Seneca One Tower

Seneca One Tower is a skyscraper located in downtown Buffalo, New York. The building was formerly known as One HSBC Center (1999–2013) and prior to that, as Marine Midland Center (1972–1999), its name was changed in 1999 shortly after Marine Midland's parent company HSBC re-branded the bank as HSBC Bank USA.[2] The building was constructed at a cost of $50 million between 1969 and 1974, and contains over 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of space. Today, the 40 story building still dominates the Buffalo skyline, at 529 feet (161 m) high. It is an example of modern architecture.[3] The building's design is similar to that of the 33 South Sixth building in Minneapolis, reason being that both buildings were designed by the same architectural firm.

Seneca One Tower
Seneca One Tower, in Buffalo, NY
Former namesOne Seneca Tower, One HSBC Center, Marine Midland Center
Record height
Tallest in Buffalo since 1970[I]
Preceded byBuffalo City Hall
General information
StatusComplete
TypeClass "A" Office
LocationSeneca One Tower, Buffalo, NY, United States
Coordinates42.8795°N 78.8757°W / 42.8795; -78.8757
Construction started1969
Completed1972
Cost$50 million US$($349 million in 2019 dollars[1])
OwnerDouglas Development Corporation, Washington, DC
ManagementCiminelli Real Estate Corporation
Height
Roof529 ft (161 m)
Technical details
Floor count40 (38 occupiable)
Floor area1,200,000 sq ft (111,483.6 m2)
Lifts/elevators27
Design and construction
ArchitectSkidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
DeveloperDouglas Development Corporation, Washington, DC
Other information
Parking808 spaces in attached Seneca Ramp and 465 spaces on 2 levels below the building

Currently, the first five floors are undergoing a $100 million renovation by Douglas Development, set to be complete in 2021.

Building facts
  • The building was designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) and completed in 1972, with the interiors completed in 1974. The lead architect was Marc Goldstein; John Merrill was partner-in-charge. The interiors were designed by Davis Allen and Margo Grant Walsh.[4]
  • The tower was the world headquarters of Marine Midland until 1998, and served as the headquarters of HSBC USA until 1999, when it moved its U. S. headquarters to New York City.
  • Seneca One Tower is the tallest (privately owned) office building outside of NYC in New York State. The tallest publicly owned building outside of NYC is Erastus Corning Tower in Albany, New York.
  • The building's plaza hosts Ronald Bladen's monumental 1973 work titled "Vroom, Shhh."
  • The building spans the southern end of Main Street, under which the Buffalo Metro Rail passes.
  • On a clear day, Seneca One Tower can be seen from 20 miles (32 km) away along the New York State Thruway. Due to the large number of railroad overpasses in Erie County, the skyscraper can also be seen from many vantage points along Harlem Road, Union Road, the 400 expressway (as far away as Elma), areas nearby New Era Field (particularly the Lake Avenue and Abbott Road intersection), to the south as far away as Chestnut Ridge Road, and the Grand Island bridges along the Niagara section of the Thruway from the north. It can also be seen looking west from Route 77 in Bennington and Attica, near the windmills. The building can also be seen from the Fallsview hotels on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

Broadcast towers atop the building

Significant former tenants

Future

On December 5, 2012, HSBC Bank USA announced that they would vacate the space it leased in the tower by the time their lease expires in October 2013. Paired with the departure of Phillips Lytle LLP, and the recent closing of the Canadian Consulate, the tower was 90 percent vacant as of 2014.[7][8]

In August 2016, it was announced that Washington, D.C. based Douglas Development will buy One Seneca tower.[9]

On September 29, 2016, Buffalo Business First reported that Douglas Jemal of Washington, D.C. had completed the purchase of One Seneca Tower and an adjacent parking ramp with plans to redevelop the tower and plaza into a mixed-use complex including retail, restaurant, hotel, office and apartment components.

In June 2019, M&T Bank announced it would occupy 15 of the tower's floors as the bank's "technology hub."[10]

The building gained a paint scheme of terra cotta and gunmetal in 2020.[11]

  • View from Canalside
  • Seneca One Tower behind Ellicott Square Building
  • Sahlen Field with the Seneca One Tower building in the background viewed from the 3rd base side of the park.
  • Downtown Buffalo in 1973, shortly after the skyscraper (on the left) was completed
  • Seneca One Tower after new paint scheme pictured in December 2020.

See also

References
  1. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  2. Hartley, Tom (1998). "'Marine Midland' no more". Buffalo Business First. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  3. "One HSBC Center". emporis.com. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  4. Slavin, Maeve (1990). Davis Allen : forty years of interior design at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. New York: Rizzoli International Publications. pp. 76–81. ISBN 0-8478-1255-3.
  5. Fybush, Scott (May 6, 2016). "Site of the Week 5/6/2016: A Few Stops Near Home". Retrieved Sep 24, 2020.
  6. Fink, James. Pegula Sports & Entertainment leases floor in One Seneca Tower. Business First. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  7. Epstein, Jonathan (2012). "Tower owners see strong future despite HSBC's move to vacate building". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  8. Epstein, Jonathan D. (6 November 2013). "Seneca Tower mortgage transferred to firm handling high-risk loans". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  9. Epstein, Jonathan D. (August 16, 2016). "No wrecking ball for One Seneca Tower". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  10. "M&T officially announces move to Seneca One Tower". wgrz.com. Retrieved Sep 24, 2020.
  11. "Why terra cotta and gun-metal gray work for Seneca One Tower". wgrz.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
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