By JAMES FINK
Business First

A landmark North Street property is on the verge of being acquired by a New York City-based investment group.

The group signed a letter of intent to acquire the J.M. Bemis House, a four-story mansion-turned-law-office built in 1885.

The property was listed for $1.2 million with RealtyUSA.com brokers David Rumsey and George Hamberger.

"The letter is being reviewed," Rumsey said.

The house is owned by the principals of Collins & Maxwell law firm, which occupies much of the building's 10,000 square feet of space. Collins & Maxwell is considering selling the mansion outright or possibly staying put through a sale-leaseback scenario, according to Rumsey.

"That is one of the items that's still to be worked out," he said.

The house was on the real estate market for less than two months.

Rumsey said the investment group found the property online through RealtyUSA.

The group's principals have other local holdings, mostly similar investment properties with multiple tenants.

The Bemis house was constructed by Buffalo lumber baron J.M. Bemis. The interior features an impressive variety of exotic hardwoods.

"It may be one of the most elegant homes in Buffalo," Rumsey said.

The home was designed in the Queen Anne style by the architectural firm of Joseph Lyman Silsbee and James Marling.

Frank Lloyd Wright's first architectural job was with Silsbee, who in the late 1800s moved from Western New York to Chicago.

Marling remained in Buffalo.