Buffalo Rising Online

That is the ugliest building and just knowing that they arent going to demolish it is now rather sad. I was hoping for medialle to do something that would actually humanize that section of main and the scajaquada and this building truly beyond anything that could be humanizing unless of course they added a building on the parking lot ajacent to and on top of the Light Rail Station

I'm probably in a minority of BRO readers but I have always liked this building as well as the adjacent metro stations. The parking, landscaping, signage and lighting could be redone in a more intelligent way to support the language of the architecture.

Does anyone out there know who the architect was?

hmm, will they be adding more stories and bumping it up to the street to add retail?

hmm, will they be adding more stories and bumping it up to the street to add retail?

It's a winner at $17,000 (plus a good scrubbing and paint) per unit. You couldn't buy it new for that price. And, it has location, location, location.

yeah especially that Medaille students can take the Metro as park of their student fees these will be a very hot commodity. Access to downtown from the front door! Perfect. Maybe they could even create a nice little greenspace with some lights, benches and what not between this building and the train station to actually make the place look and feel like a college.

This building looks fine. I am sick of whiners always demanding vatican architecture for every building in Buffalo. Get real. This building is flanked on two sides by colleges. Student housing is perfect for this place.

Medaille Masters '04 here to chime in....

Glad to see the college and my money going to this development/redevelopment. One of the few times I have to disagree with C69, the building is fine (though not stunningly pretty) and landlocked Medaille needs the space near the school.

I am very glad to see a College other than Canisius (they have done a great job) expanding and putting their money forth in the city. Still waiting for 2020 and UB. Buff State needs to set up and get a plan together.

Maybe we will start to see some more retail/restaurants from Amherst St. to W. Delevan. Ahhhh the Stuffed Mushroom - Wish you were still around

Yes, who cares if the building is functional? It's not built to the curb, dammit! And, look at all the unsightly grass!

We all find it offensive, let's burn it down. Then we'll take our torches to KFC, and whatever other building offends us!

Then, we'll pick on ugly houses!

While I wouldn't say that I LOVE this building, it looks like exactly what it is going to become...a college dorm. I am sure that Medaille will invest some money to improve its appearance, and I actually do like some aspects of the building. It adds a great deal of urbanity to this section of the city, IMO, and it's better to have it there than an empty parking lot. Plus, the value of having that many students living in the vicinity cannot be measured. Hundreds of young people spending their parents' money in our economy is a good thing. They can also add a lot of vibrancy to a Main Street that certainly could use it.

There is nothing wrong with this building... seriously people, everything doesn't have to be the Darwin Martin House. Student housing is a perfect fit for it.

And I agree NBJOHN - bring back the Stuffed Mushroom!! Actually though there are a lot of empty or empty-ish retail spaces from Humbolt to Amherst on Main. Maybe adding 400+ students (assuming at least 2 per unit) will be a pretty good deal for the neighborhood especially after this section is upgraded (wasn't that supposed to start this Fall?!?).

So, adding to the density of people living on ( just off) Main St is a plus, taking a BMHA managed property off the public rolls is a plus, location location is a plus, communities (college) expanding their footprint is a plus. Despite ugly, if this deal goes thru, we all have moved forward. Happy New Year!

Since Medaille is landlocked, this is a positive move to reuse buildings already in the City. This is postive growth, the college is growing, how can THIS be bad. What is interesting about this is that there are porches for the students. This is unlike many of the dorms at the local colleges.

I'm sure that the College doesn't have the money to build new, especially a building of this size, so remodeling it would probably be more cost effective.

Another positve thing, from WCP, was that it is so close to the subway.

Again, I agree with all those who say, what difference does it make what the building looks like, it is a postive reuse of an already existing structure.

This is great news for Medaille and Canisius. They should be able to continue working to combine their campuses and it strengthens this section of Main as a college area. As someone said above, the Main Corridor from Jefferson to Jewett can be a beautiful combination of college, park (cemetery) and residential uses linking Parkside and the Wedge at each end. With some imagination and momentum from Canisius and UB, there's no reason that this couldn't be a university corridor from Jefferson all the way to UB South (and with a finished MetroRail UB North).

This building is, admittedly, only a small piece, but I think it's one that many who have been involved at Canisius or Medaille hoped would happen.

As for the spartan Bahaus look, it shouldn't be that hard to put windows in the bare concrete walls. The concrete could also be stained to match the color of the red brick of the surrounding buildings.

Great job Medaille!

