Real Estate September 13, 2012 12:15 AM

Construction Watch: West Huron Lofts

WCPerspective 25

A decrepit old hotel is coming back to life. Kissling Interests is converting the long-vacant Lake Hotel at 201 W. Huron Street into eight upscale residences.

There will be four apartments on the building's first floor. One is a one-bedroom apartment. The other three apartments are two-level, two-bedroom units with the main living area on the first floor and the bedrooms located on the garden level.

November 2010

Yesterday

There are just two apartments on both the second and third floors, each with two bedrooms and two full baths.

The building features an interior light court, a garden-level storage and laundry room, and an landscaped patio for tenants and guest. Rents are expected to be in the $1,500 range.

The exterior of the building is already much improved. For the first time in years the building has new windows. Based on a photo from 1978, graceful new window surrounds were created by Buffalo Plastering and Architectural Casting.

Kissling tapped architecture, engineering and interior design firm Carmina Wood Morris to prepare the reuse plan. Peyton Barlow is general contractor.

Get Connected: Kissling, 716.853.2787

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25 Comments Leave a comment

BuffaloQPublic

September 13, 2012 12:38 AM

Hooray!Peyton Barlow has a good track record.

(I think they did the redo on the former casket building on Virginia St. near Delaware Ave.)

[ Reply ]

Score: 5 ( 7 votes )

john.straubinger@gmail.com

September 13, 2012 2:17 AM

Yesterday's pictures are nearly worth the wait. It's great to see this building off the resident neighborhood derelict building list.

[ Reply ]

Score: 8 ( 8 votes )

hamp

September 13, 2012 6:52 AM

Looks beautiful!

[ Reply ]

Score: 8 ( 8 votes )

Travelrrr

September 13, 2012 7:30 AM

Incredible--Kissling does such impressive work. Buffalo is really luck to have them. I always thought this would be a perfect boutique hotel (the church across the street should be demo'd), but this is great to see it coming back online (maybe they can pull a Webb building switcheroo at some point).

[ Reply ]

Score: 2 ( 8 votes )

Jefferson Humboldt

September 13, 2012 9:17 AM

For a second, I thought, "Hey, I don't see a church anywhere..." Then I saw. Modern church architecture is lame. That said, it appears to be in decent shape so I wouldn't advocate for its demolition.

[ Reply ]

replied to Travelrrr

Score: 4 ( 4 votes )

brownteeth

September 13, 2012 8:13 AM

A welcome addition to the neighborhood!

[ Reply ]

Score: 5 ( 5 votes )

Brian

September 13, 2012 10:19 AM

Great news! Kissling always seems to do these right. This is a great looking building that looks like it has a ton of potential.

[ Reply ]

Score: 6 ( 6 votes )

Travelrrr

September 13, 2012 10:32 AM

Can we take a collective moment to recognize that, although this building sat vacant and unused for many years, it was safely boarded up/mothballed and is now able to undergo restoration and, ultimately, reuse?

Can the tear-down crowd grasp that if this had become a surface parking lot, there would be no opportunity for that rebirth?

It's very easy to rush to congratulate this project now--however, what takes real courage and vision is to climb up (down) stream and fight for buildings at risk of demo with no certain use.

Trico
Beth Admin Building
East Side churches/most of the East Side
etc.

[ Reply ]

Score: 12 ( 24 votes )

Jay D

September 13, 2012 11:19 AM

I think people grasp that if buildings are taken care of, they can be re-used.

As long as the preservation crowd can grasp that once buildings are past a certain point of repair, demolition is necessary. I think the problem people have with preservationists is they always seem to come in too late, do too little before hand, but then always complain.

[ Reply ]

replied to Travelrrr

Score: -1 ( 23 votes )

Travelrrr

September 13, 2012 11:27 AM

Why is it the preservationists' job to maintain a building? That is the owners' responsibility (and the city's responsibility to enforce the codes).

Also, preservationists do a lot of legwork along the way, much of which is unpaid, mind you: awareness-building campaigns, event-coordination, media generation, etc. This is not "reactionary" work.

[ Reply ]

replied to Jay D

Score: 7 ( 15 votes )

grad94

September 13, 2012 12:43 PM

also writing national register nominations, which free up tax credits, and local landmark nominations, which (supposedly) guard against demolition.

[ Reply ]

replied to Travelrrr

Score: 5 ( 7 votes )

Jay D

September 13, 2012 3:05 PM

I didnt say once it was their job, nor did I blame them for any demolitions, Steel.

I said a good amount of the time they come in after the fact that a building is past saving, yet complain that people dont care about it.

Also, I dont think there is a "tear down crowd". Just a realist crowd.

[ Reply ]

replied to Travelrrr

Score: -2 ( 8 votes )

STEEL

September 13, 2012 2:01 PM

This idea that preservation minded people need to figure out which landlord is going to stop investing in a building so that it rots away and then they have to get to the building and ask the owner to sell it before it gets too bad is ridiculous. As long as the city does not enforce its own laws which are intended to protect the investments and safety of its citizens delinquent owners will continue using demolition by neglect as a business practice. Preservationists are responsible for saving large important and economically vibrant parts of the city. Blaming them for demolitions is beyond absurd. Making delinquent owners out to be victims is even more so.

