"I never met the guys... but I love them."
There were skeptics... there were people giddy with joy. Whatever camp you were in, go take one look at the freshly painted exterior of 425 Porter. If you have no context to compare the house to its former condition, then check out the original post here. Even though the work is not complete (see railing), the work that has been completed is unreal. I showed this photo of 425 Porter to a friend who flat out said that it was not the same house. It's true... it's hard to believe that is the same house. I spoke with Sandy Hertel, who is a neighbor and owner of the Porter Avenue Pied a Terre, a rentable corporate apartment on Porter (check it out):
"I was just driving by and it's been painted, and the lights are on at night... and that could have been entirely knocked down by now... and there could be a parking lot there. For me this has been so invigorating. They started working on it so quickly and they've been working on it in good and bad weather. When I think of the building that was just knocked down on Wadsworth, I think of this renovation on Porter. Property owners must be accountable for the state of their properties. The fact that there are still some people out there who want to contribute to the neighborhood is amazing. It's been four months and we have a leader on Porter who should be an inspiration to other people. I honk my horn when I drive by, and I wave to the workers who are there around the clock. I never met the guys, but I love them."
Bottom photo: Gian Franco (left) and Mike Hananel. The team that put the house back on the map.
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Comment Options
Martin
whats with those porch railings?
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benfranklin
The article says the railings are not complete. From the article..."Even though the work is not complete (see railing),". Quite an improvement.
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SilentMajority
Unbelievable. I can't wait to see what they do with the porch and the landscaping. A white porch with new railings would compiment it beautifully. I believe they own the apartment building as well. That tree needs to go. Glad to see it survived the storm but it will be decades before it ever looks normal again.
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BackInBuffalo
You bunch of weirdos with your railing fetish. (Get off the porch and look at the rest of the house!)
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scooter
Great Job.
Maybe I missed it but.......How much did they buy it for.....put in to it.....Proforma NOI.....possible resale value?
Not that, thats any of our business but it gives people an idea of the risk that these two men just took.
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NBJOHN
Is that close to the Peace Bridge/P Bridge Plans?
Great job... More houses on the W.Side near Dyouville could use the same love. Wish DYouville could get a more "campus feel"
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urbanboarder
Awesome renovation! So glad to see this property saved. Will it be rented out, if so how many units will be available?
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sbrof
What a fantastic turn of events. So many people saw this building as gone and to see it rejuvenated like this is amazing.
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comptart_lws
Gian you are amazing! Pay no attention to the person who suggests a white railing (Victorians did not use white trim!) Pay no attention to the person who says to ditch the tree (that's what 2 "professionals" told me about the plum tree in my front yard that stands as an anchor to my GardenWalk front yard). You need color advise? I'd be happy to help (proud owner of award-winning restoration). You need a landscaper who respects the principles of Victorian gardening AND the constraints of the site conditions? I'll hook you up with the guy that did 361 and 369 Porter (fronts and backs). Newell knows how to reach me (or send me a PM).
Did I mention that you're amazing?
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stephenjames716
awesome!
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comptart_lws
NBJOHN — have you been paying attention to the area around D'Youville? If so, you would see that many homes around it HAVE been "feeling the love". And, thanks to attention of diligent housing inspectors, Housing Court Judge Henry Nowak and housing court community advocates, other properties are not allowed to be neglected to the point of deteriotation, as this one had been.
As for the Peace Bridge proximity… Gian's house is about a mile inland, midway between D'Youville and Symphony Circle. The mansion across the street also apears to be going through renovations (albeit, slower) but, there's a GB&B for rent sign in front (GB&B is always a good sign that the neighborhood is taking off!)
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urbanboarder
I like what you have to say comptart_lws. What does GB&B stand for?
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urbanboarder
ahh nvm, Gourney Becker & Bourne?
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McGowan
What a change! Love the window turrets...
Wait... is that PVC I spy on the roof?
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icecreamsub
thank god they got rid of the chain link fence too...looks really good.....I'm all for trees but maybe that will eventually get removed as well....I think it would help or maybe just have it reshaped
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icecreamsub
nevermind on my last comment, it's in front of the apartment bldg..
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STEEL
Damn,
This would have made a good weed filled lot. Now we are stuck with something that is actually useful to the people of the city. How dare someone actually invest in their property.
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RisingDamp666
{ deleted } detected a whiff of sarcasm in a STEEL comment.
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chris69
what the heck is it with f-n deleted posts...
what the heck is it with white on buffalo homes .... very few homes look good in white...or even white trim and especially not homes that are pre-war and have some actual periodic style to them.
pre-war homes had natural elements and where meant to be humanized back to size by big 3-4 story elms, they were supposed to use natural elements like stone, brick and wood...their colors were natural colors and primary colors...none of which were white.
white shows the age and the dirt and the wear and its darn ugly...
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wizardofza
Nice rehab but I have no idea on how these guys plan on making any money on this project. The immediate neighborhood still has a bad enough rep to prevent any sizable rents to be extracted from this building.
