On Tuesday, November 22 Community Services for Every1 held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Apartments at the Lyceum. Christopher Byrd, Jennifer Snyder-Haas (both grads of the school), and Judith Felski attended the groundbreaking ceremony, held on Swinburne Street at Historic St. John Kanty Church Buffalo.
It was a little over four years that the above group, along with Brenda Myc, started developing a plan to market the old school building for reuse. That plan led Community Services for Every1 to purchase the school and Tuesday’s groundbreaking. Also purchased from the City of Buffalo were seven vacant lots on Swinburne Street, extending to the end of the block. The building will live on with a new purpose for generations to come. Completion of the project is expected by the end of 2023.
From the Community Services for Every1 website:
Apartments at the Lyceum – a historic preservation/adaptive reuse of the former Catholic school and community center, commonly known as the St. John Kanty Lyceum. Located at 97 Swinburne St., Buffalo, NY, Community Services will adapt the historic building to create 42 affordable workforce apartments and 7,600 sf of commercial space.
Community Services will set aside 12 residences for survivors of domestic violence ready to move to permanent housing. Five apartments will be fully ADA accessible, and two will be adapted for those with audio/visual impairments. The existing kitchen, cafeteria, and activity room will be renovated and made accessible for use as commercial space. The commercial space will primarily be utilized by Community Services to provide vocational, after school, and healthy cooking/food literacy education services to more than 200 people with developmental disabilities and their families each year.
Additionally, The St. John Kanty Parish will sublease the space to prepare baked goods/meals related to cultural/ religious events and fundraisers. Ten adjacent, vacant lots along Swinburne St. are being acquired from the City of Buffalo to create off-street parking and greenspace that features gardens and a playground. Project amenities include on-site parking for residents and guests, interior community space, common laundry, an elevator, an EV charging station, indoor bike storage and repair station, and storage facilities.
Photos:
Go to this link to see more photos from the groundbreaking ceremony, as well as artist’s renderings of the finished product: https://www.csevery1.com/lyceum/