The buidling was set back not much can be done now. It would be nice if the parking were behind it, but oh, well. Opening up some windows in place of the current tiny ones would do wonders for it.

And it's about time we create the Erie County Municipal Housing Authority to move some of these units outward closer to services and jobs as some of these go private/get demoed. (I realize this one is senior)

Manski, Good question. Weren't they going to reconstruct this section of Main Street? I thought it was to be underway by now. A new streetscape would definitely help with the momentum in this part of town. Anyone have information about this (semi) related topic?

The Main street reconstruction is only going from the city line to the Scajaquada. It isn't going to go all the way to downtown. The next segment is going to happen from Hertel to Amherst then Amherst to the 198.

yes I have to agree that if the building isnt going to be torn down then it needs to be expanded with another building fronting Main Street and cornering Humboldt Parkway. Of course they would need permission to build on top of the Light Rail Station and incorporate it into the design but hey the NFTA has always proven amenable to new sources of revenue, then everyone gets what they want.

Perhaps something that is a mix of concrete and glass would blend really well

Lets face it their running out of room and so this is one of the last pieces of the puzzle for Medaille. After this they are going to have to either think taller or think of another location for their campus which would actually not be such a bad idea.

Canisius could use Medaille Campus for expansion and Medaille could think of a location in South Buffalo around South Park or the Eastside around the Larkin or Central Terminal.

hey just brainstorming but as I said...if this building isnt coming down...then it needs to be expanded significantly with another building fronting Main Street.

Since we are still in the fairly early planning stages for the 198 remodeling, it would be great to see the section around main street be redesigned in a manner friendly to some new commercial development. As a Canisius Alum, the school is severely lacking that "college town" type neighborhood. It doesn't have to be huge, but certainly a public street space with a few places to eat, shop, drink... would do very well here.

I would love to do a mixed use project along Hughes Ave - Gold mine waiting to happen.

Anyone know who's city council section this is? The city council should "be urged" to get this done/ signed off on.

Canisius has done a great job investing in the city, but Townline is correct. They are missing the college campus feel.

Hey Newell, how about an article about the planned Main Street reconstruction project between Hertel and Amherst, and then from Amherst to the Scajaquada? Some more details, including a timetable, would be great.

Article above says federal HUD approval is what's needed for Medaille to buy LBJ - not the council. But anyhow here's a link to council district map: http://tinyurl.com/376kbe The LBJ is in the Delaware council district and Higgins district for Congress. Main St is the boundary between Delaware (Michael LoCurto) and Masten (Demone Smith).

Anyone know who's city council section this is? The city council should "be urged" to get this done/ signed off on.

Does anyone have information on the new BMHA development at Main and Amherst? It is my understanding that most cities are moving away from this type of development, I am curious to know why BMHA wants to build even more single site developments, especially when they do not sufficiently address the needs of our seniors. I also question the reasoning behind a new build when there are buildings available for reuse Downtown and in other areas of the city.

Dyouville and Medaille are tapping the Canadian student demographic, smartly so. Medaille recently moved their Amherst location to a larger space off Wehrle Dr, mostly to accomodate the influx of Canadian students. I'm sure these dorms will house at least a few Gords. Maybe we should convert the KFC on elmwood to The Beer Store?

something should also be done to provide easier pedestrian access from Medaille/Canisius to Delaware park. the current state of the intersection at Parkside/Scajaquada is a joke.....what other city would cut off one of it greatest assets this way. When the people living on Burbank and Agassiz circle want to go to the park (which is about a 100 yards away).. do they drive or risk their life crossing this mess?

Blow this up and put a Bass Pro there...

BMHA employs people who suckle the public teet that we continue to pay for...They are a joke

Spaulding I wouldnt call this the best dorm in the city. This is the new Dugan Hall at Canisius. 7-stories with North-South and East-West views.

Plus as a Canisius student I can hear them doing some sort of work on the LBJ building every day all day. I have no idea what they are doing but they have been working on it all semester.

I am sure that the LBJ referenced here is not LADY BIRD JOHNSON but actually her husband and former president LYNDON BAINES. As a former resident of Austin (home to the Johnsons and most of their offspring) I have never heard Lady Bird called LB. And while she was famous for her flowers she was also very anti-growth and development.

Oh and Ron R. is right. Get rid of the baby blue painted walls (does anyone remember the old random color paint scheme here?) and add window walls and you've got a new and improved LBJ Hall-Dorm-Whatever.

Make it into condos at about 50 grand a piece.

