The former headquarters of the Buffalo Police Department will soon hit the market. In a press conference Friday, Mayor Byron Brown and city officials announced their intention to sell the nearly 90-year-old building at Franklin and Church streets to a developer. Brown says his administration will make sure that any potential developer understands the needs of the growing downtown sector.
“We’re looking to get a development that we believe in and we’re looking to get a good, fair price for this prime piece of downtown real estate," Brown said.
The building, which was originally constructed in 1935, has been appraised at just over $3 million.
City Economic Development Commissioner Brendan Mahaffey says with the building's proximity to I-190, Canalside, and a revitalized Erie Street, it is in a prime positon for redevelopment.
“In terms of the potential for this building, it really is tremendous in terms of its location. Whether it would be residential, whether it would be hotel, whether it would be office, there will be people looking at this building with all those factors in mind,” Mahaffey said.
The former Franklin Street headquarters will hit the market November 26.
One side effect of moving the city's police and fire departments to the former Dillon Courthouse is that Buffalo Police have lost the shooting range it used to train its nearly 800 officers.
"What we are doing is exploring a number of options. There is a number of law enforcement agencies in the immediate area that have built newer, larger ranges, so we have been invited to use their ranges until we have a permanent solution. But we are exploring the option of building a state-of-the-art range in the City of Buffalo,” Capt. Jeff Rinaldo said.
The Town of Amherst recently took over a former motorcycle dealership to house its department's shooting range. Rinaldo says there have been informal talks of the Buffalo Police possibly sharing that space until a new range can be built.
