Visitors to Mode Restaurant’s outdoor patio (corner of Utica and Elmwood) will be treated to quite the show in coming weeks. The Frizlen Group (architect) and Johnson and Sons (contractor) have just posted their latest plans on a neighboring lawn heralding the fast approach of twelve condo units. Houses at 305 and 311 West Utica will soon be coming down, in order to make room for an environmentally friendly building complex to be built.
I spoke to project Manager Frank Crowe about the development and he said, “The existing two houses will be dismantled by Buffalo Reuse. We’ll use pieces of stone from one of the houses in the build-out plans. We’re also going to be building with many earth friendly materials. All of the units will be highly energy efficient… and the complex will have a rainwater catchall that will store the water that will be used to water the lawn.”
Not only is the ‘green’ development earth friendly… it appears to be neighborhood friendly. The two houses that are coming down have reportedly been very troublesome properties in the past. Not only have they been referred to as unsightly properties, it’s been said that past inhabitants were known for their derelict activities. I spoke with one neighbor who told me that the coming condos would “… do wonders for the block’s property values” that have remained stagnant due to properties such as the ones being replaced.
Another neighbor questioned The City’s policy when it comes to renewing licenses to notorious rooming house operators. “You’d think in this day and age in Buffalo,” he reflected. “…that The City would revoke, or not renew, the occupancy licenses for problematic landlords. You have wonderful neighborhoods that can be destroyed by one single rooming house.”
Instead of derelict properties, the neighborhood will soon see a series of condos that will start in the $300,000+ price range. And that’s for a basic 2100 sq.’ non-custom unit. The larger upper loft units will be more. There will be a total of 22 underground secure parking spaces. “We can’t pre-sell the condo,” Frank added. “But we’re taking names and putting them on a list. People want to live in the city again. There has already been an enormous interest in these properties.”
I’m sure that having the lawn billboards up over the Garden Walk weekend won’t hurt either. The team expects approval from the Attorney General any day, upon which time they will start to accept offers on the units.