My passion for real estate and construction has deep roots, roots that extend well beyond my lifetime: in the late 1800s, my great-grandfather built houses on the West Side of Buffalo, the area where I now focus most of my business.
But my journey into this industry wasn’t a straightforward one. While studying marketing at Canisius University, I began working for a small energy conservation company. The company achieved enormous growth during my 10 years there, but I learned that as the company got bigger, my passion dwindled — I love being at the ground floor; I love building.
In the early 2010s, I was living in Buffalo’s Allentown neighborhood and frequently passed a beautiful but dilapidated building known as The Puritan, which had been boarded up since the late 1960s. When I heard a new owner, a developer who specialized in historic preservation, planned to restore the property, I knew I had to be part of the project. I got in touch and pitched becoming his intern. By 2013, I’d gotten my real estate license and left my job in energy conservation.
I dedicated the next several years to working on preservation projects and managing the developer’s broad portfolio. In 2019, I struck out on my own and widened my scope to include restaurants and commercial projects with a specialty in mixed-use historic buildings. Since then, I’ve built over 130 apartments, renovated nearly a dozen single-family homes and revamped 20 commercial storefronts throughout the city of Buffalo.
Haley Hartmans 