Buffalo Rising Online

The whole Elmwood Strip needs to be "deconstructed."

I am all for new developement and happy to see this project come alive, but who in god's name has 230k for a one bedroom condo and 275k for a two bedroom condo.

you can buy a very nice mulit unit down the street for that kind of change.....

I hope Maureen Flavin can inflate this market too!

I don't understand all the angst on BRO about condo prices. The developers are profesionals, and I have to assume that they've done their homework on what prices will work.

colin, then why don't you buy one?

Gaustad, you are missing the point entirely...Developers aren't planning to lose money, and neither are the banks who undoubtedly have signed off on significant constructions loans those developers have for the site. If the developers say the market can support 230k condos, and the Banks have looked over all the documents the developers have and say the market can support 230k condos..

then the market can PROBABLY support 230k condos...I'm going to go with the finance guys on this one, and not the resident internet crank. Perhaps you're not the demographic they're looking to entice

More to the point, even if the market can't support 230k, why do you care? Prices will drop until they reach the level set by demand.

gaustad --

I won't buy one because I already own a house that I'm happy with, and even if I didn't, I couldn't afford the prices they'll be charging. However, that doesn't mean that no one can afford those prices -- my personal situation isn't the universal rule.

So I still don't understand why you (and others) are often upset about condo prices. The developers have done their homework, so I feel safe in saying they'll be bought and the project will succeed. If that doesn't happen, the price will be lowered and the developer might lose some money, but thats no skin off my nose. And in either case, the development provides jobs, is an improvement n what's there now, and is apparantly being done with some concern for the environmental impact. Where's the problem?

I think some people must still have their head in the sand and are still living in the day of 350 dollar apartments. Buffalo has caught up with the rest of the country in housing prices and yes, condo's sell for 250-800K, homes for 300 to a 1,000,000.00 dollars and nice apartments are 800 and up [and no, they do not include heat]. Time to realize it ain't gonna change!

prices are rising across the board and as with everything prices are rising. Landlords have to buy the same inflated food and gas as everyone else and are going to charge more in rents in order to do this. I agree with onestarmarton time to get used to it. Live closer to work, drive less, buy local food and save money. Things are not going to get any cheaper.

Hey Gaustad, in a metropolitan area of 1,000,000 people, you don't think the developer will be able to sell these 14 units?

There are tons of people who want something that is brand new with no stairs and no maintenance, and they are willing to pay a premium for it. And there isn't exactly a lot of competition in the area.

Gaustad- why so angry over what other people can obviously afford? Don't worry I'm sure you'll make the big move out of your Mom's basement soon enough...

I believe rubygreta hit the nail on the head by stating "[t]here are tons of people who want something that is brand new with no stairs and no maintenance". When my company owned 322 Bryant St (where the little red house was built on the corner of Ashland Ave), I received a lot of inquiries to build a handicap accessible home. The population is grower older and the independent housing opportunities are few and far between. Since purchasing the vacant lot at 276 Summer St last year, this kind of housing has been on my mind again.

gaustad> I am all for new developement and happy to see this project come alive, but who in god's name has 230k for a one bedroom condo and 275k for a two bedroom condo.

I'm reminded of the Cheektowagans who, in the late 1980s, opposed construction of the Walden Galleria not just because of concerns about traffic and the like, but because they thought it was "too fee-yancy", and that nobody could ever afford to shop there.

More variety in housing options is a good thing, and the asking price for units at 305 West Utica is a positive indicator of the health and stability of the surrounding area.

The idea is good, the prices are market prices, but it's too bad the deisgn is so poor. These units just don't harmonize at all with Buffalo's vernacular--East Amherst, maybe, but not Buffalo. I don't usually cite other cities for examples, but some of the newer condo developments in Charleston would be much more handsome than this design.

Well wizard, that's an argument that has never been resolved. I suppose it's a matter of taste and opinion and what one likes in a a city, but I think harmony is an important and still viable value in many large and small cities: Paris, Barcelona, Savannah, and the city I love most, Charleston. Washington D.C.'s limit on the height of buildings has been essential to its retaining its character and uniqueness. I don't think Charleston would become a more interesting city if it decided to interrupt its textures with willfully contrasting styles of building. That approach pleases some people, but I find places where it has flourished, such as Toronto, to be among the most dissonant and visually anxious cities I know. I want to say ugly, but agin, I know it's all subjective.

I agree with you in one area: in downtown areas with an already established eclectic building landscape, diversity and contrast in style and period can be enhancing.

EricOak - you can say it. Toronto is ugly. And with the completion of each condo building it gets even uglier.

EricOak, I think D.C seems pretty dull architecturally. Maybe the National Gallery is nice but not much else. There is no harmony. Harmony require different piches right? D.C is just flat and dull. I think you are confusing harmony with regularity.

yes wizardofza I was definitely talking about the central area of DC. You and EricOak were discussing new construction and mentioned DC's height limits and so I assumed that meant the downtown areas.

About one thing you are most certainly right wizardofza: penetrating the miles of sprawl around even our "best" cities to find a rewarding "historic urban core" is a daunting experience-- and Charleston is no exception, much as I love it.

Washington and Baltimore and Richmond have some of the best historic districts anywhere, and I am a little bit prideful that in a former life I had something to do with their preservation.

MikeJW - get your own material, that is my line! {deleted, off-topic flaming}

Colin, this is the same developer that still cant rent the loft apartments he built on Elmwood Ave. He didn't do his homework.

Although, I have plenty of money to buy one of these condos, why on earth would I spend 230-300k on a sterile hosiptal looking building like this.

If developers and banks "did their homework" than the US would not be facing a collapse in the central banking system. Our economy is in the toliet. Get educated!

As mentioned, I am ecstatic that a project like this is coming to fruition in Buffalo, but the reality is the condos are very expensive for most people downtown, the building is an a terrible design, and the neighborhod is filled with pan handlers and crack heads.

Better off "deconstructing" those two houses and building two new multi-unit homes from the ground up.

I would suggest that they put a No Smoking clause in their CC&Rs. Looks like they'll all go together when they go!

@ Gaustad...you do keep up on current affairs, yes? The banking system is not at fault for the collapse of the housing market and economy. It was sub prime mortgages, bought by people [usually with no down payment] that wanted to live in homes that are typically out of their reach, said mortgages are sold off to other banking institutions, after their 2-5 year arm was up, interest rates went up on the mortgages. Then those poor fools who typically could only afford a 150k house, but wanted to live large and got 200k and up homes were living way beyond their means. If they had just gone to a bank, got a regular interest 30 year mortgage, on a home they could afford, they would not find their furniture on the front lawn. Even with the collapse of the market, there are many people who can still afford 250k condo's and even million dollar condo's. Also, realestate/land are always the safest investment bet, prices will go back up when the economy stabalizes.

WholeLotta and onestar - I guess we will have to wait and see. I hope the condos sell.

It is only one person' opinnion, but I think the condos are very expensive for what you are buying.

This is not the waterfront, but we have to start somewhere.

The Penn St. Lofts look straight out of a Miami Vice studio set. They should show Crockett and Tubbs modeling in those shots. Though they seem to have forgotten the backlit glass block walls ;)

New builds in stable neighborhoods is a great thing to see. Not every house is going to last 150+ years. Nice to see ReUse perserving the more unique features of the houses that will be demoed. Can they peel off the siding so we can see the original exterior details before the knock them down?

RisingDamp, always on point....

the existing houses could be restored or renovated and would be far better than this hotel chain look alike.