Christopher Wan is heading to the Preservation Board tomorrow seeking to demolish seven buildings on W. Tupper Street and Trinity Place necessary to construct a mixed-use project. Two of the buildings, 42 and 44 Trinity Place, are contributing structures in the Allentown Historic District. The remainder, 147, 149, 157, 159 and 167 W. Tupper, are outside of the district and include a mixed-use building at the northwest corner of W. Tupper and S. Elmwood Avenue and Sammy’s Auto shop at 149 W. Tupper.
From the application:
159 West Tupper is the only parcel now occupied. It has been in very poor condition and only kept as a low-income rental in anticipation of eventual acquisition of the rest of the parcels on both sides. PART B4 [of the application] illustrates the rate of return analysis of 42 & 44 Trinity separately and combined in comparison to redevelopment of the same two parcels combined based on our redevelopment plan.
The key issue with rehabilitating these types of houses is that the resale market value and the rental rate of these dilapidated houses, even after rehabilitation, is very limited and it cannot keep up with the excessively high costs of rehabilitation which is estimated to be $ 1 million for 42 Trinity and $500K for 44 Trinity. 42 Trinity is only 15’ wide, 44 Trinity is a two-story tiny 1380 SF house. Initially, the loss on resale would amount to half of the total investment, or about $550k and $300k each. The negative cash flows continue for 10 years and beyond and internal rates of returns are negative.
On the other hand, the redevelopment of just the two parcels containing the dilapidated building, while costing $5.5 million out of the over $10 million budget for the whole project, but it will produce a state-of-the-art underground parking, two store fronts and a community room on the first floor and 8 luxury apartments total on the second and third floors, commanding much higher rent per square foot. Most importantly, we believe that we will be able recoup our investment in the long run. The rate of return at 7%, remains very low for any such development, especially without government subsidies, but hopefully, there will be great upward potential. Besides, the intangible benefits to the neighborhood are well worth the financial risks.
Proposed Project
We have assembled a dream team of the well-established Silvestri Architects in Buffalo and New York City based Studio V, a successful, internationally renowned, award-winning architectural firm. The founder of Studio V, Jay Valgora, grew up in Buffalo and has a love for his hometown.
Studio V, with the strong support and assistance of David Nardozzi of the Silvestri Architects for consultation, review and compliance with the Buffalo Green Code, have created a beautiful design. Kulback’s Construction has been retained as the Construction Manager for this project. Tom Barrett, the president of Kulback’s, is actively involved in this planning stage as a member of our team.
The plans incorporate the vernacular of surrounding architecture using high-quality and durable historical materials such as elongated real bricks instead of the trendy and less expensive metal panel exterior. Instead of building the maximum number of units up to the lot line, half of the site will be green space with 39 surface parking spaces which will be well landscaped; many existing trees will be preserved and new trees will be planted.
The other half of the site will be a new building containing 40 apartments; (6 studio, 28 one- bedroom and 6 two-bedrooms) on the second and third floors and 13,000 SF of eatery spaces on the first floor. There will be a roof garden of about 1000 SF for tenants of the building. There will be 41 underground parking spaces. The plan will increase foot traffic by widening the sidewalk on the 200 foot frontage on South Elmwood further away from the curb.
Retail Plan
During the Preservation Board Committee meeting on January 27, 2023, Eric Lander rightly pointed out that the neighborhood has been a “retail desert” for decades. Based on our market survey from the neighborhood, there seems to be a real demand for everyday eateries and cafes for breakfast, lunch and supper. We’re especially focusing on new-generation eateries that are open, clean, bright and healthier, instead of traditional fine dining. These eateries are new age, casual, and chic. They utilize the smart phone and new technology for food preparation, ordering, payment, etc.. They tend to have limited seating inside, to encourage patio or curbside dining in a post-pandemic world by serving a growing digital customer base. Our plan calls for five to seven restaurant spaces ranging from 1050 SF to 2440 SF in size.
Christopher Wan and Joan Yang have completed a number of restoration projects in the area including on Tracy Street and Johnson Park.