One Seneca Tower is a skyscraper located in downtown Buffalo, New York. The building was formerly known as One HSBC Center (1999-2013) not to be confused with Five Star Bank Plaza, previously known as One HSBC Plaza and One Marine Midland Plaza 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. The building was constructed at a cost of $50 million between 1969 and 1972, and contains over 1,200,000 square feet (110,000Â m2) of space. Today, the 40 story building still dominates the Buffalo skyline, at 529 feet (161Â m) high. It is an example of modernist style architecture. The building's design is similar to that of the 33 South Sixth building in Minneapolis.
Currently, the first five floors are undergoing a $100 million renovation by Douglas Development, set to be complete in five years.
Building facts
- 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.
- One Seneca 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, One Seneca Tower can be seen from 20 miles (32Â 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 Ave. and Abbott Rd. intersection), and the Grand Island bridges along the Niagara section of the Thruway. It can also be seen looking west from Route 77 in Bennington and Attica, near the windmills.
Tenants
Now leasing office and retail space
Broadcast towers atop the building
- WBXZ-LP (TV 56)
- W275BB (FM 102.9), relays WECK
- W227BW (FM 93.3), relays WZXV
Significant Former tenants
- Consulate General of Canada in Buffalo
- HSBC Bank USA
- Pegula Sports and Entertainment
- Phillips Lytle LLP
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.
In August 2016, it was announced that Washington, D.C. based Douglas Development will buy One Seneca tower.
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.
Gallery
See also
- HSBC Buildings around the world
- List of tallest buildings in Buffalo
- List of tallest buildings in Upstate New York
References
External links
- Skyscraperpage building page
- Emporis building page