Quote:
Originally Posted by TanLegs
They knew HSBC was pulling out 8 years ago and they couldn't find anyone
to replace them, that's why they went bankrupt. There already is to much vacant office space
and hotel rooms in Buffalo and no market for them. That's why Pegula won't touch it
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HSBC announced in December 2012 that they would not renew their lease. That is 3-1/2 years ago, not 8.
Seneca One went bankrupt because the building's value dropped below what they could lease the building for - 800,000 square feet dumped into a saturated market at once (Buffalo absorbs about 200,000 square feet of office space annually, according to Business First) meant that payments to their creditors could not be fully met for several years, so the building was vacated of the remaining tenants and auctioned off.
Including One Seneca vacancy, the region's office space vacancy rate is only at 13.5%, compared to places like Phoenix (20.9%), Dallas (18.7%), or even Rochester (20.4%). Industrial vacancy space in Buffalo is at an all-time low of only 3.6%, which is actually driving spec construction of industrial buildings in the area.
Well over 1 million square feet of new office and industrial space has been created in Larkinville and other areas of the city since 2010.
Hotel space grew by 3.7% in the last year, with additional hotel rooms being added at the Hotel Henry (Richardson Complex), Curtiss Building, and Delaware North Headquarters (Westin) in the next few months. Demand has increased, but in the first four months hasn't exceeded new available rooms. Holiday Inn on Delaware is closing later this year, but will be re-branded and re-opened as a new hotel.