That’s the ultimate question of the Bethlehem Steel Administration building and unfortunately it looks as if the question has already been answered by the City of Lackawanna officials and the owners. Thankfully, there are still people who don’t want to see this Beaux-Arts beauty sent to the landfill like so many great buildings before it. The reason for the demolition has been said to be due to the deteriorated state of the building which poses an immediate safety concern. It’s been largely open to the elements and deteriorating for the better part of thirty years, so why is now the…
Author: Todd Mitchell_
The development of the Buffalo Green Code is in full swing and are they now preparing for their June series of open house events. Draft elements of the new ordinance will be presented for public review between June 4th and June 9th. The new zoning ordinance being developed builds off the land use plan that was developed last year. The ordinance is comprised of the specific and detailed laws that will shape development in the future for the City of Buffalo. More information about the open houses, the times, and the locations can be found here. Below are the neighborhood…
The start of a big transformation is beginning this week at Lafayette Presbyterian Church on the corner of Elmwood and Lafayette Avenues. Starting this Friday at 9:30 a.m. the Church will be having an estate sale of the remaining furniture and other items before the transformation from Church to apartments takes place. In depth information on the sale is located on the Sweet and Harding website here. Lafayette Presbyterian was designed by the Lansing and Beierl and was constructed between 1894 and 1896. The medina sandstone building will now have a new life as apartments that will respect the architectural…
Another piece of the puzzle in the 500 Block of Main Street is coming into play. 520 Main Street, directly next to the Hyatt, is being redeveloped by Ellicott Development. The group has owned the building for several years and after the success of the Belesario next door, they have recently begun work to bring the building back online. Office space or retail is planned for the first floor and two residential units are planned for the second and third floors. Throughout the building there is still a lot of original architectural integrity that remains. The building most recently served…
Ever wonder how historic tax credits really work in redeveloping Buffalo’s historic assets? Well, you can find out this Saturday, May 12th through the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Young Leaders Group of WNY. Listen to two guest speakers discuss the ‘ins and outs’ of the commercial historic tax credit program. Jason Yots of Preservation Studios and Gerald Strickland Jr. of HHL Architects will be leading the discussion. The event takes place this Saturday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at Artspace Buffalo, 1219 Main Street. This building is a prime example of a rehabilitation project in Buffalo which utilized historic…
Work is well underway on Ellicott Development’s 14 North Street project as units are taking shape and preparing to receive finishes shortly. The building originally was built in 1899 as a Baptist Church and retains a high level of architectural integrity. It will soon be home to eleven new residential units, ranging from one to three bedrooms and a commercial space approximately 1000 sq. ft. Many of the original architectural details have carefully been retained in place or in some cases moved elsewhere and put on display. Some of the stained glass had to be removed to allow a clear…
Over the next several days, Buffalo will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its sister city relationship with Kanazawa, Japan. The events will culminate with a rare performance of the Noh drama, a classical Japanese mask theater tradition 700 years old.The Japanese Garden in Delaware Park, a gift from Kanazawa, has long been a treasured part of our city’s landscape. How many wedding parties queue up on summer weekends to take their pictures there? On Monday at 10:00 a.m., the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy and the City of Buffalo will hold a commemorative ceremony of anniversary and creation of the Japanese…
One of the great ironies of the War of 1812 is that while the Niagara Region has been called the cockpit of the war, much as Virginia was during the Civil War, the people of this region had nothing to do with any of the issues over which the United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. However, by the time the war ended, both sides of the Niagara River had been devastated, with houses and forts burned, fields trampled, and thousands dead, wounded, or captured.Another irony is that, despite this region’s being so important in the…