BAVPA - ReConstruction Update - End Week 65

August 26, 2007 - Day 428
Last week, before the school year begins. I've been awakened at 6am the past two mornings with incessant construction hum. Landscape crews are dropping off dirt and leveling the place.

Spoke with Paul McDonell last week, lead architect for the Board of Education and spoke of this newly renovated school as the crown jewel in the district. So many little pieces falling into place right now. Amazing buzz all weekend with administrators, staff and teachers doing logistics.

This is the front of the new school, along Ferry Street, one of three new additions to the school. The other two additions include the art and science wings.

See BAVPA Reconstruction Archive for additional details and updates.

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Row House Auction

One of the many reasons why I started blogging, three years ago, was to trace the "demolition by neglect" of the City owned Woodlawn Row Houses, a local-landmark that was literally hidden in plain sight on the City's near East side. In April of 2004, I asked John Hannon - Division of Real Estate - to rescind the sale that City entered into during another special real estate auction, in 2003. The $7000 offer was accepted and the guy, after three seperate extensions over a 13 month period, was never heard from again.

Lots has changed here locally since then. The Mayors Anti-Flipping Task Force has gotten some traction - see St. Matthew's Passion - and the politics of housing in the City, lead in part by the amazing folks over at PUSH Buffalo and LISC Buffalo - see, Getting Smarter about Decline has expanded and focused our our understanding of the vexing neighborhood issues.

In September Auctions International will be conducting another special auction. Fingers crossed that the expected 250-300K necessary for the restoration of the Woodlawn Row Houses somehow materializes this time. I'm planning to attend the auction and will follow post auction activity, too.

Additionally, one of my favorite buildings on the City's East side, near my favorite intersection - High and Genesee - is on the auction block, too - 630 High.

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Sick Yet?

Returned to Sickamore Village recently. So many questions. Additional background and links to site plan, here.

For starters - why more houses? Buffalo is a shrinking city. Some of the most astute observers of Buffalo's malaise and housing crisis have drawn a positive correlation between new builds on the City's east side and people leaving Hamlin Park. This amounts to a very expensive game of musical chairs. There are/were a number of very solid houses on this block that have been demolished recently, including this one at the corner of Mortimer and Sycamore that I featured last summer in this post - Greening of Buffalo - less than a year ago, in September.

We are simply imitiating failure at this location. Urban is urban and suburban belongs, well somewhere else. From a design and planning perspective this project is not urban. It's part of the subtle shift to suburbia and away from what makes a city work.

There's a foreclosure problem with many of the houses surrounding this new development, too. Some of the recently built vinyl victorians have been re-selling at less than half their original 90K selling points. Developers skate and the promise of neighborhood stability remains a mirage.

And the site is wide open. No barricades or construction fencing. Why?

So what's the cost? No one knows the true cost, yet word is that each one of these "vinyl victorians" is priced around $235, 000. With a developer subsidy of 100K they'll sell for $135, 000. Plus, factor in the cost of site remeditation - the construcition and demolition of the three houses - and the infrastructure that includes new sewers, new street and new sidewalks.

Any time a municipality forces development on remediated land, look out. Run. Love Canal, Hickory Woods? Should have left it looking like it did last year, right here. Have we learned our lesson? Probably not.

So it goes...

update - 8/28/07 11am Conversations this morning indicate that the 25 homes scheduled for this site weigh in at $265,000 with a subsidy of $75K and homeowner incentive of $25K. The actual cost, when you internalize the 1.3 million remediation that took place, late 2006 brings the cost of each 1800 sft piece of suburbia with an attached 2 and half car garage much closer to East Amherst than what would work for the City's East side. ROI? None. Taxpayers will be subsidizing this forever.

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New City Auction...

During the tour Saturday morning of the Artspace Backyard Neighborhood, we quickly noticed this sign posted at 1042 Ellicott Street, around the corner from Coe Place.

Here's the Auction International site where you can check out the two online catalogs of real property the City is selling, 102 properties. Terms of the auction are right there, too.

