Buffalo Rising Online

I don't see any bike racks??? I hope they are part of this project!

Is Buffalo Rising doing a companion peice to show the houses 5 blocks over in various stages of disrepair? We have many more houses keeping demolition crews busy than we do construction crews. Do you think their might be a correlation?

i honestly would like to know who is the target market for these houses...if the people living in this area before couldnt afford sub 50k houses, how are they going to pay for 180-200k builds? Government subsidies? Doesnt help. Low interest long time mortgages? After the sub-prime mess i doubt that. My own guess is to start targeting suburbanites and their kids, or young professionals. Maybe get some out of towners to bite on a house or two. Does anyone have any insight into this?

Thanks for the info WCP...it's nice to know that there is construction in the single family housing market just outside of downtown!

Tony I think you're right that this isn't going to get current residents into better homes, not in most cases. I'm all for fueling the return to the city, but the people who have stuck it out in these neighborhoods (either by choice or not) deserve just as nice a home as the folks moving out of the burbs and back into real communities in the city. Let's not confuse "subsidized" housing with ugly projects. Subsidized should really mean, for the average resident who doesn't make a huge amount of money but would really like to OWN a decent home to raise their family in, and they may not have the time or money to put into one of the thousands of existing vacant homes that need varying degrees of work. Maybe BMHA will try to figure out how get the people that really deserve help getting into the home they want, the level of help they need - eg homes less than $180k-$200k.

Whether its a "true" project building or townhouses, subsidized is subsidized. It means the taxpayers foot the bill. I just hope the people that get the subsidies, do something with it.....take care of their property. Sometimes getting a subsidy can create a sense of entitlement...they didn't have to work as hard for it as others. Its not there not deserving......but how do you measure being deserving, their is no test to take.

Funny how no one complains about the massive government subsidies that make the suburbs possible

nice new homes, lets see what they look like in 10 years

Row houses... bout time. I will be very interested to see the final look of these developments. I think they are actually being constructed better than most in the past and therefore will stand the test of time better than some of the other or older new builds.

everyone done complaining yet?

I am not against public or subsidized housing especially considering that just about everything in life is subsidized in one way or the other. If individual people actually had to pay the full cost of highway construction and maintenance many of them would never have been built to begin with and there would be many many more toll roads. Tolls were everywhere before the government stepped in to start subsidizing roadways.

New residents close to downtown especially those 20 market rate homes would be a great addition to the potential customer for downtown businesses. I feel downtown has suffered a lot because of the lack of density of people to the east. This certainly will start to help that even if they are out by Jefferson.

You mean because "Near East Side" implies that it's not as "scary" as "East Side", and yet doesn't infringe on the hip essence of the loft livin downown scene by calling it part of downtown? Perhaps the "Ear East Side" will be rebranded "Near Downtown" or the "Innerburbs" as more new-builds go up. Tho, some of these do approach something clsoer to city houses than other newbuilds of late.

GeoMike- WHen you say"Maybe BMHA will try to figure out how get the people that really deserve help getting into the home they want, the level of help they need - eg homes less than $180k-$200k."

do you really mean "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need"...because that's marxism..I'm pretty sick of this crap about shoveling taxpayer money based on what people WANT, or somehow "deserve"...

I hate using the phrase " an anonymous source told me......." but I will for my comment to this post. Back at Christmas time, I was told by a knowledgeable anonymous source that the Sycamore Village project is targeted for middle class blacks like the homeowners of the Main/LaSalle project and Walden Heights who still live in the city or who have moved to the burbs along the area of Kensington Ave in Amherst that is close to Cheektowaga. Part of the identification process for a market for Sycamore Village was the fact that there was a lot of interest in phase 2 of the Main/LaSalle prjoject which never happened because the city screwed up on buying the land for this next phase. This same source also told me that credible leaders in the residential real estate field told the city that the proposed housing .development along the abandoned rail lines will succeed because there is strong pent up demand for new housing in North Buffalo.

I agree with many of the things that have been written so far about these projects. This was in the artvoice a few months ago on how HUD needed to build a certain amount of housing with the federal money they acquired or they would have to pay it back. Like a few have said this looks great on the east side of buffalo where many blocks have no houses or very few. The only problem I see is that the article states that to be eligible for one of these house you have to be at or below 80% of the area median income. From what I could find and I'm not saying this is 100% according to wikipedia ahaha the city median income is $27850, lets say $30,000. If I'm reading this right that means the people who are eligible cannot make more than $27600. This would be one single person or an entire working family. I believe that this project is a great idea for giving people the opportunity to own houses but how can someone be asked to maintain a house while only making that much money? $27,600 would be the best case scenario, other may be less than that. I want to see the area come back but I also don't want to see such nice houses that were built for a good cause deteriorate like the other houses in the area.

tesla, if you haven't noticed, no one cares what you say.

No one will rent space in that Larkin warehouse building. Oh wait....never mind.

They'll be an eye sore within 2 years after completion. Anybody wannna take that bet? Didn't think so. C'mon get honest! We know the deal. Unless we take care of it for them, they won't be taken care of. I'm so tired of it. Same stuff different DECADE!!!

