One up, 46 more to go. Buffalo Mayor Christopher P. Scanlon, Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz, the Buffalo Erie Niagara Land Improvement Corporation (BENLIC), and partners from Empire State Development and Belmont Housing Resources celebrated the completion of the first homes under the City and County’s joint Infill Housing Program today, marking a major step forward in neighborhood revitalization and affordable homeownership across the city.
The home at 18 Calumet Avenue in the Black Rock neighborhood is the first of 47 income-qualified single-family homes—part of a historic $24.5 million investment made possible through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from the City of Buffalo and Erie County. Erie County was also previously awarded a $1 million grant through Empire State Development’s County Infrastructure Grant Program to cover the crucial, often-expensive cost of utility hook-ups.
“This is what real neighborhood investment looks like,” said Mayor Christopher P. Scanlon. “Just six months ago, we broke ground on this initiative to transform vacant lots into opportunities for families—and today, we’re seeing those results firsthand. I want to thank County Executive Mark Poloncarz, BENLIC, and all of our dedicated project partners for helping bring this vision to life and turning blighted properties into community assets. Each home represents stability, opportunity, and a pathway to generational wealth for working families in our city.”
“It’s exciting to see two years of hard work come to fruition with this first group of new, single-family homes coming online in the City of Buffalo,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz.
In April, Mayor Scanlon and County Executive Poloncarz announced plans for 47 new affordable homes to be built across Buffalo—the largest citywide infill housing initiative in decades. The program targets long-vacant lots in neighborhoods such as Black Rock, Riverside, University Heights, Ken-Bailey, the Lower West Side, and the Old First Ward.
The homes, designed by HHL Architecture and constructed by Buffalo Construction Consultants using both modular and traditional stick-built methods, will be available to income-qualified homebuyers through an application process administered by Belmont Housing Resources for WNY.
The project’s next phase—30 additional homes on Buffalo’s East Side—is currently in design and permitting, with construction anticipated to begin in early 2026.