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gaustad
wizardofza - you are too negative for this website. you are trying to ruin the fact that Buffalo is Rising. It is people like you that feel the need to tear down constructive projects in our community to make up for your own insecurities. If you have nothing nice to say then do not ruin the optimism that this web site brings (SOUND FAMILIAR)!
"If I just sit in the corner and tell myself that our crime rate has dropped and Buffalo has turned the corner, then it most certainly will. If we all just remain positive the everything will just work itself out; Buffalo will create jobs and the 500k in population that we lost will decide to leave the sun belt and move home"
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gaustad
PS - I am sure these guy did not spend their own money rehabbing this house. There are several state and county grants available for a project like this.
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xmissanthropic
Money can fix most anything. But it's not the only ingredient in making a good community. I hope these guys live in the neighborhood. Better yet, I hope they rehabed the house with their own money, their own sweat equity, and now intend to live there and make the community their own.
But I'm definatly an advocate of beeping, waving and smiling at people doing the socialy responsible thing. Positive re-enforcement of social acceptable behavior is a must if we are to maintain our living environments, or our habitats as George Carlin would call them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw&feature=related
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comptart_lws
wizardofza: so, so incorrect. There are at least 2 apartment / carriage houses on that street that get over $1200/mo for B&B-like rental.
About the white trim — I think the replacement window industry is part of the problem. Use as another example, the Boosing renovations (on Elmwood). Those white windows and white trim (over windows and doorway) would be painted over in a heartbeat by any sane retailer (maybe that's the idea — it's primer-white???) Bronze windows would have been a better choice for these (and any older) building. But, white trim beats leveled and paved, any day!
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NBJOHN
comptart_lws.....
ok - just asking the question..... maybe I HAVE NOT been paying attention because there are very few reasons for me to make the trip from my N.BFLO home to that part of town.
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BetterThanDetroit
People remodel homes every day. What these guys painted their house and I'm supposed to be all "hoooray!"?
Are we light on relevant stories? My neighbor is painting his bathroom. How do I get this story to you?
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comptart_lws
NBJohn: sorry to infuse "tone" into your question (it's almost to be expected on some of these posts). I don't get to No. Bflo. that much, any more. But, I will tell you I've noticed a definite increase in the cyclists (even some roller bladers and skateboarders!) on Porter, in good weather. Another visible increase (and a funny one) is the number of vehicles that drive by with excited (or tired) dogs in tow — on their way to (or from) BuffOLA. It's quite wonderful to see evidence of increasing use of the parks at the foot of Porter!
It'll be even better after the trucks are re-routed from the Peace Bridge to an appropriate commercial crossing and the restoration of Front Park and Porter Avenue begin! Olmsted's original Front (Park) had huge oval "Play Ground" the size of a city block where the bridge access road is now. The vista where the lake meets the river was accessable and had ammenities such as benches, pathways and a "Lake View" pavillion.
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sbrof
BTD this isn't just a painted home post, this property was hollowed out (burned or something) and was probably days away from a demolition. This project is much more than a cosmetic cover up, this was all but a forsaken structure. It is now back from the brink and is going to be productive for the owners, the city and neighborhood. Every home rehab means nicer places that more upwardly mobile people would be willing to move into.
This project means there are more people in this neighborhood, more customers for shops, more people per infrastructure mile, more taxes for the city. Vacant lots, like this almost was, do none of that.
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gaustad
sbrof - its a very nice project, but lets not get carried away.
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BetterThanDetroit
Wow - I'm going to slap a freshy on my crub, too!
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simcoe
Only in Buffalo, ya gotta love it here, it's the best place in the world, nay the universe. Right buffalocitygirl? Miss no negative shit.
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RisingDamp666
Touch up the red paint on your mailbox flag and the neighborhood is revived! Better yet, everybody get into the lotus position and start chanting: "hOMe remodel". "hOMe remodel". "hOMe remodel". Feel yourself levitating? Now levitate your neighborhood. Now levitate Buffalo....never mind, there's no levity here...
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BetterThanDetroit
sbrof: I get it - they are making an attempt to make a profit by buying a cheap, fire-damaged house and remodeling it to rent out. Kewl! It'll bring four, maybe 5 residents from down the street out of their attic apartments to live here. That helps the economy how? Nobody is moving from Chicago or San Diego into this! Believe me!! Do you get it? No? Well, I read your bio and let me tell you, when you complete school and get a few years of "real life" experience, I'd like to have you in my office to explain everything wrong about your last post. Until then, try not to take it too seriously, have some fun with life and be more like the guys this story is about - CARE ABOUT BOTTOM LINE PROFIT. K? Now take care and stay in-line, kid.
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clockhill
Actually BetterThanDetroit, I've read i a couple places now that while Buffalo is losing population (David Torke of fixBuffalo believes around 50 people/week), there are carloads of new transplants enjoying the parks and low rents here. It would be great if these (mostly young) people could rent in a neighborhood like this at least long enough for it to get a foot hold. For me its not about drawing transplants from Chicago or San Diego anyway; there's enough youth and money in any given Buffalo area suburb alone to give the city a good shock. THAT would help the economy, no? Instead of watching Amherst sprawl into Wheatfield, or building more cheap apartment buildings in Eggertsville, it would be great to watch some of that money come downtown.
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