When is Enough Enough?

To the person/s responsible for Buffalo Rising......first let me say I am very impressed with your blog and your enthusiasm. While I am not from Buffalo, I went to school at Syracuse U. and am well aware of the problems and frustrations living in an upstate NY city entails. In fact, prior to reading Buffalo Rising, I thought Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse et al were on life support, getting ready to go to the morgue. It was this video which first made me realize that something positive was happening at least in Buffalo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT11IdWPvfc&feature=player_embedded

Its a clip that should be played over and over again......it has a similar appeal to the one done by the Chrysler with Eminem, and should be used by your development people to draw in new business. Very, very impressive!

But what I want to say to you specifically has to do with your concerns about the development of a focused residential neighborhood in your downtown core and the supporting retail that comes with such development. I hear your frustration.....its understandable. But you must have patience. I have 'turned' a neighborhood....its a very slow process even when there are no economic headwinds and the Buffalo region has some serious headwinds right now.

You may know this already but its worth repeating. When a neighborhood begins the turning process....artists usually are the first to see the opportunities and move into a neighborhood's vacant buildings. They go where the rents are cheap and the environment is aesthetically interesting as well as edgy. Restaurants usually follow the artists. They too are looking for reasonable rents.....after all, the margins for restaurants are pretty tough. For good food, people will go into dangerous or so so or even meh! neighborhoods.....and they will risk it for art as well. That's how the neighborhood gets wider attention and appreciation. Next come the urbanists who want to live in an urban environment. Eventually, mom and pop stores start moving in....the specialty shops like a chocolatier. And finally, the chains came in once things are pretty established and rents are starting to move up.

From what I've read, I would say downtown Buffalo is somewhere between the restaurant and speciality shop part of the process. You are reaching a critical mass....and when that mass is reached things will move much faster. Getting HSBC and M&T to grow their footprints downtown would be a very nice shot.....in fact, a major boost. In any case this neighborhood transformation can take years, and like I said above, requires a great deal of patience.

That not withstanding, you all are doing it. Seriously. And kudos.......well done. This country can't afford to lose its Buffalos and its Clevelands and its Rochesters. They are part of our heritage....from where we've come and to where we're going.

A business associate and I approached Alan Hastings about opening a restaurant and bar on 185 Allen. We were told the landlord wanted $20.00 p/sq ft for the unfinished space. The tenant was responsible for all build out and was required to put over $20,000 in escrow to cover returning the space to the current condition upon termination of the lease. The tenant cannot remodel or take away permanent fixtures once they are installed, so basically whatever the tenant puts in becomes the property of the landlord plus it will cost $20k to leave. No thanks, the leasing agreement and costs were insane so we looked elsewhere.

I have a feeling the owner takes a deliberate loss on the property and won't lease unless it is a great deal for him.

Per Erie County's very user-friendly on-line property information the owner of 185 Allen property does live in Toronto.

Based on fairly regular observations over the last several years I would say that every once in a while a man in a minivan with Ontario plates shows up on a weekend day and does a little work around the property. It had never occurred to me that he might actually be staying overnight at the property, but he could be.

My take on it is that he has good intentions, but lacks the capacity to actually do anything with the property in a timely fashion.* Either he is completely out of touch with the economics of Buffalo real estate, or he has some compelling financial reason to demand irrationally high rents. At least there isn't a hole in the roof. The best scenario for the community would be for him to sell the property, but that is unlikely to happen. In a perfect City the government would provide an incentive (positive or negative) for him to break out of the current status quo.

* There are many property owners like this in Buffalo, the names Dobucki and Freudenheim come to mind.

To the very first poster.... excellent definition of the cycle of gentrification, which is exactly what is happening this this area. People on BRO won't admit it and don't want to be classified as gentrifiers, but by any definition of the term, that's exactly what they are. It's even more evident with articles like this, questioning the decisions of anonymous owners of property in a public forum instead of actually calling the listing agent themselves. It's very passive aggressive because it calls out to the readership to buy into the opinion and reinforces the author's own ideas. It gives him ti guts to shout to his people and rally them, instead of trying to find out answers himself.

