400 Elmwood Avenue, once the bane of existence to the surrounding community, is being redeveloped. The four-story apartment building is being renovated by owner Barons of Buffalo, LLC. Units will be rented at market rates.
The 77-unit building dates to the mid-1920s. During WWI, Buffalonian Edward Moeller (architect, artist and musician who also designed the Pilgrim English Evangelical Church at 623 Best Street) found himself in a war hospital in Paris, France. The hospital was actually a wing of the famous Ritz Paris Hotel and Edward fell in love with the structure.
Upon returning home, Edward decided to design a building after the architecture of that war hospital and 400 Elmwood was born. Currently, there are some missing amenities to the original U-shaped structure that will, hopefully, be replaced in the future. These include six-foot plaster finials capping each of the façade columns on the roof line and a clock that was originally set in to the round in the center space at roof-level.
400 Elmwood has not been without controversy over the past few decades, in fact, it has been a bad neighbor. Since former Judge Wilbur Trammell renovated the property for subsidized apartments in the early 1990s, to vagrancy, irresponsible tenants and questionable activity, 400 Elmwood has a sordid past. However, the owners are working towards remediation of both the tenants and the building, itself.
When Barons of Buffalo, LLC hired new General Manager Marilyn Rodgers, a local housing and community advocate, in late December 2010, they did so with purpose - to assure the stabilization and physical improvements to this architectural amenity in the Elmwood Village and their other properties.
Many evictions have occurred in the past few months and starting June 6th, renovations to 36 apartments will start. These renovations will focus on market-rate improvements including new appliances and cabinets, plumbing fixtures, cherry laminate flooring, removal of drop ceilings, new bath fixtures, appliances and more.
The target-tenancy will be those who wish to thrive in the walkability of the Elmwood Village including grad students, doctors starting their residency programs, folks working in the area and downtown and students looking for a straight line of transportation to school, shopping and all the attributes of Elmwood Village living.
400 Elmwood is divided into 10 sections with eight sections holding six units each and the front sections of each side - nine units.
"The Wave," as the project is called, will go door-to-door at the building and start with the first nine units which include five one-bedrooms, three two-bedrooms and one studio. Each of the apartments will provide the tenant with a new 18 cu ft refrigerator and 30-inch stove as well as heat, electric, trash and water.
Barons of Buffalo, LLC is also working on the stucco exterior of the structure and has already improved the exterior "look" and many interior operational and systems issues. Further, three other buildings in the Elmwood Village have seen structural and systems improvements as well as professional rehabilitation of long-term vacancies. In fact, their properties at 326 and 377 Elmwood as well as their Lexington Building (the former Lexington Co-op) are now at 100 percent occupancy. Additional improvements to these properties include exterior security lighting; roof repair; refinished hardwood floors and more.
Rent for a 500 sq.ft. one-bedroom is $700 and includes heat, electric, and water. Two-bedrooms with approximately 570 sq.ft. are $750.
Get Connected: Leasing Information, 716.887.9644 or email.
If only more building owners would kick out bad tenents more often.
I hear it can be very difficult to kick out bad tenants, legally anyway.
the real trouble comes in when people are on Section 8 public assistance, in which you have to show "good cause," like a pattern of delinquent payments, criminal activity, etc.