There are signs of yet another building project along Buffalo's burgeoning Ohio Street Corridor.
Developer Sam Savarino admits it wasn't many years ago that Ohio Street was a tattered road running through a tattered section of the Old First Ward.
Now, he and partners Frontier Group of Companies are putting $18 million into a housing development on Ohio Street, along the Buffalo River with the rehabbed Ohio Street out front. The building will replace the deteriorated Erie Freight House with 78 housing units and two offices.
Savarino says parts of the building will survive.
"The first step for us is to dismantle that building. We have made a commitment to save as much of the timbers as we can. Some of the wood over there that is salvageable will be used, mainly for decorative purposes, in the new development. But we're going to save some timbers. And other people might take the opportunity to use those to reconstruct something resembling the freight house, somewhere else," said Savarino.
Workers have already cleaned out most of the jungle out front and some driveways are already in place.
Savarino says current work is important because the project is to be done by the end of next year with people moving in very early in 2016. They will be greeted by the better street a park expansion and more housing just down the street.