First mentioned 1042 Ellicott back in February, right here and posted an interior slide show, too. Outstanding house and great location.

Just read through the Auction International site for the Buffalo auction on September 22. A few surprises including 16 Harwood and 204 High Street.

Despite the announcment by former Common Council President Jim Pitts that he was intending to purchase this local landmark, the Woodlawn Row House are included in the auction, too. Wrote about Jim's plans here - Saved! - just two months ago.

Will be watching this closely.

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Artspace • BAVPA • Tour d'Neglect - 2007 • Woodlawn Row Houses • faq • my flickr
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Suburbs in the City

Was a top City Hall the other day doing tours and noticed Sickamore Village off in the distance, that brown spot slightly left of center.

Wrote about Sickamore Village and the more I learn about the place, the less I think we have learned from our mistakes in the recent past.

Longer post later this weekend, when I scoop in for some close-ups of the work site.

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Artspace • BAVPA • Tour d'Neglect - 2007 • Woodlawn Row Houses • faq • my flickr
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Smart City

Smart City is a weekly, hour-long public radio talk show that takes an in-depth look at urban life, the people, places, ideas and trends shaping cities. Host Carol Coletta talks with national and international public policy experts, elected officials, economists, business leaders, artists, developers, planners and others for a penetrating discussion of urban issues.

This weekend...

Just when you think you know what makes cities tick, something changes - population, the economy, technology. So the question, what makes cities work, never gets old. And it's never been more important.

• Ken Corey and Mark Wilson have taken a deep look at the global knowledge economy, how it is reshaping cities, and how urban planners ought to respond. Ken and Mark are co-authors of Urban and Regional Technology Planning: Planning Practice in the Global Knowledge Economy.

• Jay Walljasper takes a more down home approach, urging all of us to get out and "do it ourselves" when it comes to improving the places we live. Jay is author of The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do It Yourself Guide to Placemaking.

Listen to host Carol Colletta - list of additional stations/times - 7pm Sunday on WNED - 970 in Buffalo, NY. Past Shows are archived and the newsletter is published regularly.

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Artspace • BAVPA • Tour d'Neglect - 2007 • Woodlawn Row Houses • faq • my flickr
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Got Warhol?

I first read - How Buffalo Get a Warhol - years ago and mentioned it here, in 2005. I have it filed away with some other good reads in Writing the City. I rarely re-post yet today find myself in dialog with a number of people interested in returning to Buffalo. They are asking all sorts of questions.

Craig Reynolds from Soundlab is on to something and would probably encourage fixBuffalo readers to read and then re-read and then share his short piece How Buffalo Get a Warhol that first appeared in 1997.

Unlike other cities, where it’s easy to sink into the flow of everything’s fine, in Buffalo, you must be a prophet or drown in utter mediocrity. Buffalo demands existential authenticity, and the rock we push up the hill (only to have it roll back down over us time and time again) is our only salvation. Like Rimbaud in the gutters and back–alleys of Paris, in Buffalo, you have no choice but to remake life; there’s no bullshit left to buy, no palace gates to hide behind...read the rest...

Pass it on to your friends in Brooklyn or Berlin. Then ask - Why not Buffalo?

Let me know what you hear and make sure to check out what's coming up at Soundlab - here.

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Artspace • BAVPA • Tour d'Neglect - 2007 • Woodlawn Row Houses • faq • my flickr
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Neighborhood Foreclosure

The following was sent to me early this morning and appears on the Illuzi Letter, which is not one of my usual reads.

As Bank Foreclosures Rise In Buffalo, Judge Nowak Says, "Hold On," While Wall Street Sneezes

A reporter pays a visit to Buffalo City Court Judge Henry Nowak's Housing Court and is surprised by what he finds. Instead of a long line of home owners whose houses need work to pass inspection, what he finds is a long list of home owners being foreclosed on by out of town financial institutions such as Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank.

What's going on here?

In fact, its the local version of a syndrome which has seen foreclosures increase in many parts of the nation. Even more interesting, it's appears to be a symptom of a disease which is a big part of the reason for the head cold currently afflicting Wall Street.

According to Executive Director Aaron Bartley of PUSH Buffalo, it's all part of a get rich quick scheme being resorted to by Wall Street firms which can inflate bottom lines temporarily while it devastates cities like Buffalo.

"What these firms are doing is entering into mortgage agreements with individuals in cities they never visit with provisions that include increases in monthly mortgage payments which they know these people are going to have a hard
time paying," Bartley explains. "Then they foreclose on the properties when these people can't pay and then they abandon the properties, adding to the roster of totally neglected homes in a city like Buffalo."

Meanwhile, these financial firms have very often sold bonds based on the value of the inflated mortgage payments that are technically owed to them, but which they know are worthless because the mortgagees are unlikely to be able
to pay.

"This is the cause of much of the instability you are seeing on Wall Street," Bartley explains. "These firms are selling bonds that are worth little or nothing, leaving investors holding the bag, which in turn, leads to inflated stock values which soon plummet."

Meanwhile, back in Buffalo, these shenanigans have led to a crisis in some inner city neighborhoods which have seen whole blocks of homes foreclosed on with no end in sight...at least until recently.

"A recent ruling by Judge Nowak has the potential to stop this nonsense in its tracks," says Bartley. "Judge Nowak ruled that a bank can not foreclose on any property in the City of Buffalo if that financial institution has outstanding judgments against it for non-payment of fines related to neglect of the properties it already controls...Clearly, this decision, if it's not reversed, will force this firms to at least maintain these properties or else not beso eager to foreclose."

Currently, Bartley and his number two, Eric Walker, are looking this issue to see what companies such as Wachovia and Fargo are doing with all these properties that are falling into their hands.

"For example, Wachovia has foreclosed on 561 properties since 2002 but has only sold 18 of them, according to the records we have seen," Bartley reports. "We are going to find out what's going on with all these properties and
we'll let the community know."

I understand that Judge Nowak - Buffalo's next mayor? - will be presenting the Deutsche Bank case during one of the sessions at next month's Reclaiming Conference in Pittsburgh, sponsored by the National Vacant Properties Campaign. If you want to put your finger on the pulse of the most amazing set of issues impacting our cities, check 'em out. Conference schedule - right here.

Check out PUSH Buffalo

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Artspace • BAVPA • Tour d'Neglect - 2007 • Woodlawn Row Houses • faq • my flickr
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Running Buffalo

First wrote about RUN Buffalo over a year ago - here. Have emailed them and asked around and really never formed a sense of what the organization is doing. Until Saturday...

I noticed the following sign during Saturday's Tour d'Neglect and went back on Sunday to look around. This property, just north of Paderewski on Detroit Street in the heart of former Polonia, was recently demolished. From the RUN Buffalo website we learn that...

Simply put, RUN Buffalo will help clean up and beautify city streets through demolition of worse case uninhabitable residential properties that are beyond repair, vacant properties that pose a threat to the safety and stability of many at-risk neighborhoods, property with no economic or historic value to the city or the community.

Following demolition, an army of` volunteers will create and maintain a natural landscape on the property until the community determines an alternate use will better the serve both the city and the neighborhood.

And a pic of the before and after on Detroit St.

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Artspace • BAVPA • Tour d'Neglect - 2007 • Woodlawn Row Houses • faq • my flickr
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Today's Tour...

The third stage of this summer's Tour d'Neglect is complete.

After three hours of meandering through some of the East side's forgotten Catholic complexes we returned to the Sonic Café. Eight of us pushed further and visited the Queen City Farm site on East Utica.

Catch the last tour on Sunday September 9th - leaving the Sonic Café at noon. Noticed that Peter Koch over at Artvoice gave the tour a thumbs up - right here.

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Buffalo ReUse Archive

The following posts and pics chronicle some of ebb and flow of one of the East Side's more promising community based organizations - Buffalo ReUse.  Stop by next time you're shopping for building materials and items around the house.  And please consider donating building materials from your renovation projects. 

• Buffalo ReUse flickr picture archive

• June 6, 2005 Deconstructing Buffalo - Part I 
• September 2, 2006 Deconstructing Buffalo - Part II
• October 20, 2006 Saturday at Buffalo ReUse 
• October 21, 2006 Day #1 - Deconstruction 
• March 31, 2007 Buffalo ReUse Update 
• November 8, 2007 New From Buffalo ReUse
• March 8, 2008 Buffalo ReUse in New York Times 
• September 24, 2008 Visiting Buffalo ReUse
• August 18, 2009 Buffaloed - Part I 
• August 19, 2009 Buffaloed - Part II 
• August 21, 2009 Buffaloed - Part III 
• August 21, 2009 “Buffalo ReUse: Building Community” - Video
• January 2, 2010 Brain Storm at Buffalo ReUse 
• April 19, 2010 94 Northampton - Plundered 

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Houses of Worship

The Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier has recently digitized the pages of James Napora's  Houses of Worship. This is the most complete examination of extant church structures in Buffalo, NY and is part of Jim's unpublished 1995 Master of Architecture thesis.

St. Stanislaus - from St. Ann's

Napora writes, "The purpose of this work is to analyze the religious structure and its place in the architectural history and the development of the City of Buffalo. The place of worship has long been viewed as a critical landmark in its respective neighborhood, serving an importance which far outreaches its religious ties. This work examines the religious structure in the context of the distinct districts through which the city has grown and expanded."

Transfiguration - from St. Ann's

Houses of Worship is definitive and represents countless hours of research. Check it out and understand Buffalo's massive cultural heritage. Napora's work provides the basis for establishing an index and inventory of Buffalo's threatened religious structures.  

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Artspace • BAVPA • Tour d'Neglect - 2007 • Woodlawn Row Houses • faq • my flickr
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Dust to Dust...

First mentioned this city owned house and former church at 83 East Utica back in February - City Church Closed.

Snapped this pic the other day. The red mark of death - spray painted address - generally means the property will be demolished at some point down the road. First time I've seen the structural condition of the building's interior sprayed on the outside.

Anybody know what's going on here?

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Behind Main Street...

The exterior sheet metal skin is now being installed on the six back buildings over at Artspace.

While corrugated building products are not allowed in the City, according to the building code, HHL Architects have successfully renamed this product. It's now called - undulated panelling. All six buildings in this phase of Artspace can be seen in the this gallery, third pic.

And in other Artspace news seems like the run up to rental is being hit with a few glitches. Heard from some artists that some straight section 8 tenants are moving in which seems to be confirmed by some of Belmont's own sales literature. Here's the sales flyer [.pdf] right from Belmont Shelter, property manager for Artspace.

Artspace Construction Updates • Artspace Buffalo • pix/Artspace

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Huh?

fixBuffalo readers no doubt have been following the trials and tribulations of Buffalo's Control Board Treasurer, Rev. Richard Stenhouse.  I caught this letter in Tuesday's Buffalo News from Rocco Termini praising Rev. Stenhouse and taking a swipe at me.

If the issue was as simple as Rocco Termini presents it, I'd probably agree. The larger issue and for some reason skirted by Rocco Termini is simple. Phone calls - from City Hall to Rev. Stenhouse - do not resolve issues impacting public safety. Enforcement of the City's building code brings compliance. As I've documented, since January 2007 - see Boarding Control - the single largest owner of blighted property surrounding the new $30m permanent home of BAVPA is Rev. Stenhouse's Bethel CDC.

He's simply failed to secure the property.

From last week's Buffalo News...

Acting on an anonymous tip, city inspectors visited the empty homes earlier this year and found more than two dozen violations. The problems ranged from decaying walls and roofs, to missing steps and loose railings...Nowak directed parties to return to court Sept. 19. The judge also stressed the importance of making sure all doors and windows in the vacant homes are sealed pending demolition.

I met with Rev. Stenhouse in front of his properties late last week. He assured me that they'd all be demolished prior to the first day of school across the street at BAVPA's new home.

Let's wait and see.

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Artspace • BAVPA • Tour d'Neglect - 2007 • Woodlawn Row Houses • faq • my flickr
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