Uniland wins ULI New York award for The Delaware North Building

Pictured above, (from left) are members of the project team from Diamond Schmitt Architects and Uniland Development Co.: Graeme Reed, Sybil Wa, Kevin Kirk, Mike Longo, Laura Zaepfel, Bob Richardson, Michael Montante, David Stebbins, Peter Sayadoff and Carl Montante Jr.

Buffalo, NY Uniland Development Co. has won a statewide award for Excellence in Mixed-Use Development from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) for The Delaware North Building downtown.

Development team members from Uniland and its designer, Diamond Schmitt Architects of Toronto, attended the awards ceremony at Gotham Hall in Manhattan. Acknowledged throughout the development industry as one of the most prestigious awards, ULI New York Awards for Excellence in Development selects winners based on projects in public, private and non-profit sectors that best exemplify ULI’s commitment to responsible land use and creating sustainable, thriving communities. In January, judges from ULI New York toured The Delaware North Building as part of the competition.

As one of two finalists for the award, The Delaware North Building was in direct competition with City Point of Brooklyn, a 1.9 million s/f mixed-use development featuring 650,000 s/f of commercial space, 430 units of market-rate rental housing and 250 mixed-income rentals. 

“This is an incredible honor, especially considering the project that we were up against. I interpret this to mean that we are doing the types of projects in Buffalo that make an economic and environmental impact and are to scale,” said Michael Montante, Uniland vice president. “We look forward to developing other progressive and beneficial types of real estate projects in the future that maintain ULI’s standards.”

A once underutilized property, the 250 Delaware complex is an example of new urban placemaking. The tower is a 12-story glass walled structure on the corner of Delaware and Chippewa in the Central Business District (CBD). The Delaware North Building serves as the world headquarters for Delaware North, a global leader in hospitality and food service that was founded locally in 1915. This new building also contains a Westin hotel, class A office space, retail, an adjacent parking garage and underground parking. The project’s design integrates the latest advances in environmental and energy conservation, producing a Silver LEED certification. The building also features a 7,000 s/f courtyard and the area’s largest living plant wall, providing an urban oasis in the middle of the city. The project adds a new world-class building to the cityscape, enhances community renewal, restores a contaminated brownfield, and provides a substantial economic impact for the city.

Uniland Development Company is a leading builder, developer, and manager of commercial real estate in Western New York, having developed more than 12 million s/f of commercial space in the Buffalo-Rochester corridor. Uniland provides leadership in Development, Construction, Sales & Leasing, and Property Management services. The firm owns and operates more than six million square feet for office space, industrial, flex, residential and hospitality uses. Established in 1974, Uniland has earned a reputation as a trusted developer and landlord that delivers on its commitments.