Let Me Clarify

This is exactly why the city needs architectural codes.

Owners are not the only party responsible for buildings like this. It also falls on city leaders to create set rules to follow. It's also the communities responsibility to raise expectations on business. Although the attitude of the region is changing most of the perceptions are still those based in fear. Fear that if basic rules are requested that it will be too much for developers. Fear to ask for too much. Fear that development in one part of the city will canabalize another.

It is clear the Buffalo is at the beginning of a change. 1 billion in current construction is the sign. The amazing part of all of this is that this was all completed with no code or leadership by the city. Getting some actual leadership in city hall will only encourage investment and growth.

steel, you bring up an interesting point, or several...i will venture to say that there are 2 kinds of businesspeople in society, those whose businesses in the long term benefit many, and those whose businesses in the long term benefit only themselves. neither are wrong, but i suppose business ethics do matter if you're looking to make your business profitable and you are looking to improving the quality of your environment or community. just something to keep in mind as one looks to start businesses...

another point is perception. yes its true, that a canadian hockey player, or an all pro football running back or even touring musicians for that matter, any guest to our city may be looking for something to do while staying in a hotel downtown, and they see this beautiful parking ramp/bunker. not unique to Buffalo, im sure this also exists in places like Chicago or other great cities, difference is for every great thing we have dt, we have one of these, making the cumulative perception as mediocre at best, and thats a reflection on us. perception is reality as they say...

i am a firm believer that our best offerings regionally absolutely have to be downtown. all major metropolises are judged by how great their downtown environment is, and ours just seems to keep spinning our wheels. my philosophy has and always will be is your business good for Buffalo? if it is, i will support it and do what i can as an individual to make it great and make it profitable for you, if its a business that in the end only you benefit from, well, i'm sure you have your share of patrons which will help keep your business afloat, good for you for making money, it's after all what we all want to do, i suppose...

when you write, The individual properties of the city do belong to individuals but the city belongs to EVERYONE,", i think you use 'city' in this context to mean 'public realm.'

'city' is a small word that is burdened with many big, unwieldy shades of meaning. it lacks the precision your argument needs, which is that this building demeans the public realm.

this definition is as good as any:

"The public realm embraces the external places in our towns and cities that are accessible to all."

http://www.atkinsglobal.com/sectors-and-services/services/public-realm-design

this building is a symptom of the modernist movement in architecture, which successfully convinced generations of designers, developers, and owners that ornament was illegitimate and expendable, if not a crime (quoting adolf loos).

it is also a symptom of a culture of privatization that holds the very idea of the public realm or public interest in contempt.

Can anyone recall when the glass block was replaced with the CMU? I'm assuming this work was all permitted and approved. The problem are the building codes, if this work was permitted and was the cheapest solution it's no surprise the owner chose it. I'm sure he saw little value in having a good looking parking garage so it's up to regulation to force a higher standard of design.

MAYBE. But look at all the development going on in the city because we're holding our authorities responsible. I could go on with all the development that's taking place. THINK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT YOU FOOLS.

Better zoning would solve these complaints. If you want a city to look a certain way you have to legislate it.

Your other option is to depend on the decency of people in taking care of their properties.

You don't have to look very far in Buffalo to see how well that works.

Buffalo doesn't have to reinvent the wheel. Start with a couple promising neighborhoods, borrow NYC's extensive zoning code, and implement a 2 year plan.

Incentivize landlords to spend money on their properties by allowing owners to write off a portion of the costs of bringing their building up to code.

That's what I think and a lot of people have said the same thing. Now the City needs to do something about it.

What's the economic argument? What would a face lift look like?
How much would it cost? If there are ____ parking spots in the building, how much more could the Owner charge if they invested in the facade? How long would it take recoup the cost? Are there are facade improvement grants / matching funds out there to help the Owner?

I can't understand how the owner of this property does not suffer from incredible shame and embarrassment. Can you imagine telling a friend or a relative that you own this eyesore? I realize that fixing it up will not increase the bottom line (drivers don't boycott an ugly parking structure). But have a little pride in your city, and have a little pride in yourself.

I really think you could do a low cost face lift and charge slightly more. Cleaner and brighter feels better and safer.

This ramp is also in a historic district, named for Joseph Ellicott who laid out the city street pattern. An new structure of this quality would never be allowed in it. It would be interesting to see this restored as a rare example of a parking structure worth restoring.

The address is 93 Pearl St. and it is listed as being built in 1925 and has 239 parking spaces. The owner is Victor Perla Associates Inc.

We have "building codes" to protect the health and safety of property owners from themselves and others. Some codes prevent fire from spreading, some plumbing codes prevent the spread of disease, some literally prevent a building from collapsing. People should understand that building codes are the law and are the MINIMUM required.

"Zoning codes" that can include "design standards" help to maintain the value of neighboring property. Some design standards go overboard, like, IMO, regulating color, or insisting on only one style of sign.

Other standards regulate "form" such as height, area, transparency... "Use" standards - obvious. A person in a small residence may not want to have a twenty story building or a junk yard next door.

Build a junk yard next to a home and the value of that home will be less.

Same here. Yes, Webb Lofts are across the street. I believe it is undeniable that the value of the Webb Lofts would be greater if the parking garage looked like it looked before the windows were blocked in. I believe we should regulate just enough so that property values are higher, not lower.

It is good for everyone. We are all in this together.

The 80 years of years of decline have seen the city fathers and city stewards leave. Those are the people committed to a city, protecting it, nurturing it, advocating it, etc.

The fabric of the middle class left along with the middle class jobs...leaving only the houses and infrasture that once served them.

For 80 years there has been decay and demolition and powerlessness that people could make any change in the direction of the city.

