Building History

The Pierce Arrow Company specialized in luxury, high-end, and handcrafted automobiles, unlike most other companies at the time.

The Pierce Arrow factory was designed by Albert Kahn and built in 1906 by Lockwood, Green, and Company.

The Administration building, where the luxury lofts will reside was designed by George Cary and built in 1908. From 1908-1938, this building served as the Pierce headquarters and production facility, after which it was subdivided and used by various companies as office and industrial space.

In 1974, the Pierce Arrow Administrative building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Pierce-Arrow complex in North Buffalo is a familiar site to area residents, a symbol of a luxury car company that went away in the Great Depression.

Get Started Now

A Green Project

Geo-Thermal Energy System

Remnants of the Pierce Arrow Complex are being re-purposed by developers for housing, and the Elmwood Avenue landmark is getting what may be the area’s largest geothermal energy system.

Travelers who passed the old office building during the re-construction phase saw a lot of debris and orange netting, while hearing loud pounding and crashing noises, but they also witnessed some odd-looking equipment brought in to drill wells – 50 of them – to be used by the geothermal heating system.

The new Loft building is designed to have 50 wells that are all 350 feet deep, and will be combined, inside the building, into one large heat exchanger. The heat pumps are then installed inside the building to generate heating or cooling, necessary to condition the various spaces.

This may be the largest ever geothermal system in this area. It is somewhat more expensive to install, but a lot cheaper to operate.

It is green energy and free energy that comes from beneath your feet to heat and cool a building. Once the system is installed, the payback period is a very short period of time, for the life of the system, and the reduced energy costs are up to 70 percent. So, it is a very smart thing to do.

The geothermal system costs about $1 million and will heat and cool the more than $34 million conversion into 117 apartment units, a restaurant and some office space.

Other work to help keep heating and cooling costs down includes the installation of insulation and energy-efficient windows.

Building the elaborate geothermal system takes the entire duration of the project as completing all of the necessary steps depends on all other aspects of the construction as walls are needed before piping and mounting of heat pumps can occur.

716-577-9700

Building History

A Green Project

Geo-Thermal Energy System

Building History Gallery

Ready to Get Started?

Pierce Arrow Lofts

Connect With Us