Real Estate February 26, 2010 1:00 PM

Apartments Planned for Horsefeathers on Connecticut

WCPerspective 48 2

The vacant Horsefeathers property at 346 Connecticut Street will be brought back to life under plans by Karl Frizlen. The architect turned busy developer envisions turning the circa-1896 building into a mix of commercial space and upper level apartments. Frizlen has the 25,000 sq.ft. structure under contract for an undisclosed price. It has been listed by Hasting Cohn with a $499,000 asking price since Horsefeathers moved to Chandler Street in early-2008.

Interior images from Hasting Cohn website.

Business First has the scoop:

Tentative plans call for using the building's basement and first floor as an indoor farmer's and vendor's market, with the upper four floors used as the home of 16 apartments.

"It's a solid building and strongly built, especially with its wooden floors," Frizlen said.

He wants to dedicate about one-third of the building for the farmer's and vendor's market.

"The downtown market (run by Buffalo Place) is great, but even at this time of the year, people are looking for a permanent place to buy local fruits, vegetables and baked goods," Frizlen said.

The IDA hearing is the first of many he must clear before renovation work can begin, he added.

Frizlen has the building under contract but has yet to close the deal, saying, "There are still a few more pieces that need to fall into place."

In addition to the IDA incentives, he is looking to land historic tax credits from the state. Negotiations are under way with other financial partners, Frizlen added.

Frizlen is involved in several projects in the Elmwood Village and West Side including a mixed-use building at 504 Elmwood Avenue and redevelopment of a former school on Lafayette Avenue. A commercial and residential project at the corner of Elmwood and Bryant is under construction while a sixteen unit, two building apartment project on W. Utica Street is planned.

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Comments

48 Comments Leave a comment

biniszkiewicz

February 26, 2010 12:55 PM

Great news. I'm skeptical about the financial viability of the farmer's/vendor's market portion, but they didn't ask me and thankfully it's not my money. Very happy to see this building being done. Great news for Connecticut Street. Good luck.

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sin|ill

February 26, 2010 1:15 PM

i've been to numerous indoor farmers markets in very small towns throughout new england. they seem to do fine with populations that are a tiny fraction of buffalo's. hopefully this one will work out. good news all around.

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Really?

February 26, 2010 2:13 PM

One would hope it would have the fall back of becoming a mini grocer if it could not fill the space.

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Black Rock Lifer

February 26, 2010 1:40 PM

Again, I am so encouraged by the momentum that seems to be building. These great old buildings are finally being recognized and given the respect they deserve.

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Lego1981

February 26, 2010 1:42 PM

This is great news for this neighborhood. One less vacant structure AND a Farmers Market!

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Allentwnguy

February 26, 2010 3:33 PM

Yes it is good to see another building that’s going to get a makeover. But…and here I go again! Why does there always have to be public (OUR TAX $$$) money going to a private developer so he can make money? IDA incentives and historic tax credits, not to mention out right grants to restore buildings cost taxpayers millions of tax dollars in a time when NYS should be cutting back. It’s great to see someone wanting to create 16 apartments and some commercial space but can’t he do it with private funds? Or make the incentives a loan to be repaid when the building is up and making money. While all the smaller homes are crumbling around this building and tax foreclosures abound NYS gives wealthy developers tax credits, instead of reducing the tax burden on homeowners.?? Sometimes you have to wonder.

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STEEL

February 26, 2010 3:45 PM

Well ok here I go again. People in NYS complain about high taxes and when they cut taxes as in this case people call it a hand out. And since we are talking about handouts there is not a suburban sprawl project anyplace that did not rely on massive public infrastructure investment. Complain about that kind of subsidy because in a shrinking metro like Buffalo that is the kind of subsidy that keeps on taking and taking and taking.

This project will pay back any public investment many times over in increased tax collection and neighborhood stability

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JSmith

February 26, 2010 3:52 PM

I don't entirely disagree with you, but it's just the same reason that you take every tax deduction and credit available to you when you do your tax return. You can't fault the developer for taking advantage of every available option. It'd be like saying, "It's great to see you wanting to buy a house and invest in my neighborhood but can't you do it with your own money instead of getting a tax deduction for the interest on your mortgage?"

Buffalo has one of the lowest property tax rates in all of New York State. Maybe that's not saying much, but I'm not sure that lowering the tax burden on homeowners would spur any more redevelopment in the city.

I am amused that the Business First article refers to the Elmwood/Bryant project as a mixed-use "complex". Makes it sounds like something quite exotic, when it's really just a regular commercial building in the traditional urban form!

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The Kettle

February 26, 2010 7:18 PM

The 20% historic preservation is a federal program and not unique to NYS.

