The Guaranty’s Neighbor Hits The Market

What was once a parish house for one of downtown Buffalo’s oldest churches—and is now a mixed-use development anchored by market rate apartments—has been sold.

According to documents filed Oct. 3 in the Erie County Clerk's office, 128 Pearl LLC, a real estate affiliate of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, sold the Cathedral Commons building at 128 Pearl St. to investors Buffalo Land Co. LLC for $1.35 million.

The deal is the latest in a regional trend of investors buying local multi-family and mixed-use properties.

Cathedral Commons includes seven apartments—all leased—and street-level commercial space.

The deal works out to $192,857 per apartment, or 110.3% more than the regional per-unit average as tracked by CBRE Upstate New York.

The four-story, 10,500-square-foot building dates back to 1896 and sits on Pearl Street just behind St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Both the church and former parish house are considered key landmarks in downtown Buffalo.

After the parish house closed, St. Paul’s hired Schneider Development Services to serve as architect and developer while overseeing the conversion project.

Cathedral Commons opened in 2018 and saw its apartments quickly leased.