Jericho Road Community Health Center, which is currently transforming a long-shuttered property at 1021 Broadway in the Broadway-Fillmore district into its third medical location, has received the funding it needs to convert two floors into a medical suite and patient pharmacy. M&T Bank has committed to providing a $1.95 million construction loan and a $100,000 charitable donation, critical elements of the capital necessary to launch the project.
The medical suite is scheduled to open this July, while the pharmacy will open in the summer of 2019. Additional services and organizations are expected to open in the building over the next two years. With existing health centers in the city on Genesee Street and Barton Street, Jericho Road aims to serve
more individuals on Buffalo’s East Side and fill a gap following the closure of several other health care providers in the neighborhood.
“It has been a long journey, but the destination is now in sight,” said Magdalena Nichols, chief officer of development and strategic partnerships for Jericho Road. “With M&T Bank’s support, we are that much closer to the completion of the pharmacy and medical suite spaces, which will help transform this long vacant property into a beautiful health hub. When complete, this project will help meet the medical and holistic care void that has been deeply felt in this area.”
Jericho Road has been working to convert the five-story, 110,618-square-foot building into a community health hub, which will house the organization’s medical and community support services, as well as shared space for nine other nonprofit agencies. The entire project, expected to be finished by 2020, will
create or retain about 420 permanent jobs and will feature a patient pharmacy; fitness center for patients, employees, and community members; the Jericho Road medical suite; a Jericho Road dental clinic; and on-site medical imaging through WNY Imaging. Once complete, the site will deliver substantial benefits to the community and will help accelerate the redevelopment of a key corridor anchored by the Broadway Market.
“The revitalization of the Broadway-Fillmore district is gaining momentum—and a major force behind it is the leadership of committed and hardworking entrepreneurs, such as Mark Herskind and the team at Jericho Road,” said Shelley Drake, M&T Bank regional president for Western New York. “Jericho Road’s
plans for the community health center are impressive, and once complete, it will be another step toward a strong, vibrant East Side where people have opportunities to live, work, and play.”
The financing news follows the acquisition of multiple interconnected Broadway-Fillmore properties by Mosaic 659 Foundation, founded by Jericho Road board member Mark Herskind of Baillie Lumber, which
generously acquired the sites for $482,000 last October on behalf of Jericho Road, and continues to donate time and resources to the project.
Originally built in 1910 as the base for the Jahraus-Braun Department Store, the site has been vacant for nearly a decade. It was used by Sattler’s beginning in 1954 to sell furniture and appliances until Sattler’s shifted to its 998 Broadway flagship location. Much of the building was then demolished in the early
1990s. The portions that were saved were renovated into the existing structure from 2007 to present.
Founded in 1997 and officially recognized as a federally qualified health center in 2013, Jericho Road Community Health Center has grown into one of the region’s largest nonprofits, serving primarily low income and undeserved community members.
People interested in becoming patients at the new site can call 716.529.3020.
