BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Habitat Co. has closed on financing for Marine Drive Apartments in downtown Buffalo. The project will mark the start of a three-phase, $600 million redevelopment of the historic waterfront site, which will include infrastructure work, that will be led by Habitat in partnership with Duvernay + Brooks and Bridges Development, an affiliate of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority (BMHA). The Phase I project cost is approximately $208 million. It is financed through public-private partnerships between Enterprise Community Partners, Buffalo-based M&T Bank and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR).
HCR is supporting Phase I through tax-exempt bond financing issued by NYS Housing Finance Agency as well as its federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs. The credits will be invested by M&T Bank, which also purchased $31.6 million of equity through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Brownfield Cleanup Program.
Enterprise Community Partners served as tax credit syndicator. The Marine Drive redevelopment is a HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration Program project and received $2 million from the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency and $900,000 from the City of Buffalo.
Marine Drive Apartments will replace an existing seven-building complex located on Buffalo’s waterfront that is approximately 70 years old. The redevelopment will replace the existing 616 units with 700 new units of affordable housing. Rent restrictions were not disclosed.
Site preparation is underway with an official groundbreaking targeted for spring 2026. Phase I will include 254 affordable units across 12- and seven-story towers and a row of three-story townhomes, a three-level parking garage and ground-floor commercial space.