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The Kettle

February 27, 2010 9:33 AM

edit 20% historic preservation credit.

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whatever

February 28, 2010 11:56 PM

The federal program isn't unique to NYS, but state and local $ is separate from federal.

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The Kettle

March 2, 2010 8:14 AM

True, but other cities take advantage of state and local programs to produce similar projects. The point was that publicly funded adaptive re-use and preservation are not confined to Buffalo and upstate.

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whatever

March 4, 2010 12:43 AM

I don't see where Allentwnguy said it's only done here. If he lives here and opposes NYS and local aspects, why should some other places (not all) doing something like it make any difference to what his comment said?

Now yesterday, Termini and others are publicly complaining that the $ offered by NYS aren't "enough" and saying NYS should cut other spending or raise taxes to fund it more.

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The Kettle

March 5, 2010 9:23 AM

There is nothing wrong with looking at best practices in other areas in discussing similar problems here. Bringing up the fact that other communities successfully provide incentives for adaptive re-use is worth mentioning when someone argues in favor of letting the building fix itself.

As far as what Termini said, I couldn't agree more. We ought to cut back on things like bloated transportation spending and use those resources to improve the central core.

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sonyactivision

February 26, 2010 11:06 PM

Will leaving everything as is stop the shrinkage, or accelerate it? Cities like Buffalo have to find ways to reinvest in their urban infrastructure and in their housing stock or else they will truly be doomed. Do you see Bruce Ratner coming in and throwing billions at Buffalo? Or Vornado Realty? or any other big private enterprise? Those guys went off to their Emerald Cities in las Vegas and Miami, overspent on empty glitz and now they're busted. Who's going to do the heavy lifting around here? Your neighbor with his $875 mortgage and $26,000 401K?

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jolopy

February 26, 2010 3:36 PM

Did they mention anything about the apartments they are building? Such as who are they aimed at? Pricing and such? I'm excited, quick walk to the corner and I can have veggies and such in the winter. :-)

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grad94

February 26, 2010 5:33 PM

props to karl. good mix of uses, good for the neighborhood, good for the city!

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KarlMalone

February 26, 2010 5:40 PM

You are welcome

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grad94

February 27, 2010 7:17 AM

like -you- have anything to do with it.

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KarlMalone

February 27, 2010 5:05 PM

Oh, your momma did tell you.

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wnywatercooler

February 26, 2010 6:11 PM

just down the block from me, should be a good boost to the neighborhood. d'youville is only seconds away, that could be a target market for these apartments including the new pharmacy program they are now offering

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KarlMalone

February 26, 2010 6:15 PM

Could you imagine if a Wholefoods or indoor organic farm decided to move into this project. I would be like oh my god,it would have one giant organicism.

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The Kettle

February 26, 2010 7:16 PM

Id rather see the church of freemarketology open up a branch office in this place. They can spout reality rants from the rooftop to a neighborhood that needs it.

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KarlMalone

February 27, 2010 5:06 PM

We will extend an invitation to Michael Moore which of course includes you as you will be lifting his coattails in and out of his limo.

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Destiny

February 27, 2010 4:03 AM

I love the building. Its a shame that we lost so many others like it and even more frightful that we almost lost this a few times in its history.

Last time I drove down CT Street, it definitely needs a plan for infill. Its a shame that we cant relocate some endangered homes from the eastside as infill for the westside.

I just wish the community could come together with these good developments and put together some design guidelines for infill but then we are probably some distance away from new builds.

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Daniel Sack

February 27, 2010 12:55 PM

Good luck Karl. Great project.

These subsidies are much better than the $100 million gift to Bass Pro who will never have to pay property taxes.

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ReginaldQMerriweatherIV

March 2, 2010 8:41 AM

agreed

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hamp

February 27, 2010 6:03 PM

Yes you do have to wonder. When will these rants about "our tax money" going to subsidize these types of developments stop?

If it isn't obvious, these developments will help stabilize neighborhoods, and eventually will increase property values, which in turn will increase the city's tax base.

Would you rather see the building fall down, and leave us with a vacant lot?

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whatever

February 28, 2010 11:53 PM

hamp>"these developments will help stabilize neighborhoods, and eventually will increase property values, which in turn will increase the city's tax base."

If the result is just some city residents start living in formerly non-residential buildings instead of other units in the city, how would it cause a net increase of the whole city's tax base? It's unlikely these apts would draw people from burbs who otherwise wouldn't move to the city.

Some could argue taxpayer-to-developer subsdies are good for other reasons and that it's good if people start living in this kind of building so other buildings can be vacant instead. That's a different issue, but I doubt hamp's claim it will grow the tax base of the whole city.