" Do you think their might be a correlation? "

A correlation between a $20k telescoping cottage with outdated everything going vacant while a $180k modern new build goes up....maybe ;)

tesla, I was taking your side. Now you proved yourself to be an a-hole.

MJW - Clever, but of course it's not only cottages. You're the same MJ who was sad to see that there's no market demand for that house on Jefferson recently discussed on BR, right? And many others?

You're really saying there's no ripple effect connection between new subsidized units being created and even more theoretically saveable units being vacated?

"A correlation between a $20k telescoping cottage with outdated everything going vacant"?

brian_123 - Regarding a companion piece you ask about, coincidentally yesterday the FixBuffalo blog has this with some maps and spreadsheet:

Undeliverable and Unbelievable - Unstoppable?

...Both maps clearly show that Broadway/Fillmore and large sections of Masten are being swallowed up by the ever increasingly larger 'urban prairie'. Black Rock and Riverside are sliding, too. A fixBuffalo friend and I spent some time on Bailey Avenue recently observing the rapidly deteriorating urban landscape. There's a strong positive correlation here between our observations and the recent HUD/Postal Service data. It's simply staggering as people struggle to maintain their lives and dignity in neighborhoods that are hollowing out and where even a semblance of commercial and retail activity is slipping away. ..."

from tesla: "If you're NOT sincere, than I don't apologize."

Well, I guess the apology should come from me. Judging by this added comment and the use of the word "than" insted of "then," I can only assume you're either child or uneducated.

I work right at william and pratt, so i have literally been watching these places on Hickory/William go up on a daily basis right out of my office window. I know the places in the sycamore village are going to be selling for a pretty high price, however I dont know what these places are going to be selling for, or what breaks the buyers will get on them, I dont even want to get into that while tangled web. I would like the address a few comments how they wont be cared for, or will fall into disrepair. Perhaps a handfull of years ago i would 100% subscribe to that theory as well, no doubt about it. However, I drive past the places that all went up on both sides of william and broadway years ago, and if you pay attention, I would say that about 98% of these places are well cared for, lawns are always cut, they all have their yards landscaped, flowers, nice vehicle in the drive, no garbage or junk around... So regardless of how these places were built, and how the owners got them, i'm pretty sure that they will be well cared for. Hopefully they will give some value to the dumps around them and that will lead to private investment replacing these dumps with new houses.

The home mortgage interest rate deduction should be phased out over a 10-year period. Nobody buys a home for the tax deduction. All the tax deduction can do is artifically increase the value of homes. And why should renters give homeowners a subsidy?

Also, if you have a $1,000,000 mortgage, you have a monthly mortgage payment of around $7,000 and an annual payment of $84,000. Assuming you're in Barack Obama's new 40% tax bracket, you will get a tax deduction of $33,000. The average working stiff who has a $100,000 mortgage and is in the 15% tax bracket might save $1,000. Hey Barack, fi you want "Change" get rid of this deduction, which really benefits the rich.

The National Association of Realtors is full of it. And you are absolutely right about Canadian homeownership rates, skarnath.

And i might add, that about 2 years ago, right next to the places being built on Hickory, that a very nice looking single family home was built on a vacant lot. Prob. about 2000sqft, 2 car garage... the place all the way on the right [IMG]http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i122/crozdub115/0627081437.jpg[/IMG]

So someone built their house, in this neighborhood, and paid a decent buck to build it, so there must be some people who have money who want to live in these neighborhoods.

True I did say that. But, the customer for an older rehab and a customer for a new build are not the same customer. The city needs to supply the markes for both.

These houses will work best when clustered and able to grow off of each other.

The old practice of in-fill amongst older houses on the downward path only ensure that the new builds built between them most likely will go the same route. The city would be wise to cluster new-build development between Jesfferson and DT.

A poster above, as I have in the past, noted the sucess of the houses built between pine, william, michigan and the rebuilt clinton st. They were built at the same time all on one block. they always look well maintained. If people see a dedication to the long term rebuilding of the area, they will be more likely to do the same. If they see the old houses around them becoming more boarded and vacant, they are more like to try and cut and run also.

The city needs a long range plan for new builds and the restoration of notable residences in the area. Require builders to rehab any such structures as part of the new build contract. there was one or two nice brick houses on the Sycamore village land that were knocked down. If they were gutted and rehabbed they would have added nicely to the development.

People have been fleeing and disinvesting the east side for years. I don't see why everyone gets judgemental about those who still remain for over not investing either in preperation to follow the same path. The city needs to subsidize to turn it around. It needs to be done wisely and with a long range plan to make sure the biggest return is achieved. this pertains to both new-build and rehabs.

