," said Rocco Termini, President of Signature Development, which owns a portfolio of Downtown real estate including "The Hotel @ The Lafayette" only steps away from AM&A's.
"The street was closed here for three years because they couldn't find the people that owned it, or they were arguing over ownership," said Termini. "It's an eyesore for the whole street."
Termini believes the action the city is taking is an encouraging sign. He says he's been working with City of Buffalo officials and Downtown business owners on securing the future of the AM&A's building.
"We meet monthly and are discussing the next step. Which will ultimately be, next year sometime, the eminent domain of the building, and we have a group formed that will redevelop," said Termini.
Termini says he would eventually like to see the building redeveloped into apartments and retail space.
"More activity creates more activity," said Termini. "The city has been very active and cooperative in getting a program and a plan together for this building."
I worked to contact the owner of the AM&A's building, 377 Main Street Realty, Inc., on Thursday. I attempted to call the owner using a number listed online. A person on the other end of the phone said we had the wrong number and hung up. Follow-up calls were not answered. A message left for 377 Main Street Realty, Inc. was not returned.
