Grab a Brush
The distressed murals fronting the Genesee Block are scheduled to get a brush-over this weekend. Weather permitting, the public is invited to assist downtown residents and Buffalo Place at 10 am, this Saturday, May 5th. Paint is being donated by Pyramid Brokerage Company sales agent Bob Biniszkiewicz and downtown developer Roger Trettel (Buehl Block).
Local artist Andrew Youngman has created a new design that will be applied to the sidewalk barriers at the downtown gateway. Youngman graduated in May 2006 with a BAFA degree from Alfred University and is attending Ryerson University in Toronto for a MA in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management Program this coming fall. He is currently working in Buffalo and volunteering at Starlight Gallery and Art Studio on Delaware Avenue. Youngman promises a design that will be attractive and easy to touch-up if vandalized.
Many hope the new murals will be short-lived since redevelopment plans for the prominent block are coming together. Current owner Williard Genrich is currently negotiating a sale with two developers. Each would buy portions of the block and convert the buildings into a mix of uses.
Painting volunteers should meet at the Washington Market located at 461 Ellicott Street. If you arrive late, the Genesee Block is at the corner of Genesee and Oak streets. Call 716.856-3150, or email Jessica Keltz at Buffalo Place, for more information.
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Jefferson
This is good but redevelopment of the block would be even better.
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al-alo
eeeh. painted plywood.
frankly, would it not be more productive to take all the man hours it takes to play artist camp, and instead go clean up a neighborhood, clear out some crack house, or even just work on your own home?
especially if the whole thing is "short lived". sounds like just a feel good waste of time.
bah. where's my coffee?
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SLEEPL8
Does anyone know the details of the long term plans for development of this block? It seems like there would be potential for small business and especially housing there.
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scooter
I know several developers have looked at it for the purposes of knocking it down and developing the site into a hotel or such.......
But have run into the road blocks known as the city and the preservation board.
If the buildings aren't used as is......the lawsuits will follow. It has scared everyone away from the site. For the past 20 years.
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NBJOHN
Paint them like piano keys... Like there used to be in the 70-80's on Main Street.... Show our politicians how far we have come...
This area is the front door to downtown but this politically crupt and backward city sits back and lets these things happen. Just venting....
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Denizen
People are donating their time to clean up some one else's derelict property (a slumlord at that)....am I reading this correctly?
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scooter
Denizen, you are reading correctly.
But, he is attempting to sell the property, at what I understand is a fair price. He has had intrested buyers, but they haven't been able to get city approval, or cooperation from the preservation groups.
He could sell this today, to someone who would develop it as a different use. Possibly a Hotel. And that new owner would clean his own property.
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crosbydee
al-alo do you have any information where a group of people would go to clean up...i am a teacher in the burbs and we are looking for a project...let me know if anyone can help me...we have around 40-60 students with good intentions...peace
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hodgepodge
right on denizen!! this clown (the owner) has been threatening to do something w/ this property for close to 20 years. he has said that buyers/partners are lined-up and he's had his hand out for years. the Genrich's are an extremely wealthy family. his old man hugely profited from the UB amherst campus as i understand he owned the land. and people are going to "donate" the paint? unbelievable!! this guy should have lost his properties year's ago.
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Jas
Why are volunteers being used to clean-up someone elses property? Shouldnt the owner be doing this? Has the owner even agreed to have this done? I wouldnt want some volunteers showing up at my house some weekend and painting designs on the side of my house just because they dont like the color scheme. I do believe that this corner needs a lot of attention but the owner of the property should be the one to improve it. Apparently this person is a slumlord and doesnt care about Buffalo.
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Hospitable
Just another typical buffalo story...
1. Well off "investor" buys history property with the "INTENTION" of rehabbing it 2. Property lies fallow, speculative practices rise. 3. City tries to tackle property owner but lacks the urge to do so because owner is a lawyer 4. Property becomes ever more vunerable and continues to be an eyesore, becomes an icon of what we in Buffalo know as development
... meanwhile our good hearted citizens are volunteering their own time, so this dirtball's property has painted wood... I'm all for volunteer work but good god. Owner should really just do everybody a favor and sell...
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MJWorthington
There are vacant blocks/surface parking all near this corner/block. Why knock it down when this "mystery hotel" could be built within a block or two and we lose nothing? Sounds like excuses.....
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excop
There is an agenda here; we know that Bob Biniszkiewicz is not operating out of the goodness of his heart. I agree that this entire city block is a travesty; but we all know that the city is completely impotent to do anything about it. I look at these buildings as an indicator of the health and wellness of the rest of Buffalo. People entering the city need to expect that there are scores of vacant and decaying buildings left over from the industrial collapse and flight to the suburbs and southern states. This is reality people, our city is rotting at the core while we celebrate petty contributions and small-scale development projects by the likes of Bob Biniszkiewicz.
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Olcott_Beach
I am amazed that this collection of buildings, primed and ready for renovation, have remained undeveloped for over twenty-years!
Considering that they are shells with all asbestos and other non-acceptable materials having been removed; what is the problem?
Certainly not location and, apparently, not the asking price…so, what gives?
Though, not shown, the Wagner Building is nothing short of phenomenal and I cannot believe someone has not approached the owner about purchasing or leasing in the past twenty-years.
