The Buffalo Urban League is moving ahead with plans for a $25 million mixed-use campus on Jefferson Avenue, backed by a new $5 million state investment announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The proposed headquarters at 1137 Jefferson Ave. will combine offices, workforce development services, housing counseling, arts and cultural programming and residential condominiums for sale, according to the governor's office.
Headquarters would bring services deeper into East Side
The site is along one of Buffalo's main East Side commercial corridors, several blocks from the site of the May 14, 2022, Tops supermarket shooting.
State and Urban League leaders described the project as a way to expand neighborhood access to services while encouraging economic activity along Jefferson Avenue. Those benefits are goals of the proposed development, which is still in the planning stage.
The Urban League has selected Alligood Song Architecture, working with Buffalo-based Carmina Wood, to lead the design.
State grant joins private and local support
Empire State Development will administer the new $5 million grant. The funding plan also includes a $6 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and a separate $1 million state grant administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.
Additional support will come from Erie County, Buffalo, Fidelis and its parent company, Centene Corp., the announcement said. State Sen. April Baskin said she had allocated $1 million toward the project while chairing the Erie County Legislature.
Urban League President and CEO Thomas Beauford Jr. said bringing housing, services and cultural resources together would help the organization connect residents with opportunities. The announcement did not provide a construction completion date or a final count of planned condominiums.
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