After securing M&T Bank’s technology divisions as an anchor office tenant, Douglas Jemal is heading back to the Zoning Board for variances needed to construct two small buildings on Seneca One’s plaza. The matching clubhouses would be built on each side of Main Street close to Seneca Street. The Green Code requires minimum transparency of 70 percent while the developer is proposing 52 percent. The structures were designed by Antunovich Associates.

From the application:

The Clubhouses are a small but vitally important part of the developer’s efforts to turn the tallest office building in Buffalo from a vacant complex into one of the city’s marquee mixed use developments.

On April 16, 2019 Developer obtained approval for construction of a one-story, approximately 7,843 square foot West Clubhouse. The concepts behind the West Clubhouse, designed to contribute to a new year-round Plaza environment for the site, with an eye toward further activation of the Plaza, have been so well received that a second Clubhouse is being added to the East Plaza. The Clubhouses will serve as the linchpin of many exciting events and gatherings. Both Clubhouses will have the ability to open up its doors to the summer breeze, yet also remain a warm and welcome hub of activity during the winter months. These flexible use, 12-month structures, though very small in the context of the overall Site, are a vitally important addition to the site to continue the transformation of the formerly stark, wind-swept plaza into a year-round useable, social hub.

The Clubhouses are designed with durable materials including cast in place concrete, steel frame windows, natural stone, and glass garage doors. The concrete will respond to the precast concrete of the Tower, while the black industrial windows will relate to the new retail buildings on the east side of the Plaza. The interior of the Clubhouses will be open and flexible, with areas for lounging, dining, gathering and enjoying all of the four seasons in Buffalo

Based on evolving designs, the previously approved West Clubhouse has been altered to decrease the transparency, increase the blank wall width and increase the window sill height. Developer’s design team believes that the revised designs will significantly improve the year-round utilization of the Clubhouses without substantially detracting from the aesthetics of the redevelopment effort.

M&T Bank selected Seneca One as the site of its new Tech Hub. M&T signed a long-term lease for an initial 330,000 square feet of space in Seneca One, with options to expand. By the middle of 2020, M&T plans to have at least 1,000 of its employees in the building, and expects more than 1,500 employees to be located there within three years.