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Black Rock Lifer

March 1, 2010 8:34 AM

The old Fire House across the street from my house was renovated into high end apartments over 20 years ago. These apartments have and continue to attract tenants from the suburbs and even areas outside WNY.
Build it and they will come, and as the defender110 points out, "This is simple catch up", after years of enabling suburban developement we have finally began to recognize and encourage the developement potential of our city.

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The Kettle

March 2, 2010 8:22 AM

It is not fair to assume that this project will draw residents exclusively from the city. Similar projects downtown draw many of their renters from the suburbs and this project could do the same. Another thing to consider is how a project like this will help retain residents in the immediate area. Having a high-profile building like this restored and providing valuable services (indoor farmers market) make the neighborhood more attractive and less likely to be abandoned by its residents.

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ReginaldQMerriweatherIV

March 2, 2010 8:55 AM

It's not fair to assume anything about the potential residents of this development. They might come from the city, they might come from the suburbs, they might come from mountain view, california as soon as Google moves their headquarters to the Statler.

The only thing it is truly fair to say about this development is this; we are subsidizing additional residential units in an area of the city where vacancy is already high, and more funding is used to tear down houses. That does not sound like progress to me, but rather a visual approximation of progress.

Will this development help spur connecticut st towards a rebound anchored by D'youville college? Possibly, but not because of the subsidies, but because of the intrinsic value of this neighborhood and its location within the city.

thats my view, anyways.

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jolopy

March 2, 2010 3:25 PM

I agree that there are several structures abandoned on the west side but not many by this building. This conversion will go along way to anchoring this neighborhood. Richmond ave on one side, Kleinhans on the other, DYC and now this. All 4 sides of the neighborhood would have a solid anchor. This would draw most likely DYC students. It will only be a matter of time before the office space on Connecticut fills to meet the needs of the students. I'm excited, just don't want to give my hopes up to early.

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ReginaldQMerriweatherIV

March 3, 2010 10:04 AM

"I agree that there are several structures abandoned on the west side but not many by this building."

I know for a fact that this statement is incorrect. 3 buildings on block(north st. of Conn, between normal and plymouth) are vacant. Across the street, are 2 vacant properties.

Both plymouth and normal (within 1 block north and south of conn also have significant vacancies and declining housing stock. Within a 1 block radius of this building (that being the area bounded by vermont, 14th, plymouth and york) there are approximately 30 vacant structures (10 mixed-use, about 20 vacant residential houses)

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jolopy

March 3, 2010 10:24 AM

I wasn't sure what streets you were talking about bc North st is about 4 blocks away. But between Connecticut and York - Normal ave has 1 vacant house and one which is in the process of finding a new owner) 14th st have 1 which is bank owned and 1 other property that I believe is now rented and being fixed up. Plymouth has no vacant houses. The other direction towards vermont I am not sure I will have to drive down on my way home. But no where near the 30 you stated. I do believe having brand new apartments anchoring the cottage will indeed improve the area. Draws student out of the dorm and into the neighborhood. I know of atleast 8 people interested already and this is not even finalized yet. I think its fair to assume that if there is an influx of quality apartments that students will live in, some business will move in to connecticut to meet those needs.

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ReginaldQMerriweatherIV

March 3, 2010 10:46 AM

I meant north as a direction, not the st.

I was speaking of a area bounded by york, vermont, 14th and plymouth. within the area, there are roughly 30 vacanies. 5 on the single block of connecticut btwn normal and plymouth (not including this building, which is vacant).

There are at least 2-3 houses on plymouth btwn york and conn. that, if not long term vacancies, are transient houses.

closer towards vermont, are significant vacancies, particularly the block of plymouth and normal.

Along vermont itself, there are a few vacancies. While 30 vacants might be the upperlimit, there are more than 20 and less than 30, or roughly 2 vacancies on every side of the st. within the boundry.

There are also roughly 30 vacant lots in the four block area I identified.

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jolopy

March 3, 2010 11:38 AM

I will have to see for myself but I live right there and I don't see all these vacant properties. I'll check and get back to you. If I'm wrong Im wrong but connecticut has this building and one brick on the corner of conn. and plymouth that is being fixed up. Plymouth between conn. and york has zero vacant. Many of the vacant structures I would assume are on the other side of connecticut between vermont. That is where most of the neighborhood is still iffy.

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jolopy

March 3, 2010 4:16 PM

I made the drive from west to 14th between york and Vermont. Abandoned houses = Normal 2, york 0, 14th 2, Vermont 2, west 4 (2-3 are owned by DYC) Plymouth 2. No where near 30. I would say there are over 100 houses on these blocks with only about 10 or so vacant. I would say that is not to bad. vacant lots I did not count. Its hard to tell with the snow which are owned by the neighboring properties. But this still leads back to this project drawing more people who usually would not live in the area into it. Its also a good anchor for Connecticut st and the cottage district.