[ Reply ]

replied to Jay D

Score: 3 ( 13 votes )

Publius

September 14, 2012 12:28 AM

Travelrrr is right. A building, although vacant, can weather many years without occupancy as long as it is properly sealed. Keeping out the elements prevents so much of the deterioration that inevitably forces these 'emergency demos' that we all dread. Property owners must be forced to seal their buildings when they are vacant for long periods of time.

[ Reply ]

replied to Travelrrr

Score: 3 ( 3 votes )

brownteeth

September 14, 2012 8:05 AM

It's amazing what a couple hundred bucks worth of decent plywood properly attached to a building opening can do to preserve a building for future use. I personally don't expect every property owner to rehab every building in the city but I do expect the minimum effort to at least seal it up until you have the means to address it, or so someone else can. Also, if you're going to buy a property in a locally designated preservation district expect to adhere to a higher standard than non-preservation districts.

[ Reply ]

replied to Publius

Score: 5 ( 5 votes )

Black Rock Lifer

September 14, 2012 8:46 AM

Agree, I was in Chicago about 10 years ago and saw that many of the best old buildings were secured very carefully. The windows were covered with 3/4 plywood that was attached to horizontal 2x4's on the inside jam and held by carriage bolts. Made it almost impossible to pry off and also didn't damage the frame. The city could protect our best (and their tax base) in a similar fashion for a relatively small cost.

[ Reply ]

replied to brownteeth

Score: 6 ( 6 votes )

Up and coming

September 14, 2012 9:48 AM

Good points all the way around.

[ Reply ]

replied to Black Rock Lifer

Score: 3 ( 3 votes )

STEEL

September 13, 2012 10:47 AM

Nice to see the actual project look better and more detailed than the renderings. Yea for the detail above the windows!

[ Reply ]

Score: 3 ( 9 votes )

JMc44113

September 13, 2012 12:30 PM

Another fine project by Steve Carmina & Jon Morris at Carmina-Wood-Morris. They really are Buffalo's best preservation architect!

[ Reply ]

Score: 6 ( 6 votes )

grad94

September 13, 2012 6:52 PM

kind of like saying that you have no business opposing animal neglect unless you personally adopt the critter or get into the home or farm and stop the owner from starving it.

further, when animals do end up dead or at the vet because of neglect and you get riled up, you're told to stfu because you didn't adopt that very animal and everyone is sick to death of you being reactive instead of proactive.

[ Reply ]

Score: 4 ( 4 votes )

whatever

September 13, 2012 7:39 PM

First, who said stfu or "no business" about anything? I don't see where anyone above said that so far. Are you referring to some other thread?

The animal rights analogy seems flawed in that buildings don't feel pain.

[ Reply ]

replied to grad94

Score: 0 ( 2 votes )

grad94

September 13, 2012 8:12 PM

actually, i meant to reply to steel.

had i used quotation marks, that would be your cue that i was quoting someone. instead, i summarized the typical anti-preservation arguments that appear day in and day out at this blog. you're a smart guy, i think you don't need to have this rhetorical strategy s-p-e-l-l-e-d o-u-t to you.

[ Reply ]

replied to whatever

Score: -1 ( 3 votes )

whatever

September 15, 2012 7:32 PM

grad, I didn't think you were quoting - but even paraphrasing, I didn't see where anybody so far in this thread was even implying stfu, so just wondered who you meant. Thanks for clarifying it wasn't in this one.

In other threads no doubt some on various sides of issues have said equivalents of stfu on occasion, but to me that seems rare (and I'd really doubt "day in and day out") compared to how much it's complained about.

Offering a differing view usually isn't at all implying anyone else should stfu, although I've noticed a weird trend of reacting by pretending as if that's being said. Strange but if people would rather argue a straw man than substance, well -shrug- I suppose.

When you guys disagree with tea party types or neocons or repukes, are you implying they should have to stfu or is it just expressing an alternative view? I'd presume usually it's the latter.

Now please stfu.
(kidding, kidding ... just a joke ...)

[ Reply ]

replied to grad94

Score: -1 ( 1 votes )

RaChaCha

September 13, 2012 7:06 PM

Wow, just wow. Way to go, everyone, for making this part of the city better.

[ Reply ]

Score: 1 ( 1 votes )

Chris

September 15, 2012 9:13 AM

It is great to see this section of downtown get the love over the past few weeks.

WC, you are going to have your work cut out for you doing your year end development recap! Lot's of action!

It would be great to see a comparison over previous years. It is my feeling that in the past year there have been more proposals, construction starts, and completions than previous years.

The wave is really growing in Buffalo! Can't wait to see what happens in the future!

[ Reply ]

Score: 1 ( 1 votes )

Construction Watch: West Huron Lofts

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