I am with Tesla with the neighborhood nomenclature. What some maps and people refer to as the East Side is an enormous and extremely diverse (and I refer not to populations) chunk of land. Yet, we have can easily name and map small distinct areas such as The West Village. Perhaps that is the result of the establishment of preservation or historical districts. The fact remains that the East Side is too vast. Hence, vague de facto designations such as the Near East Side. By use of deduction, I have come to assume that is is anything east of main that has had any hope or improvements. Perhaps it is from Main to Jefferson. Perhaps it reaches as far south as the latest rehab. It most definitely does not venture as far south as the Buffalo River like the bulk of the East Side.

That would make the Near East Side an undetermined group of continguous city blocks east of Main St. that have any chance at all of escaping their most unfortunate inclusion with their neighbors to the east. I guess The Near East Side, as mundane and uninspired as it is, is suitable enough.

To ALL of you who have posted your sarcastic, pessimistic and degratory comments. You are the ones who have held this city back. The news of this project is GREAT for this city. This is revitalization finally in progress!! Good use of tax dollars. This is exactly what this city needs. People NEED to own their own homes. This is the only way to improve our neighborhoods. The first step in getting rid of the scum loards who have run this city into the ground. How could you put this project down after seeing the before and after pictures? As for tax dollars being spent on it. Do you know how much of your tax dollars are being spent to subsidize millionaires who live in the suburbs and took out mortgages on their McMansions only to default on their loan before the first payment was due? Hint: IT'S IN THE BILLIONS!!!!!! Not to mention the millions that went to developers to build expensive rental apartments downtown. My hats truly comes off to this developer!

potatogoat- I'm all for spending my tax $$ to benefit the city and it appears you are as well. The one thing I can't understand is why $284 of my $307 Erie county tax goes to Medicare? No offense to anyone who is on welfare because its a wonderful idea for those who need it and not abuse it.

I need to correct my statement it was medicaid.

do you guys seriously think that NO RESEARCH is done before developers invest in building houses in an area? you think they just drive down a road find a lot and start building shit and hope for some luck? theyd be out of buisness pretty fast if they did. Id bank on the fact that the people involved in these projects have looked into who and how these are going to be occupied. Im also willing to bank that they know more about the subsidization of homes in buffalo than any of us on this board do....

Near East Side = Near to Elmwood Village and Allentown.

Near East Side = Buffer between the East Side and EV and Allentown

Near East Side = mostly white bohemians who want to show that they aren't afraid to branch out past Linwood but are too afraid to move closer to Jefferson.

Near East Side = a line in the sand for East Side gentrification.

Near East Side = the new district that creates a buffer to protect Elmwood and Allen property values.

All of the above!

homeownership = pride and well maintained homes. it's when there are too many people who think the absentee landlord is going to maintain the property that makes home ownership desireable. one of the reasons for the decline of the neighborhoods in this area are people who do not live in them owning the buildings.

as for gentrification, it's already 'game-on,' folks. it's called the medical campus and fruitbelt. that's where young white people are buying up properties thinking they'll have the time, the money and the knowledge to fix them up and sell them off.

AND NOW, FOR THE CLINCHER!

AND NOW, FOR THE CLINCHER! Who said this area was being named the "Near East Side?" Answer: No One! It just referred to an area. Some jomoke interpreted it as the name and all the stuff came through. Lesson for all: Read The Full Article.

Dear Lord People. That area of the city strted its long decay in the ^0's and 70's. And OMG LOOK new housing is going up and all you can do is argue about it. EMBRACE THE CHANGE YOU ALL WANT FOR THIS ONCE FAIR CITY. typical Buffalonians always afriad of change and stuck in the same ole.

I like the idea of these houses being built but the whole idea of giving them to people who make 80% of the area median is crazy. I can see making homes affordable to people but common. $180-200,000 homes? Thats an expensive house in Buffalo. Homeownership isn't RIGHT for everyone, you have to earn it by working hard. Buy what you can afford. I'm in college and bought what I could afford, I didn't go out and look for a handme out to put me in a $200,000 home its just not right. If you don't have to work for things why work when they are given to you? I could see homes that were $70-$90,000 that were either new builds or fixed up homes that are brand new like they have through neighborhood housing services. What happen to work ethic and working hard for what you earn. To many easy hand me outs.

I predict the the term Near East Side will stick as a neighborhood designation. Without naming names, I have heard many of the movers and shakers in the preservation community (including armchair planners of various types) routinely refering to ArtSpace, Coe Place, the orphanage, Woodlawn Row Houses, etc., as being situated in the Near East Side. We just might all be witness to the birth of a brand new neighborhood. Check back in a year or two.

I thought 'Midtown' was the re-branding of the Main-Utica-Coe-Woodlawn area. Pegger, isn't 'Near ES' south of that?

Anyway, how long before any real estate people decide there's an 'East Allentown' around High St and the Fruit Belt? Or maybe 'Allentown East' would sound classier?

Using the 'Near' word is clever. Maybe a way to slow down the recent increased vacancy rates in northeast parts of Buffalo would be to start calling it the 'Near Amherst District'?

I don't live in Buffalo anymore. Isn't that awesome?

Good points and questions. At L. We just aren't sure. Boundaries are undefined. Midtown has such a better ring to it...almost NYCesque.