Due to student demand and what has been a successful program, the Buffalo School District has expanded its culinary training with an Emerson School of Hospitality annex in the former School 28 at South Park Avenue and Abbott Road. The annex is expected to be in South Buffalo for only a short time as the District wants a stand-alone, second culinary school for the popular program. Proposals from interested developers were due this month.
The existing Emerson School in the Root Building on Chippewa Street has a high attendance and graduation rate and will remain. The education provided at the school prepares students for a wide variety of hospitality and food service jobs or they may continue their education at a college or university. Hundreds of students are turned away because of the current school’s popularity according to BPS officials. The expansion is happening at a good time with dozens of new restaurants recently opened or planned downtown and elsewhere in the region. One owner with multiple restaurants says that “good help is becoming more difficult to find.”
The District is seeking a property owner or developer to provide the district with a new facility in either an existing structure or a new building. The school will be a grades 9 to 12 high school with a capacity of 450 to 500 students.
Since the school is expected to have a student-run, 3,000 sq.ft. restaurant facility that will be open for breakfast and lunch, site selection is limited to areas with “a high amount of potential customers.” It will also include a 2,500 sq.ft. banquet room. The District has identified possible areas such as Hertel Avenue, the Elmwood Village, Medical Campus, and the Larkin District but is open to other sites within the city.
It is assumed the school program will require a building of approximately 80,000 sq.ft. The District also wants a location with convenient public transportation, parking for 100 cars, and the potential for outdoor dining.
Projected opening of the facility is Summer 2017 with the school welcoming its first students that Fall. Occupancy date will be a major factor in evaluating the proposals according to the RFP. The space will be leased for 15 years with a 15-year option and/or two ten-year options and promises to bring new life to a lucky Buffalo neighborhood.
Entry image by CBRE Buffalo