Leslie Zemsky, vice president of Larkin Development Group in Buffalo, speaks at the CHQ Chamber Annual Meeting Friday at the White Inn in Fredonia. P-J photo by Gregory Bacon

About 200 years ago the neighborhood surrounding Larkin Square was a business and manufacturing district for the city of Buffalo.

By the 1950s, factories were shutting down and blight began to grow.

But today that area, sometimes called Larkinville, has a new life full of new businesses, entertainment and housing.

The story of its transformation was shared Friday during the CHQ Chamber annual business meeting, which took place at the White Inn in Fredonia, which recently went through its own transformation.

Leslie Zemsky, Vice President of Larkin Development Group in Buffalo, walked those in attendance about their vision, how they were able to do the majority of the work through either their own funds or private funding, and converted a deserted neighborhood into one of the most popular communities in Western New York.

In 2002, Zemsky’s husband Howard acquired the Larkin Terminal Warehouse building and fully restored it to become office space.

“People thought he was crazy,” she said.

They also started remodeling first and then sought tenants.

“Usually you have your space 50% leased and then you start the project. Well Howard said ‘If we do that, nothing will ever happen’ so we just had to start building out spaces,” she said.

Zemsky noted one by one they were able to fill the building.

Along with remodeling space for businesses, they installed a cafeteria, a daycare center, conference rooms, a fitness center, and free bicycles for tenants.

“It was to make it its own little village,” Zemsky said.

From there they had the vision to make Larkinville a 24-hour hour/seven days a week community.

“It would include residential, entertainment, offices, parks, all kinds of things,” Zemsky said.

Now they host Food Truck Tuesdays, where 2,000 people visit. That was never part of the original plan, but Zemsky said they always kept an open mind.

“It’s been a thoughtful planning process, but we’re always open to the feelings of the time. We don’t do extensive market research but we go with our gut,” she said.

Zemsky noted most of the work along Seneca Street has been financed by themselves.

“We do it in a very incremental, careful way. We’re not going to risk a lot. It’s a huge personal investment for us in a multi-generations space. We’re not going to do this to flip. We’re not a developer. We do have a few buildings in the downtown, but we’re not looking at ‘what’s our next building project,’ here or there. We are really focused on this neighborhood,” she said.

In 2010 First Niagara moved their headquarters to Larkin and helped finance the streetscape project.

“The city of Buffalo, almost zero of what they put into this,” she said.

They started Food Truck Tuesday with just three trucks. Now they have 25 trucks and free parking for the community.

“We’re having this whole urban experience that’s easy to get to,” Zemsky said.

Some of the food truck vendors opened brick and mortar restaurants and some brick and mortar restaurants opened a food truck.

They also offer concerts on Wednesday nights through the summer, continuing to draw people to the community.

They have faced challenges as well.

First Niagara was sold to KeyBank, which shrunk its footprint, since its headquarters is in Cleveland.

COVID-19 started the process where some tenants wanted less office space, doing a hybrid work model.

But they have still attracted new tenants and continue to create a community for young professionals.

Today they have pickleball courts, yoga classes, free fitness in the parks, a swimming pool, workout room for office tenants.

There’s lots of restaurants – some owned by Larkin Development and some not. They’ve also brought in retail establishments.

Future plans include installing a park, a bowling alley and townhouses with parking.

Fredonia Mayor Mike Ferguson, who formerly lived in Buffalo, thanked Zemsky for what they are doing in the Queen City.

“It shows, if you keep an open mind, what you can do,” he said.