Those who listen carefully can hear it. The nail guns are whirring and the cement mixers swirling, creating an undercurrent of construction activity that just might shore the foundations of the whole Niagara region.

With a nod to the City of Buffalo — whose leaders have finally come to understand that the only way to revive a downtown is to get people to live there, both Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda are looking to add sophisticated urban living spaces in or around their downtown areas. Meanwhile, the Town of Lockport will see some trend-setting senior living spaces. And while the City of Lockport is still waiting on new downtown residences, renovations around the canal area likely mean it’s only a matter of time before upscale living makes an appearance there as well.

The new year will welcome a wide ranges of interesting new living options into the region. Some of those include:

Niagara Falls has new Manhattan-style lofts

In the “hold ’em” poker game developers are playing with the land in downtown Niagara Falls, few are bold enough to show their hands. Most are holding tight, letting their dilapidated, vacant buildings sit until somebody makes a move.

Only a handful of developers have taken the risk and dropped their cards on the table. The result, thus far, is a vibrant face lift for the city’s second tallest building, an old apartment building that’s getting an extreme makeover and some cutting-edge loft apartments over an urban wine bar on Third Street that would turn people’s heads in Manhattan.

Shawn Weber of Youngstown and his partners have built three urban lofts over The Wine Bar on Third Street, offering hardwood floors, skylights, granite countertops and air conditioning.

Weber, who is partnering with brothers Dave and John Giusiana, architects from Lewiston, said they were looking to create New York City-style apartments, “and here we are,” he said, standing in one of the three units available for lease.

The Spanish tile building, built in the 1920s, was completely gutted for the project, and the new spaces range from $775 to 975 a month.

Visible from the doorway of the wine bar on the first floor are the Jefferson Apartments, which Weber and the Giusiana brothers are also slowly renovating. There are 96 units in that building, 55 of which are renovated in a more “traditional” fashion including granite counters and restored hardwood floors, and those are attracting diverse groups as professors from Niagara University and professionals from Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel. The apartments at the Jefferson start at $595 a month.

United Office Building

Not too far away from the Jefferson, the United Office Building — once the tallest building in Niagara Falls before the casino — is getting an extreme makeover with results to be unveiled this spring.

The architecturally important, 20-story, art deco building with its chromatic terra cotta coloring and distinctive embellishments, will offer 23 upscale apartments, according to leasing agent Lynn Gannon of the Ellicott Development Company of Buffalo.

The living units will be arranged three per floor from floors eight to 13, with two apartments on the 14th and 15th floors, a full apartment on the 16th floor, and a two-story apartment on the 17th and 18th floor.

Gannon said the units will also offer “that New York City loft feeling,” with exposed ductwork, whirlpool tubs, steam showers, large windows and fireplaces in all the units. Prices will range from $1,495 per month to $5,495 per month, and the residences are expected to appeal to young professionals as well as upscale empty nesters, or as Gannon calls them, “Ruppies” which stands for retired urban people.

The building, which will be renamed The Giacomo, will also include a boutique hotel and some office space, Gannon said.

Several of the units are expected to be complete in April, with all to be available by June 2, she added.



North Tonawanda to have new waterfront residences

A splash of waterfront living spaces may help to revive North Tonawanda’s economy in the new year.

Luxury waterfront condominiums are being built at East Pier Landings at 512 River Road in North Tonawanda by East Pier marina owner Alex Murchison.

The four-story building will have 12 two-bedroom condominiums designed with “snow birds” in mind — those homeowners who have similar condominiums in the southern states for winter retreats but who prefer the Niagara region for its beautiful summers.

Murchison, who has owned the marina for 20 years, races off-shore ocean boats for recreation and understands the needs of luxury boaters who want a home that provides a protected deep-water harbor nearby.

“This will be a boaters’ community,” said Murchison, who noted that the offering plan is pending an expected approval by New York state. The units will be priced at about $450,000, and each will have a waterfront view of the Niagara River. He is hopeful that construction can begin in the spring.

Remington Rand work/lofts

Also being planned for North Tonawanda is the Remington Rand work/loft apartments at 180 Sweeney St., overlooking the Erie Canal.

Scott Lacasse, vice president of The Kissling Interests, said plans call for about 60 work/live lofts where small business owners can work from vast living spaces with floor to ceiling windows. The location will be anchored by a waterfront restaurant currently being planned with a New York City chef from a five-star restaurant, and the second-largest antique boat museum in the country.

The kind of tenant that might be drawn to the two-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath rental units, will be those who work where they live.

“I see computer companies, a little architectural company, maybe a empty nesters who still practice law.” Tenants might also include baby boomers who simply want to put a grand piano or a pool table in the living areas, which will be 1,500 to 2,000 square feet and offer 14-foot ceilings, he said. The units which will rent for about

The sturdy construction of the 1985 industrial building makes it a great building for reuse. “The buildings were overbuilt and built so well that to duplicate them would be impossible. The construction is that good,” he said.

Lacasse also said local officials have provided a great environment for moving the project forward. “It’s just been a pleasure,” he said about working with the local and state representatives. That kind of reception should draw more development to the community, he said. “They (other developers) are going to look at what we’re doing here and its going to be a catalyst for the whole area.”

The conversion of the Remington Rand building is expected to begin in the fall of this year and take about a year to complete, he said.



Lockport offers new approach to senior housing

As the other locations in the region respond to the need for sophisticated, high-end housing, one developer in Lockport is taking another approach to trend-setting living spaces.

Pinegrove Estates on Bowmiller Road in Lockport is being developed by a family with a long history of health care in the community.

The community will be the first of its kind in Niagara County, and is called a “continuing care retirement community.”

Those attracted to this type of housing will be empty nesters who would move from family homes into rented villas.

After paying a one time fee typical of such places — in the range of $125,000 to $200,000, largely returnable when the resident departs — residents receive a “full continuum of services,” according to its developer, J. Thomas Briody, of the Briody Health Care Facility.

“The campus will provide multiple levels of care in one community so seniors know as their needs change they have the security that the community will be able to meet those evolving needs,” he said.

Briody is partnering with his sister, Ann Briody Petock, in this project. He explained that after paying an initial entry fee, the residents typically pay $1,800 to $2,500 a month for rent and services such as maintenance, security, transportation, as well as use of two dining rooms — one a casual dining room providing home-cooked meals and the other a more formal dining room serving upscale meals.

When residents require a higher level of services they can choose to move from villas to apartment living.

“The apartments would be for those who are still energetic but who want the convenience of going downstairs for dinner,” Briody said.

There are currently 24 villas on the site, created as phase one of the community. The new plans, which are awaiting final approval from the town, will have 40 additional villas, 66 apartments for independent living and 32 assisted living apartments. There will also be a community building called The Country House for residents to use.

The Briodys are third-generation owners of Briody Healthcare Facility, which is a skilled nursing facility recently rated in one local poll as the No. 1 facility among 90 others in Western New York, he said.

Contact editor Michele DeLuca at 693-1000, ext. 157.