These three east side beauties just came on the market, listed at $495,000 under the single address, 36 East Utica. I assume they sell as a package and not separately. Built around 1900, they are distinctive architecturally and can also be the answer to a small bit of historical trivia. Before we get to that here is the realtor’s pitch:
Right off of Main St, walking distance to public transportation including subway and bus. Three beautiful all brick buildings with a very large parking lot behind them. Currently separated into 16 units they can be reconfigured, redeveloped, and/or restored. Only 2 blocks from the Medical Corridor and one block outside of the Linwood Historical Preservation Zone potentially qualifying for a combined 40% in state and federal Tax credits.
The buildings look sound, but have suffered from decades of bad “improvements” and minimal maintenance, if any. They are packed with potential. The apartments are large with interesting, bright rooms. Some of the fire places have been stripped out but they are still loaded with original wood paneling, historic detailing, and lots of charm. Some have fantastic second floor porches. The rear yard of the buildings is huge. Although currently paved over, a smart developer could transform the backyard into a private urban oasis and still have room for parking.
To me, it looks like these may have originally been constructed as a series of upper middle class duplex buildings with maybe two to four units each. The center building looks like it was greatly expanded at one time to the rear. 48 Utica was the final home of famous architectural photographer C. D. Arnold. Arnold was the official architect of the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago and the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo. If you see an image of either of those fairs, it is most likely a C. D. Arnold picture. He also worked for many of the biggest name architects of the day. At some point he moved from his more grand home at Bidwell and Elmwood to lived here until his death in 1927. (there is your trivia)
The buildings are just a stone throw from Main Street. Move them a block and a half west to the Linwood Historic District and they would be highly sought after properties. On the east side of Main, not so much. In Buffalo, cultural, economic, and ethnic divides can be very sharp. These three happen to fall on the wrong side of the very sharp Main Street divide—on the west, the prosperous Elmwood Village; on the east, the devastated East Side. But today’s Buffalo is slowly melting that divide away, which means that these three and their remaining neighbors may no longer in a developer’s no-man’s-land. For instance; ten years ago it would have been hard to image all the buildings at the corner of Main and Ferry being renovated and filled with luxury apartments as they are today or the Larkin District being a center of hipster culture corporate board rooms. But, they are.
This neighborhood still has challenges but they are not insurmountable. The large commercial building at the corner or Main and Utica was recently renovated, as was the Packard building a half block south on Main, and the Squier House property next to that. You can also find sporadic renovations of Victorian houses on nearby streets.
These are important buildings to save. Beautiful historic buildings like these can be used to leverage new investment in a long neglected part of the city. Vacant lots will do the opposite. In the right hands these charming houses can shine and will attract additional investment to a street that has seen little for several decades. The half million dollar price tag may keep the slumlords away from these properties, but they are not protected by any historic preservation regulations. There is nothing stopping the next owner from further degrading them or worse, tearing them down. Once they are gone they are gone forever. Buffalo cannot afford to continue throwing away its proven assets.