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

The Kissling Interests LLC revamped plans for the empty, upper floors of its building at 298 Main St. in Buffalo.

Rather than try to fill the 60,000 square feet of office space on the top four floors of the 11-story building, the developer decided to renovate the floors into high-end, market-rate apartments. The project includes upgrades to the lobby and is expected to cost between $8 million and $9 million.

Renovation work is expected to start early next month and the apartments should be ready for tenants by spring 2013.

Kissling retained the Buffalo architectural firm of Carmina Wood & Morris P.C. Jennifer Kissling's Redesign Group, meanwhile, will handle the interior design work. She is the daughter of company founder Tony Kissling and has done similar work for the Allentown Lofts and Remington Lofts.

"We're just following the demand," said Tom Barrett, Kissling director of development.

Downtown residential units are a hot item. A market survey released last week by CBRE/Buffalo found a continuing demand for apartments in the central business district.

Residential work also is one of the primary focuses of the Buffalo Building Reuse Project, crafted by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership at the request of Mayor Byron Brown. Details of that project also were released last week.

Kissling Interests has plans to renovate the upper floors of the 298 Main St. building into 26 apartments. Most will be two-bedroom units, according to Barrett. They will range in size from 1,000 to 2,300 square feet.

"It will be very well done," he said.

The decision to convert the building's upper floors from office to residential came after the developer spent two years trying to find a tenant, or tenants, for the space that had been occupied by DamonMorey. The law firm moved from the Main Street building to the Avant on Delaware Avenue in 2009.

"The reality is, right now there are not a lot of 60,000-square-feet office tenants," Barrett said. "But there's a lot of people who want to move into downtown."

Among the amenities at 298 Main will be a concierge in the lobby who will offer valet parking services for tenants.

The building has two restaurants on the first floor: Liquid Energy and the Globe Market.

Kissling bought 298 Main St. in 2001. The building was constructed in 1917.