Jericho Road Community Health Center is expanding its presence on the city’s East Side. A third party interest has purchased 1021 Broadway for the organization that supports the well-being of refugee and low-income community members. The building sits on the site of the former Jahraus-Braun Department Store, which was demolished in the 1990s (see here). Moving forward, Jericho Road intends on renovating the building to suit its needs, which means that the organization will be able to broaden its “culturally sensitive medical services”.
Currently, Jericho Road operates out of a clinic at 1609 Genesee Street. The intention is to keep that clinic, expand offerings at Broadway, and maintain programming such as Polly Project and the Parent Child Home Program. Jericho Road also has a presence on the city’s West Side on Barton Street. As the number of refugees grows in Buffalo, the need for more programming and services increases. Refugees initially sought out solace on the West Side, though the East Side is now becoming more attractive to refugees due to its lower cost of living and growing services. This particular corner on Broadway is located directly next to the Broadway Market.
“This new site is a great step toward meeting the medical and holistic care void that has been deeply felt in this area with the closing of Geneva B. Scruggs Community Health Center, Bailey Family Health Center, Eggertsville Family Health Center, Love Joy Primary Care Center, Jesse Nash Center, and Sheehan Memorial Primary Care and Hospital,” says Magdalena Nichols, Chief Development Officer at Jericho Road. “We are grateful for our community partners, including Fillmore Forward, who helped us engage the community to start a conversation around the medical needs of this area.”
The 110,618-square-foot, four-story building might look like a new build from the front (facing Broadway – lead image). But take a peek around the corner on Lombard Street side, and there is a different story to be told.
While so much was demolished along this stretch of Broadway (including Sattler’s Annex), there are still some telltale signs of the history of the neighborhood. Hopefully, as Jericho Road settles in, these remaining historic edifices will increase in value, and be salvaged. So much has been lost already. These buildings that remain were tucked away behind the department store. One suffered from poorly “updated” facade work, while its neighbor (Lederman’s) sits idly by awaiting its own fate.
Talk about a tale of two cities.