Buffalorising has been redesigned.

Michael and Tony have created a beautiful space filled with wonderful items for the sophiticated city ( and suburban) dweller. Thanks for investing your time, money and talents in the city.

City Charter § 511-146,D,1 "Building materials shall harmonize with and complement adjoining structures and be of durable quality. Plain concrete block, plain concrete, corrugated metal, plywood and sheet press board shall not be used as exterior finish materials."

"plain concrete block" not allowed.

Is the concrete block going to be covered?

r u serious?!

the vinyl siding on the sides ruin it.

this is a building that needs to be butted up between two other buildings....instead of standing alone

There are quite a bit of character on Hertel but there is an awful lot of very very plain cinder block buildings that make Hertel look cheap and lack character it once had

...LOL LOL LOL...
Hmm,Lets see...
*A run down building vacant for two years.
*Two obviously very talented people spend their time and money turning it around.
*Same two said people take a chance on a high end business in Buffalo NY.
*Finished result is beautiful and can only help a neighborhood.
...And what happens? The naysayers find reasons to put it down. How sad for for the city and only proves why Buffalo has stagnated for 30 odd years with so many complainers around. The audacity that you. Get a life people!

Thank you! I made a resolution that I would visit every business highlighted in BRO at least once this year. I just added this one to my list. Keep up the good work. I live with someone who is a huge Buffalo basher. He does not want to see the positive in the city, but instead focuses on the negative of absolutely everything (he is like that with movies and TV too). My goal is to provide the opportunity for him to see the positive growth in the city. I hope that some of you will take the time to do the same. It is easier to nitpick someone else's accomplishments, than it is to look at the hard work that got them to where they are.

Martin, the "naysayer" in this case is the City Code. Or should anyone with a deep enough pockets be exempt from the codes that lesser mortals like you and me have to obey?

I quoted the City Code because I think it is important to understand. This section of the code is often violated. I suspect many building inspectors, contracctors, architects, and building owners don't know about it.

I believe the store is a wonderful addition to Hertel Avenue. I hope that either the owners will cover the block or have obtained permission from the Planning Board to leave it like it is.

I may be wrong, but isnt the facade of this building the same as it was when it housed a bank...then a coin store?
IF this is the case... WHERE WERE the defenders of the city code back when?? ONLY after 2 individuals realize a dream that materializes after much work and investment , AGAIN come the wanna be architects and monday morning building inspectors out of the woodwork. IT comes as no surprise that BUFFALO stagnates...this is just a snapshot of attitude why that is!!
MIKE and TONY , I was in that building when it was gutted, I know you
spent thousands rehabbing this once vacant eyesore, and your due much congradulations on your investment and accomplishment.

I believe there was some kind of marble or polished granite that covered the cinder block.

Every material option should be available. Good and bad design can be done with any material. I was walking on Hertel today when I passed a simple brick power station building. Someone must have thought that it would "harmonize with and complement adjoining structures " if the face of the building were covered in stucco painted white with three faux windows and an awning . This "hidden" power station now looks ridiculous. Good intentions but flawed logic.

What makes Monday morning building inspectors different from Wednesday morning building inspectors?

Building code or not, these two still had the initiative to turn a building around and invest in the city. Since it was vacant for two years you had that length of time to turn the original owners into the city for code violations etc. I realize codes are important, so I would suggest ya'll do something about it with all the other empty buildings out there before another one gets renovated and you complain about it the from the comforts of home after the fact...

Yeah, that's a really good way to run a city: one set of rules for people we like (which is to say almost none at all) and another set for people we don't. Way to go, Buffalo!

I think it looks great. I really like the second story window above the door and the striped awning. Is that colored mosaic tile in the gable? Awsome. Nice job guys.

Nice job guys.

Pay no need to the architectural knowitalls on BRO who have nothing better to do than piss and moan on an internet message board. I don't see them actually renovating any buildings...

Brilliant logic, tg. Since none of the pseudonyms used here show up in the City of Buffalo property database, no one here could possibly be renovating anything.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm working on my old house AND an abandoned commercial property in a "bad" neighborhood and I resent the implication that I have to obey codes that are waived for someone's buddies.

Michael and I would like to acknowledge all the positive and all the not so positive responses. The history of the fascade is this:
a. the original front was panels of precast concrete (the roof was flat).
b. sometime in the '60s I believe, the owner covered the degrading concrete with sheets of plywwod covered with a rolled roofing material. From a distance, many people assumed that the material was a granite or marble, (think, Mike from Coo Coo U).
c. when we bought the building in April, Michael could not wait to tear off the fascade and get right to the repairs of the original fascade; when we tore it off, we found that the i-beam over the first floor window was all but gone. This i-beam was bearly holding up the fascade. We had to tear off the entire face and rebuild it.
d. the spring project is to identify a finish that will look good, blend with the surroundings and not look like it dropped from Mars. Any suggestions are welcome. Feel free to send them to michael.donnelly1@verizon.net . Thans to queenseye for his and his staff''s interest and support of our venture and of Buffalo!

Michael & Tony - I'm sure by the good taste demonstrated by what is inside you will choose a perfectly good material for the facade.

I'm glad to understand that the concrete block is part of your imporvement to the building and not part of a "deconstructionist" or "modern" look.

Whatever material you use get the advice of an architect to be sure that you don't have moisture build up troubles between the block and what you fasten in front of the block. Good solutions are plentiful but not always obvious to some contractors.

Daniel Sack,

I'm just curious. Why are you glad that the concrete block is not part of a "deconstructionist" or "modern" look?

"david",

No. I'm glad that the "deconstructionist" look is not part of Hertel Avenue! "Modern" would be okay with me - but concrete block "modern"?

I'm offended by the concrete block on the Lex Coop building, and though it is not "plain" if you are within two feet of it, it looks cheap - which is exactly why they used it instead of what they showed the public in their drawings.

Daniel Sack: need we remind you?

"We regret much of what we've built; we regret much of what we've torn down. But we've never regretted preserving anything."

Why is my name in quotations? David is my name.

Daniel Sack,

I was more curious about what specific qualities in decon or other modern design offends you. I'm also interested in what specific qualities you find offensive in concrete block. Is it the color or texture? Would a solid concrete surface be less offensive than block? Is it the size, shape or proportion? If the concrete block were the size and shape of brick, would that be less offensive?

Does the brick on the coop building seem less "cheap" than the concrete block.

david,

All good questions. And many of the answers would clearly be subjective. And the answers would entail quite a long discussion. More discussion than I have time for here and now. But call me sometime if you wish to discuss it. Or organize a public forum for such a discussion - it could be quite interesting.

Some of the faster answers regarding the Coop - the brick seems and is "less cheap" than the block. The Coop Director told me that their architect knew the block violated City code but that the City never enforced the code so it was okay. !!!

I don't agree with every aspect of the City Charter. I think the part I quoted was from 1999. I made no contribution to that section of the Charter but I was the only person to show up at the Common Council hearing to speak about the proposed amendment. I spoke in favor of it.

Carl Paladino was at the hearing on another matter. I expected he might speak against the design review amendment. He did not.