A city preservation district may soon be growing. Later this month, the Buffalo Preservation Board will review plans to expand the Linwood Historic Preservation District to include the southwest corner of Main and W. Ferry streets. The new boundary would include three properties that developer Nick Sinatra recently purchased.
Last October, Sinatra purchased the historic Fenton Hotel at 945 W. Ferry Street (above). The circa-1901 building contains 23 apartments. Sinatra later acquired a vacant lot at 1516 Main, a small structure at 1524 Main, and 1526 Main, an attractive, three-story corner commercial building. Original plans called for renovating the Fenton Hotel for upscale living and putting new commercial tenants and 8 loft apartments in the 1526 Main Street building. The small commercial building at 1524 Main was said to be in bad shape and was going to be demolished (below, left).
Plans for the demolition of 1524 Main were put on hold by the Preservation Board. While the building is not currently in a preservation district, the Board does review demolition permit applications. Preservation Board members wanted additional information on the history of the building and a walk-through to determine the building’s condition.
Expansion of the Linwood Historic Preservation District, established in 1978, would bring some new tools to both the Board and Sinatra. Exterior construction, demolition, or redevelopment work performed on any structure or site within the District must be undertaken in conformance with preservation standards and with review by the Preservation Board.
For Sinatra, the expanded boundary opens the door to possibly obtaining historic preservation tax credits for his planned project which is being designed by Tommaso Briatico.
Sinatra has not determined whether he will be applying for tax credits and whether 1524 will be incorporated into the project or demolished.
“We are exploring all options,” he says.