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ReginaldQMerriweatherIV

March 4, 2010 12:03 PM

Fair enough...it's been a few months since I did that type of survey of the area, so let's go with your numbers.

Given the stability of the area makes this subsidy (to my mind) even more unnecessary. There really are only 5-6 vacancies in the immediate area (not counting the ones owned by D'you, as they are under institutional control and out of the hands of the neighborhood). That would imply a stable and improving neighborhood, directly adjacent to a stable and improving (and expanding) educational institution. I doubt there is a neighborhood in the city with lower costs of entry relative to return on investment, as this neighborhood is undervalued relative to its long term potential. This building is half what it cost if it were in allentown and a fourth of what it would cost in the EV. And it might never attract the rents of allentown or EV, the presence of D'youville ensures a steady supply of either students or professionals in need of quality housing.

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jolopy

March 4, 2010 1:20 PM

I agree with the stablility in the area between connecticut and york, but not sure about how stable the area in the other direction is (connecticut and vermont).This direction I think would benefit from this building by giving an achor to stabilize off of. Before DYC expanded the area between richmond and west(connecticut and york) needed a lot of work. With DYC achoring and expanding it allowed the ability to stabilize that section. I think (personal opinion) The area in the other direction would be able to utilize richmond and this new project to build off of. Plus a farmers market with fresh food is always a plus in any neighborhood, good or bad.

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The Kettle

March 3, 2010 8:18 AM

Don't you think converting a vacant building back to productivity will increase demand in the neighborhood and slow the rate of vacancies? Should we not provide incentives for adaptive re-use and just watch these structures crumble? How is that fair when other subsidies are being spent on housing in more affluent sections of our shrinking region?

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ReginaldQMerriweatherIV

March 3, 2010 10:13 AM

What I said was, it isn't fair to assume the effects the residences of this building would possibly have on this neighborhood. Just as 'whatever' assumed a reshuffled deck because it aided his argument, your best case scenario is equally unlikely.

and no, I don't think it is necessary to provide incentives to spur this redevelopment. It is a lovely building, with off-street parking, just down the street from an expanding educational institution. This building would have been saved without any subsidies.

it's also unfair to assume that this building was crumbling before our eyes. This building has been without a tenant for only a short period of time. The building was properly closed (or so it seemed).

I know for a fact, numerous people have been interested in redeveloping the property and doing something other than apartments with it, except, because of the government incentives FOR apartment conversions, that was far and away the most profitable direction to take the building. (some might call this effect 'crowding out' but they would have to understand economics for that to make sense.)

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The Kettle

March 3, 2010 11:57 AM

Ill agree to disagree with your point in the second paragraph. I think these incentives are required to make a project like this work.

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whatever

March 4, 2010 12:49 AM

Reggie>"Just as 'whatever' assumed a reshuffled deck because it aided his argument,"

I didn't assume it because it aided my argument. Other way around - I think reshuffling is very likely, and that helps form my position in the argument.

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defender110

February 28, 2010 5:49 AM

simple: tax dollars or credits for these buildings in the city leverage out the devastating public policy of drawing all investment to the suburbs since the 1950's. This is simple catch up as well as making these neigh. more enticing as Buffalo continues to gentrify; maybe one day the tables will be turned and Buffalo will have to assist the suburbs(inner).

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ReginaldQMerriweatherIV

March 2, 2010 9:06 AM

So after subsidizing the initial development of the suburbs and the subsequent redevelopment of the city, I get to subsidized the redevelopment of the suburbs that should never have been built in the first place?

That sounds like a fantastic use of the region's dwindling resources.

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biniszkiewicz

March 3, 2010 10:45 AM

RE: subsidies for apartment conversions:

I'm curious and ignorant as to the relative costs to taxpayers for various subsidies. How much do historic tax credits cost us, for example. How about affordable housing? What are the real costs for the average taxpayer? Are they $10 a year or $1000? I honestly have no idea.

Philosophically speaking, I'm inclined to agree with Merriweather. But an argument can be made that these subsidies do save properties which otherwise wouldn't see the investments made in them and that some important neighborhoods do improve therefrom. One could make the case that numerous subsidized apartment buildings in Allentown in the early 70s spurred the gentrification of the neighborhood which followed.

If any property location is worthy of such subsidies, and I'm not sold completely one way or another, this seems to be an appropriate location in an appropriately worthy building (Compare this location to, say, Kissling's casket factory which is located in a neighborhood which should be able to support unsubsidized development--as should downtown. But the cost of development can't be supported only by the market rents, and it's a troubling conundrum).

Which leads me to wonder what everything really costs exactly. But I'm too lazy to figure it out.

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