BUFFALO, N.Y. — Shea's Seneca showed-off and dedicated its new marquee Monday in South Buffalo. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of a big development boom happening in the neighborhood.
When South Buffalo native, Peter Scarcello, and his partners opened Hook & Ladder Development in 2012, they chose to headquarter it on Seneca Street.
"This is special to us. It's where we're from. It's where we still reside. And, Seneca Street, like I said, we recognized early on that it had all the key components to be a thriving and vibrant commercial corridor once again,” says Scarcello.
They just closed on their 13th mixed-use commercial building on the street and are just about done with their 7th project.
"Every project that we've taken up to date is occupied with successful businesses right now. We have a photo studio, a barbershop, Grey Havens Tattoo, and an incredible, talented tattoo artist, Moria Piercing, Urban Kottage Furniture Restoration, the list goes on," explained Scarcello.
And, he added, it's not just about buildings and storefronts.
"We have Cazenovia Park, an Olmsted Park at our corner, the Buffalo River at the other, and so in my opinion, Seneca Street is actually positioned better than any other commercial corridor in the City of Buffalo. I love them all, but again South Buffalo, Seneca Street is near and dear to me and my partners," he says.
Scarcello would like to see more people invest in the neighborhood he grew up in and says there's a sense of excitement as more buildings are brought back to life.
"There's always been a sense of pride on this street, and in this neighborhood, but people are walking with their chest out a little bit more, and their chin high, and they're proud, they're proud of what's going on and we're excited to be a part of it," says Scarcello.
Hook & Ladder Development is also renovating the former St. John the Evangelist Church to include commercial space and twelve loft-style apartments overlooking Seneca Street and Cazenovia Park.
Meet the three men behind Hook & Ladder Development in this City Shapers report on them from 2017:
