This mixed-use building on York, corner of West, was purchased by D'Youville College in their acquisition sweep of the West Side neighborhood that surrounds the college. The landlocked institution has been spreading out, specifically on York, Plymouth and West, in order to acquire much-needed land for parking, dorms and a new pharmacy school.
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D'Youville purchased this building, now vacant 2 years, for $90K, and according to a neighborhood block club source, put another $20K into remediation efforts for asbestos and mold. But recently, the restaurant/apartment mix showed up on the City's demolition list and was put before the Preservation Board.
Granted a stay until October 6th, the building can stay if D'Youville can sell it for close to what they have into it, according to Cottage District Association Block Club Spokesperson, Valerie Ingold. In spite of D'Youville's usually good record of informing the community about such matters, Ingold's block club was told about the proposed demo by the Fargo Estate Neighborhood Association and West Side Community Collaborative Director Harvey Garrett, only when it went up for demo.
"The house isn't designated as historic," Ingold says, "and the price tag is high, but D'Youville said they're willing to work with a potential buyer. As far as we know, D'Youville has no specific plans for the land, but we would work together to design a green space there if the building comes down because they do need a certain percentage of green along with their development." Ingold is getting ready for plan B "in case a buyer isn't found before the deadline."
Still, Ingold envisions a corner bookstore or coffee shop that would cater to students and the neighborhood. "And there's three apartments upstairs. It would be great faculty housing." The good news, Ingold says, is that the block club will now have 2 members appointed to D'Youville's advisory board so that they will be updated on future plans as they are formed.
This Google map gives you a nice look at the intersection and shows a healthy neighborhood.
[author's note: a trustee of DYC has said the amount that was paid in remediation was $20K, not $200K, as was reported to us. This would make the cost of acquiring the building substantially less. DYC will also conduct tours for interested parties.]
This would be a huge loss if it where to come down, look at the detail on the iron bars jailing the structure, and they just don't make asbestos siding like that anymore. It would be the Cottage District's Katrina if we were to lose her.
To the curb, mixed use, quick, someone call Steel: area code 312-
LMAO!
LOL!!!
Duh... wheres da parking???
Duh... dat should have lots of perty lights and vinyl sidin. Da owner ought ta be fixin to go to wall mart to git some. My ranch in Sloan looks pertyer than dat place.
Duh... No backyard? Where im posed to have da boys over when we watchin nascar over some dogs and bud light.
Tear it down yeeeee hawwwwww! (one hand scatches head while other draggs on the ground)
You bought a ranch in Sloan instead of buying The Annette Building?
As 312 would say, that just proves yet again how nobody in 716 cares the slightest bit about anything of real value.
How arrogant, the presumption that our taste is so superior that we should sentence buildings with easily reversible cosmetic flaws to death.
Arrogance is word tossed around nowadays like a used beach ball, often times improperly (e.g. see your post).
But to your point, we could stop a college from growing because of a jailed asbestos building. Now that is progress. Let's Go Buffalo!
You confuse expansion with growth. There is no "growth" if, as a tax-exempt entity, D'Youville's expansion not only takes more property off the tax rolls but destroys the value of adjacent properties which do pay taxes.
Demolishing viable, pedestrian-friendly mixed-use buildings at key intersections for surface parking is a very efficient way of destroying value in a neighborhood.
Very well said, demolishing viable mixed use buildings at key intersections certainly devalues a neighborhood. This particular structure is nothing special by Buffalo standards but anchors an important corner and is a part of a fairly intact street scape.
Sorry boys and girls, D'Youville has a sound strategy. Overpay for the structure, dump some cash into it which it needs anyway to demo and then wait a short period of time until turning it into green space and furthering its expansion. Big bad business, or I mean education.
Do something about it, I've got a chain, go lock yourselves to it and then knee jerk to the next reactive fight, blame everyone else, and repeat ad nauseam...
No. Their strategy is Divide and Conquer: buy out the neighbors one by one, demolish one by one, then when they want to pave an entire block, there will be only a few 'neighbors' left to complain. Church-school reaction? "Just a few obstructionists oppose us - so let us have our way".
Do the Catholics pay taxes on these properties, including parking lots?
The inclusion of the public park, a street, AND the Armory in their expansion plan was not only shocking, but proof of the incredible arrogance of these people.