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STEEL
I have never heard about this hotel project. Tell us more. The last proposal for the block that I recall was for a parking lot. I am sure we don't need that in place of these buildings.
I am distressed about this painting project. It means that the owners / potential buyers think the horrid state of these buildings will remain as is for some time to come. If the city really wanted anything done to this potentially great property it would get done. It is incomprehensible that these buildings could sit in this condition for so long. If you are a west side neighborhood activist you get cited by the building department for scratched paint
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scooter
I'm certainly not defending the owner. I would be embarrassed if someone had to come and clean up my property. And i'm all for preserving and using older existing structures.
I have a real estate and construction background....i've been through these buildings. They would be very difficult, cost prohibitive and next to impossible to convert to much of anything. At some point, we need to consider a completely different use for this property, one that may result in tearing them down.
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STEEL
Scooter,
What about the hotel you are talking about? Did someone propose to tear these down for a hotel? Fill us in with some specifics. I do not remember that proposal. I do remember the current owner floating an "Idea" of putting a hotel within the existing building shells. I also remember him proposing a parking lot on the site soon afterward which thankfully was rejected by the city.
As for your contention that it would be next to impossible to convert these shells to to much of anything I take exception. Recent precedent in Buffalo proved you wrong. Check out what was done with the large mansion on Delaware that was nothing but 3 walls and a monumental porch after a disastrous fire. It has been completely rebuilt. Then there is the well known Graniteworks project inserted into a group of buildings which were talked about much in the same way you talk about these. certainly parking would be a cheaper use to attain, but I doubt building completely new would be any cheaper than renovation.
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IMADIVA
The organizers and volunteers for this cleanup are residents and friends of downtown with Buffalo Place supplying tools for the cleanup and a very capable staff person in a leadership role. The group met a couple of weeks ago to clean up the area and due to the weather was unable to do the painting. Rather than "bitch and moan" or pipedream about what could be and who should do it - why not set aside a couple of hours to address the eyesore so that the first impression as one gets off the expressway is not a dilapidated mural on plywood.
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hodgepodge
Imadiva: it's not "bitching" or "moaning" to point out that having your noble volunteer group do free work for a lazy/uncaring/wealthier-than-u-or-me property owner is perfectly ridiclous. why don't u get your plumbing buddies to re-do his pipes? hell, why stop there: why don't you get your group to start digging the hole for bass pro? alright, sorry; we'll give u an A for effort.
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Nan-C
Thanks, Imadiva, It always amazes me that when someone tries to do something positive, the negative nay-sayers have a field day about just about everything but the original intent of the story. I wonder how many of them get off their computers and off their asses to do something..anything... The articles here are still like the original Buffalo Rising but many of the comments are so ill-informed that I rarely read them anymore. (except unfortunately, when it's something I really do care about..like sprucing up my neighborhood a little bit) See ya on Saturday!
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Chief_Psychic
Can we get the guy who sleeps under the shopping carts involved in this? Maybe we could employee the panhandlers on Main Street to help out for a few hours to make this a really worthwhile community project. These people are the community after all, let's get them engaged and involved.
Great work Bob! I will be there on Saturday morning, as long as I can get away from the "to do" list that my wife has for me.
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Biniszkiewicz
Excop:
WTF? How the hell do you know what is in my heart? I pitch in to help here and there. I served on come community development corporation boards for years. I did a lot of block club stuff over the years. I'm generally a community minded individual. So where do you get off denigrating my efforts? What the hell do you do?
I don't think the idea to paint was originally mine, but I have some old unused paint that we're going to mix together with some of Roger's old paint and someone else's to come up with two colors. Aim: make the place look better to commuters coming downtown. What's the travesty in that?
Our little spruce up project doesn't affect either real estate deal already in place (both real estate deals close within a matter of months). It doesn't change the pace at which progress will take place on the block. It just makes the corner look more inviting to passersby for this year. Small goal. Pretty easy task.
As to those who take Genrich to task for not doing this himself: agreed. Had I his wherewithall, I'd have taken the chance and done the damn project, soup to nuts, years ago, much less paint them every now and then. It is very good news that these properties won't be in his hands much longer. He never developed what he had the vision for. It's too bad. But at least he came down to reality on prices and these properties are changing hands. And yes, we do have his permission to paint over his murals.
We could wait for the new owner to do something after they close on their respective deals.
Meantime, we still pass these buildings every day. They still depress people all the time. People claim (see above) that they gauge Buffalo's health by these buildings? I suppose when these few buildings are rehabbed, all will be right with Buffalo, according to those people? As soon as these particular buildings are brought to life, that shall mean Buffalo is completely healthy? Or will you find something else to point to as evidence of our 'rot'?
I happen to like these buildings quite a bit. I'm the broker who got Roger Trettel to buy the Werner Photographic buildings. Another broker in our office has the corner buildings under contract to another developer. The Werner Photographic buildings can definitely be used again, and perhaps added to. The other buildings may be useable. I believe the buyer's intent is to use them, but we don't know.
As to any credit, Downtown residents and Jessica Keltz deserve all the credit. They organized the whole thing. All I did was volunteer some leftover paint.
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BryanJamesWhitley
Way to go Jess and nice to see Buffalo Place doing something for downtown residents in a new emerging neighborhood. We have a clean up on our block that day too but maybe we'll make it by to help out with the painting first.
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