Douglas Jemal has more changes in store for the Seneca One complex. The Buffalo Planning Board next week will look at plans for a 20,144 sq.ft. addition at the southeast corner of the site.

The addition will extend to the sidewalks of Exchange and Washington streets and will be integrated into the South Annex Building. It will also enclose the walkway that connects the building to the elevated walkway over Washington Street. This will allow pedestrian access to the adjacent parking garage. The first floor basement level will be altered by replacing the concrete slab with a grey brick and glass façade. The work will be similar to that underway at the southwest corner of the complex approved earlier this year.

From the application:

The project will result in a significant improvement to the overall site by activating the currently pedestrian unfriendly stretch of blank walls along Exchange Street and Washington Street. The presence of additional commercial tenants in this space will serve as a catalyst in bringing life to the formerly dormant site, linking the burgeoning Canalside with the shops and businesses on Main Street. This increased activity will be amplified as the Annex Buildings welcome their first residential tenants just as new commercial tenants are occupying the site. As such, the developer is pursuing an aggressive construction schedule to ensure commercial tenants are able to occupy the southeastern addition at a time which aligns with business and operational needs.

The project description, tight timeline, and the addition of commercial space to the complex that is not lacking for vacant space, aligns with increasing chatter that the complex has signed M&T bank’s sought-after IT department consolidation lease with an announcement “fairly soon when the politicians can get their schedules aligned.”