Things are moving forward in the Larkin District on a daily basis and the official opening of the Larkin streetscape is a great example of progress. Five years ago Larkin Development Group approached the UB School of Architecture and Planning to create a master plan for the area and by partnering with First Niagara, part of that plan has come to fruition in the streetscape project.
The goal of the streetscape restoration was not only for aesthetic purposes, but to create "a vibrant, mixed-use, commercial, residential, and retail environment" says Larkin Development managing partner Howard Zemsky. Thanks and praises went to many different groups and individuals, but particularly to First Niagara. "They played an instrumental role literally and figuratively for the future of the Larkin District," declared Zemsky.
First Niagara committed $1.5 million toward streetscape improvements.
"When we made our decision to move our corporate headquarters to the City of Buffalo, we knew that the Larkin District was where we wanted to be," First Niagara President and CEO John R. Koelmel said. "Howard Zemsky and the Larkin Development Group exemplify innovation, commitment and perseverance. Those attributes mirror our corporate culture, and we felt that there were clear synergies for First Niagara and Larkin Development to collaborate on this project together."
Byron Brown was present at the Wednesday dedication ceremony because of the City's $200,000 investment in the project. Brown said that Larkin Development Group is a "new model for corporate leadership" and he looks forward to partnering with the developers in the future.
National Grid also provided a $250,000 grant from its urban corridor revitalization program, one of more than a dozen economic development programs the company manages to encourage and support business and community development in upstate New York.
With the help of the Old First Ward community leader Laura Kelly, the project was advanced by award from New York State's Main Street Program. Without the grant the project would have been near impossible to complete. There has been over $2 million spent in the last nine months to see the streetscape project completed. The result is beautiful urban scenery with several rehabilitation projects in the area starting or finished.
The improvements include newly paved streets, bikelanes, completely redone sidewalks, curbs, new trees, new streetlights, and multiple sections of plantings for small shrubs and trees. The recently completed restoration of the Schaefer building (740 Seneca) which now houses Young + Wright Architects also adds to the beauty of the street. The sidewalk on Van Rensselaer Street (between Seneca and Exchange) has buried radiant heating lines to ensure that pedestrians do not have to wait for snow removal. No expense or detail was spared by Larkin Development Group and it really shows.
It's not much of a stretch to say that the Larkin District will be a bustling and beautiful community in the near future. There has already been great investment and interest, which will only continue to gain momentum. It really has to be seen to be fully appreciated and to experience the incredible potential that this area has for retail, commerce, and residences.
Can I recommend that, before another single historic building is torn down on the East Side, we consider moving it to this area to create some infill between the buildings?
Also, what is the status on the Larkin District getting a historic district status?
This is so inspiring and wonderful. Congrats to FNFG, Howard et al. Thank you, thank you.
Would 'historic district status' make it difficult to achieve architecture in the future that is as outstanding as the Larkin building was in 1906?
No. I think it is about keeping what is good and historic, and building new that is sympatico with what is there. That can be a subjective dialogue, which can be difficult.
Sooner or later(maybe with the new green zoning?), Buffalo proper is going to invest in safeguarding its historic architecture (we are almost at critical mass) while complementing with new, inspiring contemporary builds. Unfortunately, there has been no threshold set for the latter and developers have been able to build cheap crap wherever they want; examples includes the HoJo's--> Walgreens (Delaware/North) to Benderson's blue tower messes (Delaware) to Catholic Charities' mess (Main Street).
There is currently a lot of public scrutiny of newbuilds, as well as increased consciousness as to what constitutes urban design, which hopefully will help to improve the designs more than halt progress-other cities do this, we should be able to as well. Fact is, our contemporary developers, on par, simply don't build 'em like they used to, so I feel a design bar needs to be set.
Be thankful they do not have the historic distric albatross around their neck. If they did neither this nor the Larkin conversion itself would have happened. The lawsuits would have killed this redevelopment dead in it's tracks.
I disagree Sally, and I am not talking about lawsuits. Larkin proceeded because of preservation-minded developers' (Swift, Zemskey, etc.) vision and economic commitment. They did not go in and demolish, they re-built what was there. Then, they enticed others to join in the redevelopment with them. You better believe that these stewards are not going to be too happy if some tasteless, cheap vinyl-sided design is put forth in a district where they have spent million$.
By not being hamstrung by costly historic regulations they were able to create a tremendous project that is not only visually appealing but economically viable. With intrusive and needless Historic District status this project would not have happened. The threat of lawsuit after lawsuit has a chilling effect on any economic development
"Historic District albatross"? Historic Districts increase values, stabilize neighborhoods, and attract investors and home buyers.
A National register Historic District or individual listing does not in any way limit the property owner but brings the benefit of a 20% tax credit on any investment of $5000 or more. This is taken against state income taxes and is a direct credit for those making less than 60K adjusted gross income.
The National Register does not require the owner to adhere to any standards, does not protect the property from alterations or from demolition and does not restrict the use of the property.
Doesn't sound like an "albatross" to me.
I was under the impression you had to follow certain guidelines (exterior work at least) to qualify for those tax credits? Otherwise what's the point? What you're suggesting is that homeowner could put up vinyl siding at a cost greater than $5k and get 20% tax credit? That would seemingly defeat the purpose of it being a historic preservation district. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that.
I know in my neighborhood I cannot pull a permit for any exterior work without going through preservation for approval. So I have to follow their rules to make any exterior improvements.
I agree that if this were a historic district it would definitely put a stranglehold on future development. The reason it's working so well now is because the developers have both good design taste and the freedom to follow through with it at a lesser cost making it economically viable. The city is fortunate for that indeed.
I think it would be better just to have some guidelines created for that district to prevent a sub-par rite-aid being built on the corner.
You are correct that the tax credit cannot be used for insensitive alterations but it can be used to replace a roof, a boiler, insulate, make interior improvements or update plumbing and electrical systems..
The National Register does not preclude the owner from using their own money to make alterations or changes to the building. Your district in the West Village is a local preservation district that does require review of exterior work, the National Register has no such requirement.
The Larkin District recently had a Historic Resources Survey done by Clint Brown and I believe they prepared a Multiple Property Documentation which allows individual National Register properties to be listed. This is done when there is not enough contiguous properties to qualify for a Historic District.
I agree we are fortunate that they are doing the right thing in the Larkin District but a National Register Historic District would in no way put a stranglehold on future developement, only a local designation would require specific design guidelines and review.
You make too much sense Sally. The city could easily set design standards w/o resorting to historical designation. The fact this area was initially off the radar contributed to its success.