Health Science: To sell or not to sell

By: Sydney Umstead, News Editor

Over the past few years, there has been discussion surrounding the potential sale of the Health Science building. 

In 2021, 2WGRZ reported that Canisius was “seeking $6.5 million for the 88,072-square-foot Health Science Center at 63 E. Delavan Ave. and $2.5 million for Demerly Hall at 2365 Main St.” 

Similarly, another article on the Canisius webpage from 2021 shows that the money attributed to the sale of Health Science and Demerly Hall would have been attributed to “help fund the Science Hall renovations.” 

By 2022, Health Science had not sold, but Demerly Hall did. The Buffalo News reported, “The Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers paid $2.15 million to buy the single-story building at 2365 Main.” 

In regard to the potential of putting Health Science up for sale again, Bob Baumet, vice president for business and administration, stated that “The concept of removing the Health Science Building from the university’s real estate portfolio has been investigated multiple times over the years.” Adding, “The university is persistently investigating approaches to efficiently improve its capital resources in order to meet the evolving needs of our students, within our limited resources.” 

Baumet stated that “At this time there is no expectation of a near-term sale of the Health Science Building, but the university will continue to monitor a range of factors consistent with the regular evaluation of our physical plant needs.”