75,000-square-foot building comes with 10 indoor parking spaces and nearby secured parking lot for tenants.

The condos, dubbed the Cobblestone Lofts, will sell between $150,000 and $425,000. The conversion will begin later this spring.

“If you are looking for some really funky space, this is the place,” Savarino said.

Because of the property’s location in a distressed urban neighborhood, buyers may be eligible for a 6.5 percent, 30-year mortgage with just $500 down.

Savarino hopes to attract a restaurant or deli to the building’s ground floor.

• Converting a 20,000-square-foot, four-story building, also on Mississippi Street, into Class A-style offices. Savarino’s firm, Savarino Construction Services, will move from Amherst to

two floors in the building. That translates to 10,000 square feet of available office space.

“We really only have a couple floors to sell,” Savarino said.

Tenants will have 10-foot tall windows with views of the arena and the HSBC Center. The building will be ready for tenants by early summer.

• Savarino wants to convert a single-story former depot into an 8,000-square-foot entertainment venue, able to host concerts and special events. He is negotiating with prospective operations about the building.

Plans for the project have been in the works for more than two years, but they took on a new sense of urgency with the expected arrival of Bass Pro and the Seneca casino.

“The casino is probably a mixed bag to us,” Savarino said. “But anything that

adds more traffic down here isn’t a bad thing.”

Savarino and Jacobs originally thought of the property as a possible home for the Art-space project, but that ended up elsewhere on Main Street.

“This is a good sign that people are willing to invest their own money in downtown Buffalo,” said Mayor Byron Brown. “It will create its own sense of momentum.”

Savarino admits the project will take some time to develop.

The reconstruction may be done by this year, but it may take longer for people and offices to move into the buildings. By next spring, Savarino anticipates the offices and condos will be filled.

“There are some risks, but you plan for them,” he said.