Burke and Termini Tackle The Webb Building
One of the city's most beautiful structures (in my mind) is in the process of being restored. Though years of neglect have caused the roof to collapse and the floors below it to buckle, Rocco Termini (Signature Development) and Dave Burke (Burke Builders) are tackling a project that few others would dare to oversee. This renovation is a true testament to the power of a city's comeback (as is their next project - The Greystone). There is no denying that projects such as this would not be on the forefront of the city's renewal if there was not underlying security in the real estate market.
Steel recently posted on the Webb Building and its precarious battle to maintain footing when most everyone in the area gave the building up for lost. The staying power of the Webb Building is awesome, and commands a great respect to the former developers who built her to withstand the test of time. Rarely do we get to see the inner-workings of a precarious development-in-progress. Click on the slide show and check out how workers tear out the roof and floors piece by piece in order to strip the interior to the point where redevelopment can begin. The banner that hangs on the side of the building says it all, "We believe in the Webb".
Bravo! I too have always loved that building.
Queenseyes, those photos were amazing. It appears that you were risking your LIFE to take them. I eagerly await the "after" pictures.
This is truly amazing. If this building can be rehabbed any building can.
I'm curious as to who these guys are and what company they work for and some of the technical aspects of what they are doing. For example, how do they know where to begin and which beams are secure and which aren't. Anyway, good work.
Awesome -good job
All it needed was a simple roof repair about 20 years ago
What is the plans for the building after the renovation? Residential, commerical, mixed use, shops , what?
What is the plans for the building after the renovation? Residential, commerical, mixed use, shops , what?
bjorn...residential with a day care on the 1st floor. thats all i've heard
They are going to be loft units per BRO
We can be thankful that there are people who have seen the immense value of this building and understand the importance of saving this one and others like it. Weigh the value of the Webb's renovation into first class space against the parking lot it nearly became. Buffalo will not only retain an irreplaceable historic building. The city will gain new residents, and an important new amenity will be added to downtown in the form of a day care center. The addition of a child care center to the lower floors of the building will not only add life to the street, it will become a major attraction for businesses considering a location downtown. -Click on the link in the above post to see the rest of Steel's update.
I wish there were no restrictions imposed by the use of historic tax credits, because this building would have surely gone condo. NYS has its laws so backwards when it comes to condo development that the only place that they can be easily built is NYC. This is a definite problem for Buffalo because a permament population downtown is a necessary step toward the stabliization of the city's core.
Oh and while the work crews are there I wonder if they could be convinced to hop over and poke some holes in the roof of the Merchants Mutual building so that we can demo it in 15 years.
Great pictures, and it's amazing that a building that looks that way is going to be renovated. Someone should make a documentary on fixing these places up, sort of like an Extreme Engineering or Modern Marvels type of show!
Does anyone know how to ge tin contact with development people to discuss the lofts?
The slide show is fascinating. The depressing part of looking at these photos is the reminder that City Hall simply stands by and allows this demolition by neglect to continue. I am still bitter over the the loss of the Fisherman's Wharf building, corner of Chippewa and Franklin. Too many of our estimable city stewards are incapable of learning from past mistakes.
^^^
Replaced by SoHo.
ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH
Wow, amazing photos indeed. The inside really was a mess. I'm glad to see work is finally coming through to save it and bring life back.
The city tries to do things, but the laws just arent there. If the city took Paladino to court over the condition of the Webb building, he just would have it torn down. The city cannot win.
Let's here it for the guys risking life and limb to restore this building in the middle of a pretty cold Buffalo winter. Man....there are an awful lot of pretentious yuppies on this site!!!!
Bizzles...interested in your comments...years past I was Treasurer of a Brooklyn NY co-op. It was an old building that had been rehabbed with a tax credit referred to as a "j-51". I don't know the details of the benefits to the sponsor of the renovation/conversion, but the co-op received real estate tax abatement for a period of years, followed by phased in tax rate. It was a huge catalyst to co-op conversions in Brooklyn at the time. If there is nothing similar in place in Buffalo, I am puzzled as to why not (?).
Kbadidas18:
Signature Development can be reached at:
716.861.5385
Termini and Burke are community heroes!
Heroes? I think visionaries more apt. To be able to look at buildings so close to the wrecking ball and see their potential is a gift. To follow though with it like they are? Well then maybe the hero part fits.
Extraordinary. I was really moved by these pictures. Best thing in them? Proper fall arrest harnesses. I've seen all too many OSHA-flouting job sites in Buffalo--guys up on roofs with no fall protection. Roofing companies in Buffalo seem to think they're in the business of filling beds in the Trauma Unit at ECMC.
So, if the Webb with collapsing floors can be saved, how come the Vernor cannot likewise be saved? It is not as bad as the Webb.
Lastly, how about a Construction Babes calendar for 2008, featuring these and other fine local men & women in the trades? I'm serious.
cynthia,
The Federal Investment Tax Credit is only available to income producing buildings so condos cannot utilize it. The recapture period for the ITC is only five years so into the 6th year the building can be converted to condos without loss of any credit.
great photos newell! this is a great story to read about, and it only makes me more excited to come back.
Why arent there any skeptical views about the economic wisdom of these downtown residential projects? It nice to be a cheerleader, but doesnt it strike anyone as odd that the same few people are doing all these projects? Isnt it possible that the use of the ITC allows the developers to take upfront fees and construction profits on transactions that have no long term value?
My opinon is if people looked at the 10yr proforma P&Ls for the vast majority of these projects, they would see that there is no way they stay viable beyond the first few years given the sustainability of rents that are propped up by novelty and new construction. The credit buyers could care less about the viability of the deals over the long haul so they have their money and the developer has his. A nice program actually but it doesnt mean the projects will survive in the long haul.
Why would a developer like Carl Paladino give up on the Webb Building if it were a long term profitable deal? Is Rocco Termini the only man smart enough to have figured out that downtown residential real estate is profitable in the long haul? Or that the prices needed to justify the cost of this construction cannot be sustained over the long haul?
I for one do not. I believe this is a game of take your fees upfront and leave the long term cleanup to the federal government who backs these deal with your tax dollars. Its a giant bet that rental rates will rise rapidly over time, an assumption that is questionable at best.
Perhaps the upside for Buffalo is that the buildings do get saved but I wonder what their prospects are years from now when the inevitable haircut comes and they have to get rented at sustainable prices.