The decision made this week by Ingram officials to move their regional headquarters and operations from Wehrle Drive in Amherst to the recently rebranded Genesee Tower at 257 W. Genesee Street - and just behind Buffalo City Hall - is considered a major economic development win for downtown Buffalo.
Ingram is leasing slightly more than 100,000 square feet, spread over four floors, in the former Highmark Building. The publicly traded Ingram is a business services support firm.
What the deal means is that Ingram will be bringing 1,300 workers into downtown, and it will also kickstart efforts to fill the eight-story, 430,000-square-foot building that has sat vacant for more than one year since its three anchor tenants left for other buildings.
For downtown, the deal is significant, says Dottie Gallagher, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, president and CEO.
“It's critical as we try to rebuild the downtown core, to bring more workers into the space. And it's a beautiful building, and Ingram has a good company, and we love to see a tenant like that in downtown. Plus, it's not new people to the region or new space to the region, but it is great that Ingram is investing here and that they're staying here and continuing to operate a significant number of people and now in downtown, which is terrific,” Gallagher said.
In all likelihood, now that Ingram is moving to Buffalo, it will help bolster efforts to land more commercial tenants in the central business district. According to CBRE Upstate New York data, downtown Buffalo has a 16.5 percent office vacancy rate on slightly more than 32.8 million square feet of space.
Dottie Gallagher says there could be a trickle-down effect for other businesses due to the move.
“I think kind of certainty will help people understand what the building's tone is going to feel like, and I'm certain that they've really presented well because it is a gorgeous building with good bones, and Ingram can only help attract other tenants as well,” Gallagher said. “I think it's interesting that the first ones in and that's a significant amount of space, and hopefully others will follow.”
As for Ingram’s current Wehrle Drive building, expect that it will be marketed for either lease or sale. It sits in a busy commercial corridor in Amherst that virtually neighbors the SUNY Erie campus.