BMHA to sell 200 LBJ apts for $3.5 million, rebuild anew at $180,000 per apartment

Although Medaille College is getting a bargain in the proposed BMHA sale of LBJ Apartments for $3.5 million, city taxpayers face an incredible $36.5 million BMHA project to build anew for the displaced tenants at a cost of about $180k per apartment.

This incredible cost is being proposed in a deeply impoverished city having approx 26,000 vacant housing units, as well as a glut of heavily subsidized "elderly apartments".

Claiming that BMHA must replace units one-for-one, a logical course would be to issue Section 8 subsidies to all of the displaced tenants, but that would not enrich the "connected"-developers who always have an inside track on housing Bflo's plentiful poor at incredible taxpayer cost.

Sadly this is the first major act by new BMHA Executive Dawn Sanders, who would not discuss her "vision" for utterly-obsolete BMHA in a city with massive blight in 100's of poor neighborhoods when I conferred with her during a visit to Bflo in September.

Dick Kern (in Mpls)

COPY: http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/234007.html

Housing Authority board OKs sale of LBJ Apartments to Medaille

By Deidre Williams NEWS STAFF REPORTER, Updated: 12/21/07 6:46 AM

The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority board of commissioners approved the purchase offer for LBJ Apartments from Medaille College during Thursday’s regular business meeting.

Medaille’s offer is $3.5 million for the senior residential building, which is located on Humboldt Parkway near where the Scajaquada Expressway intersects with the Kensington Expressway.

Nearby Medaille has plans to use the property for additional dormitory space or administrative offices. In the past 10 years, the school’s enrollment has increased more than 200 percent, and the college has built two new dormitories in the last five years, officials have said.

For the approximately 200 current residents of LBJ, a new structure will be built with a unit-for-unit replacement, said Michael Seaman, chairman of the Housing Authority.

For now, the authority will not be doing $2 million in repairs to the roof and replacement of doors and windows. That money will be earmarked for other projects, officials said. However, it will continue to do repairs and emergency services.

An informational meeting for tenants, who will probably remain in the building for at least a year, is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday with the developer and authority officials.

The sale is conditional on the approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

dwilliams@buffnews.com

COPY: http://buffalonews.com/103/story/33817.html

Local HUD official named head of Housing Authority

By Deidre Williams NEWS STAFF REPORTER, Updated: 03/16/07

The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority has a new executive director, following a two-year search by two separate boards of commissioners.

During Thursday’s board meeting, commissioners announced that Dawn E. Sanders has accepted the position for a salary of $94,000 a year. She will start April 23, said Commissioner Betty Calvo-Torres, who led the search committee.

Sanders has been a community planning and development representative with the local office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the past nine years. She will succeed Gillian D. Brown, the authority’s general counsel, who has been running the agency on an interim basis since February 2005, when Sharon West left for a similar job in Florida. West’s base salary had been $89,000. Brown, who has been at the Housing Agency for 11 years, will continue as legal counsel.

Also during Thursday’s board meeting, developers for the LBJ Towers project presented an overview of plans for the apartment building for seniors.

Last month, commissioners authorized the sale of LBJ, on Humboldt Parkway, to Medaille College. For months before that, developers had been working with the college to find new dormitories for about 400 students. School enrollment is growing, and because the campus is landlocked, constructing a new building is not possible.

In order for the project to proceed, a replacement building must be provided for the LBJ senior citizens who will be displaced.

Developers have purchased a site at Main and Amherst streets and propose constructing a mid-rise apartment building with 200 units. A market search was conducted, and developers looked at more than 20 sites before deciding on this one, said Hormoz Mansouri, president of HLM Holdings. The projected cost of the project is $36.5 million.

“It is a higher quality building,” said John Giardino, chief executive officer of Centerstone Development, the other member of the development team. “We chose this one because it offers the same amenities available to LBJ tenants now. There’s a transit station at the corner, and residents will have access to health care facilities on Main Street.”

Also, Giardino added, a new building will have a longer life.

“The idea of a new building is to improve living areas. The apartments will be larger than LBJ’s. Corridors will be wider for handicapped accessibility. The building will have an interior courtyard and an emphasis on common areas for residents and their families to gather and socialize,” he said.

Developers also outlined a financing plan to fund the $36.5 million project.

The dorm at Canisius looks awesome. No one has yet mentioned this, but if Medaille and Canisius merged we would create a large and more powerful private institution to completment UB (and Buff St. to a lesser extent). In 30 years we could have a private campus rivaling Syracuse! Just a thought.