BUFFALO, N.Y. — We all know that the Seneca One Tower is one of "the" downtown Buffalo centerpieces when it comes to real estate and now they officially have a significant new office tenant in that 38-story building as Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has moved in.
The health insurance now occupies the top five stories of the landmark structure.
The lobby of the Seneca One building outside the main floor auditorium with just a bit busier Thursday as hundreds of Highmark staffers met for a meeting and started exploring their new corporate home.
It was kind of like the first day in a new school even though there was some prior orientation. Staffer Micaela Martin told us that employees were "Learning the ins and outs of the building. We have a scavenger hunt today. So different opportunities like that - really just getting excited. "
Worker engagement is important according to Stefanie Mueller: "We did virtual tours that we rolled out so they could see the gym, the cafeteria. We introduced them to the staff that works here so they would have a lot of friendly faces with them "
And we got to see the 36th floor where they will work. The refurbished floors 34 through 38 have brand new office furniture and equipment - yes they have standing desks - and amenities like a central cafe-type area along with set aside privacy zones if they need it for conferences or calls.
Some feel the new workspace environment will draw stay-at-home workers back into the office. Martin said "There's so much to do. It's so open and inviting. I think we'll have a lot of employees on-site for activities. There's gonna be engagements and meetings and stuff like that - that will overall just bring our employees back."
This is a much different space than their previous building on West Genesee Street where they had been since 2007. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield President Dr. Michael Edbauer explained: " Even before the pandemic we were not fully occupying that building. We had sub-leased out portions of it and we even did not completely utilize all the space that we had. So we were already looking for opportunities pre Covid.to perhaps have as much of a footprint as we move forward.. With COVID of course the world changed."
And after the pandemic pause...enter the hybrid or partial work-week from home staffers. So there is room so far for 450 of their 1,400 member workforce who can now perhaps better interact according to Edbauer. "What's really exciting here is that we are so consolidated. The floorplate is not as large as we were in the other building. It's much easier to connect."
And of course, location, location, location on Main Street is a primary attraction as we heard from Community Outreach Manager Emry Moore. "This is the heart of downtown. So if you want to take the train somewhere. You want to take a walk to Canalside. Like you wanna go to the Bisons game or Pearl Street - this is where you can be. 257 was downtown - don't get me wrong. That was a great place to be. But this is very walkable and accessible for everything."
We are told that parking leases have been arranged for the new Highmark offices.
There are some tenants still in the former 257 West Genesee Street building but it's not clear who else might move in there. Orion Office REIT is the new owner of the building. They did not respond to our request for information about the future use of the building.