But gentrification is what it is... cheap housing, and a good deal of it, that increases rapidly in price and is followed by high end boutiques (and often overbearing land use and zoning codes that restrict land use to anything but higher end retail, which is why Dolce is gone) and over-priced prentitious retail like Penzey's and the slow departure and displacement of prior residents and businesses in favor of the gentry. Then the gentry questions, as is the case here, every single use that doesn't meet their needs and standards and falls for an all out assualt on same... see KFC, Women and Children's Hospital, the failed redevelopment of the corner of Forest and Elmwood, etc.

The reason these places are vacancy, since you won't call and find out becausae it's easier to make assumptions, spread rumors, and present innuendo, is economics. You can't and never will have 100% occupancy. And the higher the rents go, the higher your vacancy rate will go. Every landowner, no matter where they are located in EVA, thinks they can get the same rent per sq ft as the highest priced spaces and that keeps renters away. Also, there is only so much money to go around. If there was a market for something, those places would be filled. The market recognizes opportunities and obviously there isn't one. Is there a need for more $6.50 pints of crappy Belgian beer, imported cinnamon harvested with child labor, or organic food I dont know about?

The rent is too damn high!

The former Sweet Tooth space has been split in two recently. I imagine we'll see that space rented more easily now.

The interior of Sweet Tooth is a disaster. Holes in the floor, cut pipes, cheap drywall, ...

and the owner of the building isn't willing to invest a dime in the space to bring it up to standards. Last time I spoke with him a few years ago he was asking around $3,500/month for the space. Get real man! I imagine if City Inspections were brought in and forced him to make repairs, we'd see it rented much sooner.

One of the sides of sweet tooth has been recently rented. A new retail store will be in soon.

As for 185 Allen, the owner is now willing to put some of his own money into the build out (heating, cooling, bathrooms) as per the specs for a new tenant but the renovations for anything bar/restaurant wise will be to costly without owning the property and with limited parking and foot traffic retail just doesn't make sense given the rent/renovations cost. On top of that you need the support of the Allentown board and from what I understand they are split on what they want that building to be. Some are pro business and just want to see something in there but others are more cautious, wanting the right business to go into such prime real estate on such a busy corner of Allen and Elmwood. There are a lot of hoops to jump through for anyone wanting to go into this space (financially and allentown board wise) which obviously isn't worth anyones time otherwise this space would have been locked up years ago. Sad to see given this is such a great space with the potential to have beautiful curb appeal at such a busy intersection.

over-priced pretentious retail like Penzey’s???

I really don't see Penzey's as overpriced at all. I always thought that in a "foodie" area like Buffalo having a spice shop was a good fit. I have dealt with Penzey's for 20 some odd years, mostly mail order, and have found that the prices were less than what you would pay for McCormick at a chain Grocery store and a much higher quality product. And as far as being a "chain" store they only have around 50 stores countrywide.

I do believe that empty storefronts are the fault of landlords that believe their property is worth $$$$. I know plenty of people looking to start up a business but rents are as others have put it "too damn high".

There is no question this is a landlord issue. The Allentown Board has nothing to do with impeding progress; they are across the board pro-business.

I will say this, if it isn't the landlord, then it is the bank. I had to proclaim blanket statement but let's face it folks this one is true: bankers and landlords are evil people, with evil intentions. Business owners are next on the list. So anyway you want to spin this article we are talking evil: landlords (evil), bankers (evil), and business owners (evil).

"$6.50 pints of crappy Belgian beer"

People have different tastes, sure, but the beer is not crappy by any beer afficianado's standards and the Monk is extremely popular and making a killing, so try again. What Buffalo doesn't need is another place to get a $2.00 Blue Light. There are about 5,000 places to get cheap beer in Buffalo.

Another one I hate seeing sitting empty for so long is the old plate-ohs on forest near the corner of Elmwood. It was most recently a salad/sandwich sort of place. I wish something would get in there too!

