While Congressman Brian Higgins can’t be in Buffalo for the grand opening of the historic Shea’s Seneca building on January 10, 2019, he celebrated the restoration of the landmark from Washington, D.C. Higgins, who grew up in South Buffalo, recalls the days when Shea’s Seneca served as an anchor for a bustling Seneca Street. The Congressman cited the value of historic tax credits in encouraging investment in preservation projects like this one, which are restoring older buildings and re-energizing the surrounding neighborhoods.
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Higgins made the following remarks on the House Floor:
“The storied Shea’s Seneca building on Seneca Street in South Buffalo reopens to the public after eighteen months of extensive renovations made possible by federal and state historic tax credits.
“Built in 1929, the former movie theater was the anchor of the once thriving Seneca Street business district and it will reopen this Thursday. The use of federal historic tax credits added more than $1 million to this historic preservation project.
“There’s new hope and optimism about the future of Seneca Street because of the vision of developer Jake Schneider and his wise use of the federal historic tax credit program that made the Shea’s Seneca project a reality.”
The Shea’s Seneca building restoration, led by Schneider Development, transformed an iconic Buffalo theatre, closed for decades into a new mixed-use building featuring event, retail and residential space.
