Anthony Lorusso's proposed apartment project at the corner of West Avenue and Maryland Street will be presented to the City Planning Board next Tuesday. Neighbors will get a preview Monday night at the Hispanics United of Buffalo, 254 Virginia Street, at 6 PM. The purpose of the Monday meeting will be solicit comments and answer questions on the revised site plan for Casa Serena at Maryland Place. It will occupy the vacant Penn/Lama Advertising site.
In response to comments received about the original plans, the project has been downsized. 53 units are proposed down from an original 83. According to a letter mailed to area homeowners:
"The Laundromat has been eliminated and improvements to the quality and aesthetics of the apartment building have been made. Casa Serena will be a three-story apartment building with 53 units, adequate parking, and substantial green space."
The project now consists of one building fronting West Avenue. The previous proposal had a second building at the corner of Maryland and West that is now "greenspace." A small parking lot is located on West Avenue south of the apartment building while the main parking lot is accessed from Maryland Street. There are no doors facing West Avenue. James A. Rumsey is project architect.
Rents in the $5.2 million project are projected to range from $675 for a one-bedroom to $1,100 for the larger units.
West Avenue Elevation, top.
"improvements to the quality and aesthetics of the apartment building have been made"
Does this mean it looked even worse than before? I'm all for development especially if it means potentially bringing more people into the city, but does it mean we have to get cheap looking suburban-type buildings to do so?
How much money do you want the developers to spend on a building that is only going to bring in $675 a month.
I understand it is not a good looking building but the market really does not allow for money in the budget to make it look much better.
People need to make up their mind on what they want. If you want high end/luxury housing...deal with people not being able to afford it. If you want average joe housing...it looks like this.
People also need to look at the houses around this project before they complain about the look. While the yards are clean and home kept up, they are modest. Why would a developer dump money into a project that they will never be able to recover.
I didn't mean to say the homes in the area are comparable to say the Delaware Ave mansions, but considering the breadth of different architectural styles in the surrounding neighborhood I believe from a design stand point that looking towards the other buildings for inspiration could go a long way. It would be impractical for a developer to invest more than he can make on a return of course. Overall it's not a terrible design the things that make it not great overall is that it is a large wall-like design with no street facing entrances on West Ave. It almost seems to say the building wants nothing to do with the neighborhood and appears uninviting and uninteresting.
Simply adding a few entrances to the front with perhaps a simple aesthetic such as an arched doorway or faux classical style columns flanking the entrance including a breaking up of the bulk appearance of the facade could be a cheap and large improvement. The building does not really fit the fabric of the neighborhood and nothing seems less inviting than no primary entrance points on the main facade.
I personally like the balconies and especially the way the parking is configured to be somewhat hidden from the street. Only a few small aesthetic improvements can change the whole character of the building and make it feel more natural in the surrounding context of architectural styles. It does not have to drive up costs...