The Buffalo Planning Board approved plans for 49, two to four-bedroom residences in the Fruitbelt neighborhood. St. John Community Development Corporation has been designated developer for the fifty City-owned properties needed for the project. The Buffalo Common Council signed-off on the $80,500 sale in April.
The new, affordable residences will be built on 17 scattered sites. Buildings have been designed to complement the 28 townhouses units St. John CDC built five years ago with predominantly brick front facades, siding, cedar shingle accenting and full-front porches. Parking will mostly be in the rear of the buildings and landscaping is proposed to be native and draught-tolerant.
Planned buildings will have two to three townhouses each. Three of the buildings along Virginia Street however will be ranch-style residences (elevations below), each containing a handicapped-accessible unit. A two-bedroom ranch unit will be constructed at the southwest corner of Virginia and Lemon, a three-bedroom plan will be built at the northeast corner of Virginia and Maple and a four-bedroom plan will be built at the southwest corner of Mulberry and Virginia.
Foit Albert Associates is project architect.
THIS is not what we were promised!!!!!!
Promised? they don't owe you sh*t. God forbid some people with less money than your rich ass get to have a new home. When these are built in Williamsville or Elmwood you can talk, until then, quit bitching.
These designs already indicate brick, so it's not like they're going with cheap materials. No one is demanding more expensive design choices that would limit this development. Good proportions and careful material application don't cost more money. Neither do careful siting and landscaping. I imagine the people who will live in these homes would prefer that they not look cheap and advertise themselves as subsidized housing.
In the long run, designing these so that they attract additional residents and encourage new development will be the best thing for the city overall, including these residents.
I don't agree at all that these are good for the city in the long run. Please, somebody tell me why are we building new subsidized housing.
Is there a shortage in the city?
Have all the $300 duplex units dried up?
Did section 8 stop all of the sudden?
Is there so much demand for existing space that this couldn't be satisfied with putting money in existing neighborhoods?
The answer to all of these is no. Once again there is too much welfare in Buffalo and NYS as a whole (double the national average per capita), and it puts a serious drag on the people and business's that actually create wealth. We need to stop building new subsided units ASAP, and cut benefits across the board. Imagine having tax rates that could actually attract people and business again!
Promised as in those designs the media had last year showed completely different style of housing. These are the same style we see going up all over the east side. We will never see that part of the city prosper with cheap low income housing and ONLY that!