To build new or to renovate?
January 25, 2025Sinatra & Co. is teaming up with Buffalo Bills player Dion Dawkins to breathe new life into three Buffalo properties as part of the Sinatra Shnow Opportunity Zone Fund. Sinatra & Co. will be using their expertise as the developer while Dion Dawkins will be overseeing the design aspects of the projects, putting his “Shnowman touch” on all the apartments, according to Nick Sinatra.
Whether through pictures, murals, or art, Dawkins will be curating the shared areas of the apartments to connect with residents and community members. “What I envision is to put the history of the football team, to put the history of the city, in this building,” said Dawkins. “I think art, I think music is the universal language, and that’s a beautiful way to connect that bridge and to communicate with people without physically communicating with people.”
The three properties include 191 North Street in Buffalo, a mixed-use housing building that will take ten months to a year to complete; Market Arcade, which will begin in six months and will add 53 market-rate apartments to the existing first-floor tenants; and 765 Main Street (the Spaulding Building), which will be turned into 24 apartments in 2026. The change to Market Arcade marks a difference in the community post-COVID, shifting the space from retail shops and offices to a mixed-use building with plenty of housing.
The Sinatra Shnow Opportunity Zone Fund will use historic tax credits to complete the projects on time, adding value to the city and much-needed housing opportunities for the community. In total, the partnership’s three projects involve $45 million worth of investment.
Together, Sinatra & Co. and Dawkins are excited to revitalize and showcase these beautiful and historic Buffalo properties. “This is just the start of one thing which turns into two, three, four, five, six until this place is literally the best place in everyone’s eyes in the world, not just ours,” said Dawkins.