Its not just the demolition but simple things like roofs, gutters, trees, lawns, bushes, curbs, potholes, sidewalks .... there are so many parts of Buffalo that are disengaged to say the last.

The greatness of Buffalo comes out when there is a storm and people need help or at the many sporting and social events...

...but its sad because there is a whole part of Buffalonians that are destitute not just in money but in the history and culture and future in relation to the city.

I'm not sure this structure looks that much worse than those 'new' parking ramps that are put together like 'lincoln logs' (one across from Niagara Falls Memorial...one at the VA). Not a fan of those.

The building is from 1925. We criticize people for walking away from properties, for not securing them against the elements, and now we don't like how this one has been modified to make it economically viable.

Would we be happier if it were torn down? I agree it's not the most attractive property in the city, but it's an old structure being used.

Thought these two quotes appropriate. From a wiki page - "As Architectural Record has noted, "In the Pantheon of Building Types, the parking garage lurks somewhere in the vicinity of prisons and toll plazas."[11] The New York Times has labeled parking structures as "the grim afterthought of American design".[12]"

Asking what is or isn't "OK" is fine, but often doesn't have real impact.

Aren't more substantive questions what is or isn't illegal, and what should be illegal if it already isn't?

Now here's a question for Steel, or Daniel, or anyone...
How could the City (even if it wanted to) outlaw upper floors not having larger windows than this parking garage building now has while at the same time it'd still be legal for so many buildings to have huge parts of exterior wall space with no windows at all?

For one example among many hundreds (if not thousands?) across Buffalo, the City Court building (ironically, since it contains Housing Court where a must-have-large-upper floor-windows law would be prosecuted).

The parking garage Steel is criticizing still has some upper floor windows - it's just that they were made much smaller at some point using concrete compared to the larger size they were before.
But even if it had no windows at all - regardless of if it was that way originally or modified - how could that realistically be made illegal?

This post has been nominated for a 2013 Lulzy Award. Congratulations STEEL!

Dish it, but can't receive it. I DEMAND better!!!

STEEL writes: "What does this building say about Buffalo? What should a young Canadian hockey player think when he walks to his hotel past this mess? To me it says the people of this city don't give a damn. Is that true?"

If this website would allow us to post pictures I could show everyone the lovely parking lot at 32-34 W.29th St. in Chelsea between the primo Ace Hotel and the upscale Nomad Hotel. What would that "young Canadian(?!) hockey player think of that? In the "World's Greatest City"?

There's sh*t everywhere if you dig deep enough. Buffalo just seems to have more overly self-conscious scolds to blog about it...

If you like how this building has been treated, you'll LOVE the new sheet-metal facade on the Seneca Street garage across from the baseball stadium.

Steel,this is actually a great post and one that all city leaders/advocates alike should read and learn from!

First of all, if you are going to write a story about a building, include a succinct history of the structure, identify the owner, and include any other pertinent facts such as the address. (I already did this for you). How about posting some other views as well? Maybe even contact the owner to elicit any comment in their defense.

I wouldn't worry too much about young hockey players, most young people don't care about architecture and even fewer care about our buildings. The concern lies mostly with urban planning students and the baby boomer generation. It is a very small pocket of the population. But a dedicated one at that.

While I agree with your accountability diatribe, the grassroots activism starts in blogs like this. Until the editorial staff seriously considers upgrading the interface of this site, any serious discussion is EXTREMELY limited to shortcomings of the website. Think about it this way, myself, and a couple others have complained and attempted to reach out to anyone who will listen to improve this site and guess what? All we get is silence. That includes you. Now contrast that with your complaints about building facades, to which I fully support. Change all the words about this structure in your story with "this site" and now you realize OUR frustrations. If I called you to place an ad, I would probably get flooded with e-mails and followups. The crickets are chirping.

While the building may be ugly, how do you know how it is structurally? Did you inspect it yourself?

Any building can be modified and updated to look and perform better if it is structurally sound. The builder just needs some creativity and imagination.

Not exactly in the same pew comment-wise but it brings to mind the patched places in City Hall.

Perhaps the City would have better luck if some of the broken bathroom mirrors were replaced. Some departments' carpeting is a storybook page of stains. Wondering if the strategic planning area has replaced the in-shreds, ancient roller shades.

Steele mentions “lack of pride.” The keepers of the landmark at Niagara Square may need a refresher course on the subject.

Perhaps they are falling short in enforcement on neglectful or out-of-step building owners because there is a proverbial beam in their eye.

Steele, I appreciate your input and your work on forums outside of this have lead me to BRO.

I work in a newer downtown structure that took blight out of the downtown. But based on the GIS we are in the Lower West Side... who knew.

Anyway, I think the City should make surface lots w/o some kind of maintained facade illegal. I like the Augsberger part that fronts W. Huron... Unfortunately there's a parking lot across from it. I think the city needs to use eminent domain and build ramps like Rochester did, but we have the buildings to support it.

I think there's other things to focus on such as a convention block from Franklin, Mohawk, Huron, Delaware. Think incorporate the Crosby building and demolish the rest. This way we have the capacity for the mid-sized shows that can combine the new, current. Statler, Hyatt, Embassy, etc. into that Indianapolis convention district (small scale).

Lets move on and get the economy flowing and encourage investment in Buffalo. Enough with the negative as it is bad on Buffalo. Look for the positive.

I understand preserving the past in Buffalo, But industrial buildings need to be demolished and precedent needs to be set for facades.

OPEN UP THOSE WINDOWS AGAIN!!

This building is an aesthetically ugly scar on probably the most historic part of Pearl Street. Unfortunately, it has been stripped of all its architectural beauty and dignity so either a complete reconstruction of the exterior similar to the successful mixed use Avant on Delaware Avenue or a complete demolition and clearence.