I have a group of friends that were / is trying to lease out the Allentown space. They were trying to put in a art gallery / acoustic music performance space that could serve wine and beer but last I heard the Allentown Board wasn't too keen on another place that sold booze. While I can see their point do they have any authority to ultimately dictate what business can be opened in a privately owned building? I'm not sure that they are necessarily to blame for my friends' business venture to either be stopped or stalled but it sounded like it was quite a hurtle to jump just to get the ball rolling on opening up a business in this very long vacant space.

As for the folks that say Allen Street is on the decline I have to disagree. I lived off Allen about a decade ago when there were three lousy bars at the west end. Now with the addition of Hardware, Sample, Staples, La Tee Da, Lagniappes, etc it seems a to have attracted a better clientele of people above your typical college kid at the Pink or Brick Bar. I think these people are spending more money here and not causing problems for the neighborhood with the exception of congested parking. I know Allen still has it issues for sure but I see it on a upswing in my opinion.

The Allentown space is HIGHLY attractive and under utilized. Although if anyone knows how I can get my hands on the woodcut letters that spell "drool" let me know..

The Allentown Association, Preservation Board, Kleinhans Community Association, etc all have a hand in what happens in these neighborhoods. Make no mistake about it: if they do not like what you've done or what you're planning, you WILL hear from them.

It's important to note that they all have good intentions and all serve a very important purpose to our city and community. I sincerely mean that.

HOWEVER, it should also be pointed out that they can very often be an impediment to business and property owners. It all depends on what side of the issue you're on.

Hopefully, I won't get too many "thumbs down," as I tried to balance my complaint with a compliment...

It's only a matter of time before the Blockbuster on Elmwood closes. It's a pretty big space with adjacent parking. I wonder what ends up there and whether or not they'd allow a chain to open there. I've had horrible visions of a drug store.

i was hoping biniskiewicz would chime in on this post. like, quite apart from the specific owners or addresses being kicked around here, are there tax advantages to sitting on vacant storefronts, like there are tax advantages to allow your property to deteriorate (i.e. your taxes go down)?

oh, and it is really peculiar how investment and rehabilitation get condemned as 'gentrification.'

do we have to start designating certain neighborhoods as official poverty zones, where no code enforcement, maintenance or rehabilitation will be permitted, since they might result in higher rents and new occupants?

in place of 'gentrification, let's just call it what it is: demand exceeding supply. in any real estate market where supply lags behind demand, rents go up. marginal neighborhoods attract those who lack the means to buy in established areas. since when did this become an evil that must be suppressed?

at any rate, buffalo is not this market. we have more supply than demand, hence the high number of abandoned houses and depopulated neighborhoods. buffalo probably has lower barriers to home ownership than any other city in america, with the possible exception of detroit.

if your rent goes up beyond your means, a cheaper place is always available a few blocks away. or you can save your dollars and get a habitable place at the tax auction for under $5K. seriously, under the circumstances, it is laughable that anyone would accuse buffalo of fostering 'gentrification.'

I know of a few people interested in the old Steel Crazy location (Allen at Elmwood) and that is close to 2 Grand a Month. The only good business deal would be a bar/club or restaurant for that price (but has to be a 'hot spot' to make any income off of. The same goes for any retail space in downtown along MAIN Street, Delaware and so on. They sit empty mostly due to outrageous rent prices. We all want to see retail and other businessed fill these spaces up, but it's not profitable when the rent is too damn high.

If it's any consolation - and a reminder that all markets ultimately rise or fall - NPR had a great piece about vacant parcels of land on and adjacent to downtown Phoenix:

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/28/134123090/Phoenix-Vacant-Lots

Start looking at Black Rock! It's an up and coming neighborhood and the rents are cheap! The Grant/Amherst Business Association(GABA)meets the first Tues. of every month @ the Polish Cadets @ 6:30. Bring your energy and ideas and we will help you try to find a space!!!

Can someone please perhaps explain to me as to why this is a public discussion? Unless these buildings are both owned by the City and/or Erie County, how private business owners conduct day-to-day dealings isn't the business of the public. Don't like their rent/contracts/business practices? Don't rent from them. This is America, not a police state.

maybe it is you who would prefer a police state, where those with property, wealth, or influence can suppress public discussion of anything that might embarrass them.

Can we get funds to redo the street and lighting and sidewalks for Allen street and Chippewa ?