Assemblyman Sam Hoyt wants to bring in the heavy artillery when it comes to making sure HSBC Bank and Phillips Lytle law firm stay with their current landlord.

Hoyt asked Sen. Charles Schumer to intervene and have them give some serious consideration to an offer made by Seneca One Realty to anchor a 10-story, 600,000-square-foot addition that could house both.

The bank and law firm have leases that are due to expire in late 2013. Combined, they account for about 87 percent of the space in the 38-story building, which has nearly 970,000 square feet of leaseable office space. Losing one or both would have a devastating impact on the building and cause ripple effects throughout downtown.

HSBC alone leases 653,000 square feet.

The fact that the bank and law firm have been conducting their respective site searches has been in the news for the past year. They are among the most coveted leases in downtown circles - and for obvious reasons, given the cachet they bring to any building and developer.

Each has been courted with at least six significant proposals.

While the pitches made to Phillips Lytle have been mostly in the central business district, HSBC Bank is seeing suburban options - and others outside the region.

HSBC employs nearly 2,300 people in downtown Buffalo. If it incorporates all of its functions, outside of neighborhood branches, the number of workers in the central business district could swell to more than 4,000 people.

If HSBC committed to Seneca One's campus proposal, the company pledged to not only build the adjunct tower but spend upward of $8 million on the existing structure.

That would have a huge, positive impact on downtown and the nearby Canal Side development.

Neil Brazil, HSBC spokesman, said the bank is considering a number of options. He won't go beyond that statement.

Hoyt, taking a proactive stance, asked Schumer to lead a local delegation of elected leaders and businesspeople in a meeting with HSBC top-level officials about their downtown plans. Schumer has a deep track record of reaching out to corporate executives and convincing them to invest in Western New York. He did it with Yahoo! and Southwest Airlines, among others.

"What is now needed is a delegation of influential persons, possibly including the governor and mayor, to convince HSBC of the benefit of maintaining its current footprint and the exciting opportunities that would accompany expansion," Hoyt said.

Schumer brings the necessary clout, according to Hoyt.

The senator's staff said Schumer is giving Hoyt's request serious consideration.

"Buffalo can take advantage of this situation to strengthen its downtown and take a serious step toward economic recovery," Hoyt said.

Home(s) on the range

For years, the former German Catholic Orphanage campus sat vacant on Dodge Street, standing as an eyesore and a visual reminder that Buffalo is indeed one of the nation's poorest cities.

But a new development plan is turning an urban negative into a positive.

Following through on a promise he made last summer, Mayor Byron Brown put together a team to turn the former orphanage property into a $16 million affordable housing project. Some 60 residences are slated for the land. The project has been dubbed St. Martin Village.

Overseeing the project will be the Community Action Organization of Erie County Inc.

The game plan calls for turning the vacant buildings into new residential units. Two of the three-story buildings will be renovated and several others will be demolished to make way for 36 townhouses. A chapel on the property will be rehabbed, as well.

Some rent-to-own leasing options will be available.

R&P Oak Hill was retained to build the complex.

"It's creative, residential development projects like this that combine existing, renovated buildings with new residential structures that will provide more affordable housing for city residents," Brown said. "It also removes blight from our neighborhoods and improves our residents' quality of life."

Ripple effects of St. Martin Village should be felt in the city's Martin Luther King Jr. Park district.

"It represents a key component of our efforts to make the district among the most attractive residential areas in the city," said L. Nathan Hare, executive director of Community Action Organization.

Hare isn't alone in his assessment.

"St. Martin Village is the kind of urban housing development we ought to cherish," said George Hezel, director of the School of Law Affordable Housing Clinic at University at Buffalo.