By JAMES FINK
jfink@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1611

In a move to solidify future development in the Larkin District, developer Howard Zemsky has acquired a key Seneca Street parcel.

Zemsky, through his 598 Main Street LLC affiliate, purchased the former Good Door Store building at 799 Seneca St. The deal gives him control of nearly 90 percent of a city block bordered by Hydraulic, Carroll, Seneca and Griffin streets - roughly three acres - and just east of his Larkin @ Exchange Building, which anchors the district.

598 Main Street LLC paid $180,000 for the building, according to documents filed in the Erie County Clerk's office. It was owned by the estate of Buffalo businessman Lloyd Hogan.

Zemsky said he has completed a thorough environmental investigation of the property and has been accepted into the New York State Brownfield Program.

Plans call for the Good Door Store building to be razed and transformed into a shovel-ready development site. City of Buffalo departments, including the Preservation Board, have signed off on the proposed demolition.

Zemsky said he expects demolition work to start this fall. Empire Building Diagnostics and AFI Environmental Corp. were retained to handle the work.

"We are pursuing opportunities for development on the site and are optimistic," he said.

The entire block will feature a mix of commercial, residential and retail developments.

"At a minimum, the demo and remediation will remove a blighted property from the Larkin District and lay the foundation for significant further development," Zemsky said.