Maintenance Free Living @ The Parish Condos
With all the discussions taking place on church reuses these days, I could not pass up the chance to take a walkthrough of one of the seventeen Bryant Parish condos. This development ('92-'94) was one of the forerunners of church conversions in the city. It was also one of the few living situations that went 'condo' instead of 'rental'. The 1039 sq.’ unit is currently selling for $169,000 and includes underground parking and storage, one bedroom with study, appliances, forced air and A/C, seven stained glass windows, original wooden archway elements, double arch doors, gas fireplace, 12' ceilings, elevator, wood floors and rooftop patio.
As with any condo there are association fees... the fees for this unit run $475 a month, which are offset yearly by the low property taxes that run $620 a year. Actually, the monthly fee was recently bumped up from $300 due to capital repairs made to the building. This past summer, the tenant association took out a seven-year loan to repair the roof and chimney, re-point bricks, and reseal and paint the windows. That loan was incorporated into the monthly association fees. And what else do those fees get you? They take care of building day-to-day building maintenance, snow removal and grounds keeping, water, trash, and sewer. So basically, the owners who live in the building don't have to worry about the upkeep.
I asked John Heffron, Gurney, Becker and Bourne's rep, about what sort of tenants were calling the Parish Commons (formerly Disciples of Christ Church/Richmond Avenue Church of Christ) their home. "They are mostly young professionals," he answered. "Some of the owners consider their condos a second home. They might live in Florida... or even Orchard Park. 75% of the units are occupied full time." For a city that is need of additional condo living situations, it is big news when a unit like this becomes available. "You wouldn't believe how many people come through these condos when we have open houses," John told me. "People are really fascinated about this place."
If you would like to check out the available unit (corner of Connecticut and Bryant), please call John Heffron at 716-362-1821.
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WCPerspective
Nice space. Anyone know the story behind the developer on this? I believe it was Tufiliario (??). IIRC, sales were slower than anticipated and the developer didn't do too well. With a wave of vacant churches coming/here, the City should be encouraging residential conversions in every way possible in appropriate locations.
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mPuma
This is a great reuse in a very nice area. This could be used as a model for possibilities of the churches which are closing soon. It would be pretty cool to live in St. Ann's or some place similar.
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Sal
I looked at this unit back in 1999 just before it sold for $77,000. It was a cool project. My residence back then was at St. Mary's Condo and ended up buying a larger unit at 800 West Ferry Condo. It's nice to see that the values have risen since the drop in the late 1990s.
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Ike
DO WANT
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Sal
WCP - the developer was Robert Priore, Priority Custom Homes, the same guy who did the commercial church conversion on Elmwood and West Ferry. Unfortunately from what I remember he was a little ahead of his time and had a tough time with both projects.
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WCPerspective
Thanks Sal- that sounds right. Priority was a suburban home builder as well. Too bad they aren't still around. They were a pioneer. Balling was another one (900 Delaware, Ansonia, and Admiral's Walk).
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rb66
I think the walls would crack if I lived in a church.
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Martin
@rb66...do what i do before entering a church, take off a shoe and toss it in first, if it goes up in flames turn around and leave.
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mbhxam
Correct me if I am wrong, bu aren't most of the churches that are "closing" in run-down, lower income neighborhoods? How could any developer make any money converting these buildings into condos or apartments considering the neighborhoods they are in. Yes, they are beautiful buildings but that only goes so far...
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WilliamZabkaAllStars
Looks great!
Any additional pics? Somewhere else on the web perhaps?
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Joshua
how many shoes have gone up in flames??? If none, I think you will be ok.
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Joshua
mbhxam - man, you need to think outside the box. How will any area in Buffalo change if no risks are taken?
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buffalostan
I am confused. Are the monthly rental rates $475 or $620? Either one of the aforementioned prices are very reasonable.
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mbhxam
well joshua...BRO posters are like sports fans...everybody loves to spend the owners money... i'm all for finding uses for these abandoned churches, but the large sums of money to convert these churches into livable spaces is probably prohibitive considering the neighborhoods that they are in (see the other discussion on that building downtown)...it is thinking outside the box that will find productive uses for these buildings and not thinking inside of the box and suggesting they convert them into condos like this one...but hey, if someone can make it work, god bless them and go for it!
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mbhxam
buffalostan, those are association fees...in other words...you pay that on top of whatever mortgage payment you have...all condos have them...although i always thought that the taxes were included in the association fees...but maybe its different here...
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Matthewjohnp
Buffalostan this is a condo, you buy it, so with 10% ($16,900) down your monthly payments would be $907 for the mortgage, plus $475 for association fees plus 1/12 of the taxes, so the monthly nut on this would be about $1,433.66
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Matthewjohnp
Woops, plus cable, utilities, internet and phone so bump it up to about $1,700 per month
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wizardofza
Joshua, your avoidance of actually trying to logically refute mbhxam's point says a lot about your lack of understanding of basic economics.
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ktl2277
So $1433 a month to own this place with garage parking vs. $1500 a month to rent one of the 4 units on main street, and 3 years later you move and get some money out of this place, sounds like a great deal I bet it sells by the weekend.
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joey
WOW!! What high ASSOC FEES. I live in a Patio home complex in Williamsville, my home is worth twice as musc and Assoc fees are only $178.00. This INCLUDES snow plowing, lawn maint and WATER. Plus a good chunk of this goes into a capital imprivement fund for futuer infrastructure repairs..roads, water and sewer repairs etc. Unless you're insanely in love with this type of living here...it could be called OUTRAGEOUS!!
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mbhxam
joey, thats because williamsville is LAME...
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RisingDamp666
Now now, mbhxam, we don't sneer at Williamsville in public. Let's meet privately instead and ridicule the cheesy lawns, Home Depot flower pots and hopeless dress sense of those Williamsvillains. Oh, and joey, that is a very nice point. I think association fees are indeed too high in many places. I would suggest sending a detailed letter to your nearest F.B.I. office to see if they can be of some assistance.
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STEEL
Joey,
Does your fee cover roof repairs, heating Ac repairs window repairs etc or just grounds maintenance? That might be the difference. I would be willing to bet that the taxes on this place is a lot less than you payment.
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vgs
who says you can't make $$$ in Buffalo real estate market. More than doubled the investment in about 10-12 years.
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cyndrome
Condo v Coop 101: With a condo, the owner owns the interior walls and plumbing and the unit space itself. It is taxed as real property. There may be a condo association, but condo owners usually have freedom to alter their own space, have pets, rent it out, etc. Common charges/maintenance fees generally will cover building insurance, exterior and common area maintenance and some common fees such as garbage. Condo ownership is more popular in less densely populated areas and areas where owners want to sublet, such as vacation destinations.
With a co-op, the resident does not actually own the unit, but rather owns shares in a corporation (the co-op is set up as a corporation). The shares give that resident the right to live in a particular unit. The co-oper has limited ability to alter the interior of his/her unit, and co-op boards generally have strict control over building operations and may impose rules such as no pets or dogs, no subletting, etc. Co-ops tend to be prevalent in dense urban areas such as NYC and Boston where residents want a tight control over how the building operates and who is approved to be a resident.
Common charges for condos tend to be lower than those for co-ops. Condo charges typically cover only buidling insurance and maintenance for exterior and common areas. Real estate taxes are often the unit owners responsbility. Co-op maint fees usually cover this and more, often including a share of real estate taxes, sometimes heat and water, too.
There are pros and cons to both types of ownership. One is not necessarily better than the other. While co-op common charges tend to be higher, face it, you will pay either way.
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