Executive of the Month: Matthew Montante of TM Montante Development seamlessly blends development with sustainability

Question and answer with Matthew Montante of TM Montante Development. What attracted you to real estate? My family has been involved with Buffalo real estate since the 1930s. After 80 years and three generations, we still own the first little piece of property on the corner of Broadway and Elm. Real estate is an important part of my family's history and rebuilding Buffalo is essential to our future. Can you tell us a bit about your downtown Buffalo redevelopment project? Our next project is the redevelopment of the former Spaghetti Warehouse, located on Elm and Michigan in downtown Buffalo. Built in 1878, the 45,000 s/f, three-story building was originally a fine woodwork factory owned by EM Hager & Sons. It has been vacant for several years and is now ready for a new life. The outside of the building will be fully restored to its original glory, and inside there will be a mix of one and two-bedroom lofts style apartments. Each unit will contain unique architectural features reaching back to another time. A portion of the ground floor is reserved for a commercial tenant, and of course with all Montante projects, there will be a solar component to help power the common areas. What makes this project unique? We take a unique approach to all of our projects. In this case however, we have chosen to follow a few fine examples of thoughtful urban developers. It is these developers that recognize that it is both their responsibility and their opportunity to engage the community. This involves a considerate approach to design, energy efficiency, technology, and innovative space use. It is this approach that makes all our projects smart, distinct, and we think, very special. Will you now be making a strong push for more residential development? Yes. There is obviously a strong demand for residential units anywhere near the Medical Campus. In time, the increasing density of residents will create a greater demand for community amenities, such as grocery stores and other retail services. We plan to support this growth as the market evolves. At present, we are seeking additional residential renovation opportunities near the medical campus. What sets you apart as a Buffalo real estate developer? We have found a way to seamlessly blend commercial real estate development with energy technologies, specifically solar energy. Our prime example of this is the Riverview Solar Technology Park, located in Tonawanda, which is one of the states' first solar-ready business parks. Since establishing the park in 2010, we have incorporated a solar energy component into each building within the park. Today our focus is on incorporating solar panels into the building design of new projects in a way that enhances both the function and aesthetics of the buildings. The end game is to deploy energy efficient technologies in building design to get our tenants to net zero energy consumption without compromising on the artistic appeal of the building. Your company seems to have a strong focus in green building practices. Can you tell us about your approach to this? It's a three-pronged approach; conserve, preserve and produce. We design and build our projects to exceed New York state's green building construction code and have recently acquired LEED accreditation. Our flagship business park, Riverview Solar Technology Park, is a low impact development site that provides our tenants with the benefit of preserved natural surroundings. After satisfying our mission of delivering energy efficiency and protected natural surroundings to our tenants, we focused on the production and delivery of clean renewable energy. With regard to solar, my brother, Dan, spent nine years working for DuPont both here in the U.S. and in Asia. His education at DuPont and his close involvement with the industry leaders opened his eyes to what solar could provide for our family's real estate. It was a natural step not only for his career, but for our company's growth, for Dan to step in and take us in this direction. We began installing solar on our own buildings in 2009. We are now actively installing solar for businesses and houses throughout western New York. What is your vision for solar going forward? We've been investing our own capital to install solar projects on our own commercial buildings since 2009. After successfully completing our own projects and with a full understanding of the project economics, we now deliver solar to third party businesses as well as on homes throughout western New York. Today, our sister company, Montante Solar, is one of the region's fastest growing solar design and installation companies. The Buffalo market, in addition to much of the Northeast, is young in terms of solar adoption, and a lot of that has to do with misconceptions about the viability of solar in a climate like Buffalo. But without doubt, solar works in our region. A well designed solar project is a slam dunk investment that provides an excellent financial return to the owner. Our challenge and opportunity going forward is to make sure that everyone knows this reality. Solar is a brilliant choice.