Buffalo Spree Magazine

The Bellasara:
A magnificent renovation in Allentown

By Elizabeth Licata
Photography by Jim Bush.

The Bellasara offers a particular kind of
luxury. It depends less on fancy frills and
more on the beautiful bones of a historic
E.B. Green-designed building.

It was well on its way to becoming a neighborhood eyesore. After a devastating 1974 fire, and years of failed development attempts, the former University Club at Allen and Delaware was vacant and boarded-up.

But within two years of its 1999 purchase by a local developer, the building has burst into dazzling new life. The fourteen luxury apartments in the rechristened Bellasara are unquestionably among the finest rentals in Buffalo. The units artfully retain the best of the former Club’s unique architectural features, with the addition of contemporary conveniences. And, in spite of rates that reflect the sophistication of the building, most of the apartments are already rented—even as the renovations continue.

“I wanted to return to the urban center attitude,” says developer Carl Palladino, who is also working on apartment conversions in the former Berger’s building on Main Street. “These conversions are often more expensive than building. You have to view the potential, and imagine a synergy of activity.”

Palladino’s idea of revitalizing the University Club for urban living came at just the right moment. With the addition of such projects as the Mansion on Delaware Avenue, the idea of luxury living in a urban setting has taken hold in Buffalo. Palladino imagined a rental market of twenty-somethings who would want both sophistication and convenience. Judging from the recent upsurge in loft spaces under development throughout Buffalo, it looks like he’s foreseen a definite trend.

The Bellasara offers a particular kind of luxury. It depends less on fancy frills and more on the beautiful bones of a historic E.B. Green-designed building. Built in 1903, the University Club was designed to be a residential club. Its exterior includes such distinctive elements as elongated eight-light French doors leading to wrought iron balconys (not all the balconys can now be used); three-light transoms, keystoned windows, and other Georgian Revival features.

Inside, there were originally thirty-nine rooms for members and a central entertainment area on the second floor (now divided into three apartments). The Club featured a large ballroom with majestic pillars, a library, and other graciously appointed reception rooms.

In renovating the building, Ellicott Development—Palladino’s company—aimed at combining historic authenticity with contemporary lifestyle requirements. Most of the units feature an open-plan living space, with kitchen islands and built-in shelving at one end of a large living room—though, given the variations in the apartments, a few have separate dining areas. All the units have a full range of up-to-date amenities. The idea is to offer all the bragging rights of living in a historic building with none of the inconveniences—or DIY headaches. A paradoxically contemporary touch is added by the use of exposed brick walls, echoing the brick exterior and adding warmth and texture to the apartments.

The idea is to offer all the bragging rights of living in a historic building with none of the inconveniences — or DIY headaches.

The original University Club was distinguished by its trademark fireplaces emblazoned with the seals and mottoes of distinguished American colleges, including Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and others. All of the fireplaces and many other original elements have been retained in the second floors’ three units.

Thus, the kitchen area in one of the apartments has a classic pillar in the middle of its island countertop, while its bedroom features an ornate fireplace adorned with the Dartmouth seal. Many of the original hardwood floors—of pine, maple, and oak—have also been restored.

The original University Club was
distinguished by its trademark fireplaces emblazoned with the seals and mottoes of distinguished American colleges, including Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth and others.

Probably the most magnificent of the apartments, a one-bedroom unit with a balcony on the second floor, is loaded with original features, including distinctive crown molding, window seats, and French doors leading from the main living area to the bedroom. The living room’s black-pillared fireplace is part of an imposing wall of original shelving.

Palladino credits his architects Julie Joyce and Peggy Jisa of Robert Spahn Architects for their adaptations of the space, as well as restorer Robert Caccamise for his work on the original plaster. “It was a very difficult project—taking a building from one use to another use,” says Palladino. “And the code requirements didn’t make it any easier.” He adds, however, that the Preservation Board, often a major hurdle for the redevelopment of old buildings, was very cooperative and encouraging.

They, like the neighborhood surrounding the Bellasara, are probably grateful that an endangered element of Buffalo’s history and architectural landscape has been preserved with such ingenuity and panache.

Elizabeth Licata is editor of Buffalo Spree Magazine.

Many thanks to Ellicott Development, particularly to Carl and Danielle Palladino, for their assistance in providing access and information.

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