Cheap power beckons in Buffalo.

The one-time grand dame of Buffalo's industrial core -- the now-dormant factory that in the 1930s turned out fashionable Pierce Arrow automobiles -- is on track to enjoy a decidedly 21st Century revival as a technology center for telecom and corporate users.

The Kissling Interests, LLC, a leading property owner in both Buffalo and Manhattan, is purchasing the factory and the 5 acres surrounding it and has retained a renowned design firm to develop a master plan. The million-square-foot Pierce Arrow Tech Center, which has the physical traits that technology users need -- high ceilings, heavy floorloads, proximity to fiber, and enormous freight elevators -- will be made available to telecom and corporate tenants this summer.

Daniel Kissling, president of the Kissling Interests, said that Buffalo is an ideal spot for companies that want to benefit from abundant, inexpensive power.

"Technology and corporate users are concentrating on locations that can offer abundant, low-cost power. This city surpasses them all," Kissling said of Buffalo, whose mayor and city government have welcomed the project. "There are no brownouts. There's plenty of power, and it's cheap."

Besides the abundant electricity and natural gas, the city offers superb de mographics to companies that would consider relocating there, said Henry Feld, the CB Richard Ellis managing director who is marketing Pierce Arrow Tech Center in cooperation with Jeff LiPuma, managing partner of the real estate service firm's Buffalo office.

Feld added that demographics are of great importance to technology companies, and Buffalo rates at the top in terms of a large pool of educated technology professionals, low wage rates, and affordable living. The demographic benefits, combined with Pierce Arrow's infrastructure and a direct fiber optic connection to all major east coast markets, positions Pierce Arrow as one of the country's best locations for technology users.