The Virginia Street corridor is a beehive of construction activity. No, not in Allentown or along the Medical Campus, but east, in the Fruit Belt neighborhood. St. John Fruit Belt Community Development Corp. is constructing 28 new townhouses that will be rented to low and moderate-income families. The three and four-bedroom townhouses are being built in buildings of two or three units on Maple, Mulberry, Orange, Lemon and Locust streets within a block or two of Virginia Street.
Construction of new homes in a city burdened by thousands of vacant housing units has come under fire by many. Supporters argue that the homes provide new and affordable housing that helps stabilize neighborhoods plagued by vacant lots and blighted homes.
If there’s going to be infill housing construction, the Fruit Belt neighborhood is an ideal location. The community is within walking distance of Main Street and light rail, Roswell Park, Buffalo General Hospital and the Medical Campus.
The distressed, but close-in neighborhood has been a target for City redevelopment efforts for years. Previous infill homes have been a hodgepodge of styles and not contextual to the neighborhood. East side activist and blogger David Torke has pegged the homes “Vinyl Victorians.”
St. John CDC anticipates building over 150 new homes in the Fruit Belt neighborhood in coming years. Last year, six single-family houses were built and sold on Locust, Mulberry and Carlton streets.
Their townhome project is doing things a bit better. The units are predominantly brick, low maintenance, appropriately scaled, and fairly attractive. Most have full front porches and are built close to the street at similar set-backs of existing, older housing stock. Previous infill homes have much larger front yards and sited as if they are afraid of the community they are built in.
Unlike many of the previous new single-family homes, the townhome buildings have windows on all sides, an aesthetic improvement that will also provide eyes on the street. While past new builds had prominent garages, none will be provided for townhome occupants. Residents will be parking on the street and interacting with neighbors. The townhomes are also being built in close proximity to each other. The scattered site approach of previous efforts wasn’t highly effective.
Work started in November on the $6 million project. Funding is through a low income housing tax credit program offered by the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal. LISC subsidiary National Equity Fund is the project investor and construction financing is being provided by M&T Bank.
LISC is a nationwide non-profit agency that helps communities build better housing, more vibrant commercial areas, safer streets, and employment and recreational opportunities. The Buffalo LISC office was established in 1998 as a catalyst for Western New York neighborhood development projects.