The Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology has signed a lease for two-thirds of the 32,698-square-foot building at 368 Sycamore St., giving it significantly more space to expand its offerings of workforce and afterschool arts and technology programs for adults and high school students.

The organization, known as as BCAT, will occupy the second and third floors of the building at the corner of Sycamore and Mortimer streets, totaling 21,000 square feet.

That will double the number of classrooms BCAT has available to it, enabling it to offer more than 15 adult workforce programs to more than 100 participants, while maintaining its programs for youth. And it will be able to open a large public community gallery, with added space for events or other gatherings.

The move will also give BCAT an opportunity to serve students within their own community, while boosting economic development in the neighborhood.

“This new location on Buffalo’s East Side confirms our commitment to our community,” said Gina Burkhardt, president and CEO of BCAT. “Our goal is to work closely with the neighborhood to become part of the positive change that is happening in Buffalo.”

Currently located at 1221 Main St., BCAT is a 10-year-old organization that provides educational and career-oriented initiatives designed to motivate high school students to stay in school and plan for future careers in arts and technology, while mentoring and helping adults on new career paths. It’s grown from two classes when it started a decade ago to over 17, while securing additional funding to deliver its programming.

For adults, the center has focused on training for health care fields, particularly medical coding, phlebotomy and pharmacy tech, but has evolved to include medical billing and insurance, information technology, customer service and landscape maintenance. For youth, BCAT offers classes in fine arts, 3D design and printing, music production and digital arts, and also has a mural club.

The lease, arranged through CBRE Upstate New York’s Buffalo office, marks a quick reversal of fortune for a property whose future seemed secure at the start of the year, only to fall into limbo six months ago.

Bitwise Industries was a high-flying and fast-growing worker training initiative that was founded as a coding bootcamp in Fresno, Calif., in 2013. Funded with venture-capital money, it sought to develop scalable technology economies in under-represented cities and among marginalized communities.

In March 2022, it announced its intention to expand to Buffalo, along with eight other cities. it was targeting for expansion It trained more than 60 people locally, and unveiled plans in summer 2022 to occupy Jemal’s building as its new Buffalo training campus.

The wheels suddenly came off in late May, when the company abruptly furloughed its entire staff of 900, just as 70 new students were slated to begin their classes. Last week, its founders, Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., were charged with defrauding individuals and businesses out of more than $100 million. Both pleaded not guilty.

Jemal’s Douglas Development Corp., which had acquired the building from Concept Logistics in March 2022 for $615,000, had begun renovations for Bitwise but suspended that work when the company’s troubles became public. It will now finish renovating the space for BCAT’s needs. The organization said it hopes to be in its new space by spring 2024.

The first floor of the building is still available for lease.