Tonight we say good bye to 2009 and there has been a lot of exciting things in Real Estate nation-wide with the tax credit, incredible interest rates and the foreclosure crisis.   Let’s look at some of the Real Estate stories of 2009 that happened in Western New York:

Shutting down the Statler

As the last big public party is tonight with the Ice Ball, there was the auction earlier this year and now those buyers are unable to come up with the capital to complete the deal.   The potential costs for redevelopment are mind boggling after seeing the bar raised with the reuse of the Avant just down the street.   It is inevitable that the building has to shut down it costs more than $20,000 a week to keep the building open and dwindling number of tenants.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition – Buffalo NY

How do you inspire 5,000 Buffalonians to care about a neighborhood long forgotten by many?  Apparently it took a national TV crew filming for a week and building a West Side home.   The outpouring of support did not stop at the one home, over 40 homes were fixed up.

Canal Side Development Plans

Construction should start next June and the Canal Side project is estimated to have a total price tag of $294,829,687, made up of both public and private investment in the Buffalo Waterfront.  Funding sources include $154,100,000 in monies received from the New York Power Authority, New York State, the Federal Transit Authority, the Federal Highway Authority, and Empire State Development, as well as $140,880,000 in projected private financing.   Major public infrastructure improvements include:

• Public canals, towpaths, lighting, & canopies
• Signage, canal bridge spans, replica packet boats and barges
• Improved streetscapes, floating docks, and public parking options

Read Also: Canal Side Takes Two Steps Forward

Condo Record Broken at Waterfront Place

A second Waterfront Place condominium sale has broken the $1 million mark with the sale of a 3,633 sq.ft. three bedroom unit on the 11th floor sold for $1.32 million.    About two-thirds of Pasquale’s 49 units are sold with several others under lease.      The first penthouse sold in August for a report $1,069,207.33 according to public records for the  2,728 sq.ft. unit.

The Avant Opens

French for “forward”, Avant’s classic glass curtain wall profile reflects Buffalo today and tomorrow.   Sustainably-designed, this reuse of a former federal building covers an entire city block.  Sustainable choices have driven Avant’s design decisions and has made it the largest recycling project Western New York has ever seen.   The glass curtain of high-performance Low-E glass structure represents a cost premium of more than 35% over traditional construction, but promises many decades of of energy-efficient livability.  Careful attention was paid to all material sourcing to minimize the carbon footprint of the transportation of goods.

Read Also:  First Sale Recorded at Avant

City of Buffalo to hold Foreclosure Auction October 26-28, 2009

The three-day sale at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center and was one of the largest auction to date for the City of Buffalo.   This sale includes over 1,500 vacant lots and 1,600 Buffalo properties that were previously offered at prior auctions and did not sold.

Additional Stories of Interest:

• First Niagara to Pump $2 million into Larkin District
• Northtowns set real estate pace
• Mix of Uses Key to AM&A’s Plan
• State revokes the license of a Western New York real estate broker
• Paladino Working on Greystone Plan

Thinking of selling your Buffalo  home? Interested in finding out the current market value of your single family home, condo or investment property? Then call Colleen Kulikowski at (716) 650-0051 to discuss what is happening in today’s Western New York Real Estate Market.  We would be happy to give you a personalized Comparative Market Analysis for your home or assist you to purchase a home.   View additional WNY Market Area Statistics here.