So Rochesterians don't get confused over the name "Crescent", this project is named because the project blocks - at full scope - form a sort of arc with two major eastside assets as anchors at the north and south ends: Martin Luther King Park (one of Buffalo's Olmsted parks), and the Broadway Market, respectively. Also, because this project was initiated by the interest and active involvement of a Moslem community which has converted the former Holy Mother of the Rosary church on Sobieski Street to a mosque (see Buffalo Business First article, below).
At the open house your blogger talked with Marlies Wesolowski, Executive Director of the Matt Urban Center in the grand Dom Polski building in the heart of Buffalo's Polonia. Marlies offered to provide additional project details, which will be made available in a later post. Marlies also told me that a key step in the project was a housing market study of the area in question, which provided a sound basis and confidence to proceed. The market study was done by a Buffalo firm using methodology similar to that used by the Zimmerman/Volk firm which is studying the housing market in Rochester.
Your blogger also spoke with the project architect (and former Rochesterian) David Galbo about the affordable house (and variations) he designed specifically for this project and neighborhood, inspired by the vernacular houses built almost overnight in this neighborhood over 100 years ago to accommodate the influx of immigrants. His house design will be used for most infill and replacement of houses that are deemed unsalvageable.
This project is important and instructive for several reasons: (1) the partners are proceeding confidently despite the levels of poverty, disinvestment, and blight currently in the project area; (2) a variety of strategies are involved, including demolition where necessary, rehab where possible, infill, and even some market rate construction; (3) the variety of funding sources that are involved (details in these postings); (4) the extensive partnership put together for the project, including the City of Buffalo; and (5) the project is extremely sensitive to the heritage and architecture of the neighborhood.
Buffalo News Article:
Larry Leman, housing director at the Lt. Col. Matt Urban center and project manager for the Crescent Village revitalization effort, checks out the progress of a home being renovated on Sweet Street.
EAST SIDE
Fiscal foundation laid for new homes
By Deidre Williams and Brian Meyer NEWS STAFF REPORTERS
Updated: 07/10/07 7:01 AM
All the resources are in place to begin the first phase of Crescent Village, a $5 million community development project in a 16-block area of the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood.
The project — one of the largest housing revitalization projects ever launched in that neighborhood — focuses primarily on developing the area through market-rate new builds, subsidized new builds, homes that have been rehabilitated and sold, and owner-occupied homes that have been upgraded.
“Our goal is to redevelop that whole section, to get some of the people who have lived here to stay here,” said Larry Leman, project manager. “It’ll be good for everybody to see movement.”
The first phase involves constructing subsidized homes in the target area, which extends to Walden Avenue, Broadway, Loepere Street and Rother Avenue. An open house will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Lt. Col. Matt Urban Human Services Center of Western New York, 1081 Broadway, for prospective buyers to view the architect’s designs for Phase I homes.
The Urban center, developer of the project, and the Masjid Zakariya Mosque on Sobieski Street have been collaborating on the project for more than two years. And depending on the availability of funding and future demand for East Side housing, the Crescent Village project eventually could result in as much as $20 million in new investment in a neighborhood that has been plagued in recent years by a shrinking population and abandoned properties.
In recent weeks, resources have come together for Phase I:
• The Federal Home Loan Bank agreed last week to provide $75,000 to buy down the interest on mortgages on the first 10 homes.
• The City of Buffalo gave the project a $115,000 loan in May for predevelopment activities such as conducting environmental testing and hiring an architect and builder.
• Also in May, city officials agreed to provide $1.8 million to the project.
• Demolitions have begun on 10 of the 72 houses identified by the developer as unsalvageable. Rep. Louise M. Slaughter’s office provided $472,000 in federal funds last summer for the demolition of about 40 houses.
The Crescent Village project also includes 10 new builds for private individuals who have their own money to construct market rate homes in the target area. The approximate value of each home is $160,000. One of the homes, 306 Sweet Ave., has been built, and the family has been living in it since December.
The way it works, the developer would acquire property that is vacated, derelict or close to being vacated, either from the city or from a private owner, then rehabilitate it and resell it at a reduced price from what it would cost for a new build or a subsidized home, Wesolowski explained.
dswilliams@buffnews.comand bmeyer@buffnews.com
Buffalo Business First Article:
New homes rising in Broadway Fillmore
With construction completed on the first of 10 new homes, an East Side nonprofit group is returning to its roots in community development as part of a comprehensive urban neighborhood redevelopment initiative.
The Lt. Col. Matt Urban Human Services Center of WNY is partnering with the Masjid Zakariya Mosque on Sobieski Street and the City of Buffalo's Office of Strategic Planning to develop Crescent Village in the Broadway Fillmore neighborhood. The $5 million first phase of the two-year project calls for demolition of 40 derelict properties, construction of 10 to 14 subsidized single-family homes on city-owned vacant parcels; 11 new market rate homes; and acquisition, rehab and resale of existing homes.
The agency, which previously developed several apartment facilities for seniors and refugees, has always been a state-designated neighborhood preservation company and is now also a city-designated community housing development organization (CHDO). This is the first time it is taking on the role of a developer for this type of project, said Marlies Wesolowski, executive director at the center.
"We have had that role in the past, but this is completely different. It builds significantly on services we've been providing for quite some time," she said, adding that the agency feels it can do a better job than a private developer because of its ties in the community and existing relationships.
That includes a relationship that has grown with the mosque, which began after members of the mosque began inquiring with the city about acquiring the city-owned vacant properties at the same time the agency was going through its strategic planning process.
Mosque member Zulkharnain (his full name) is one of five medical doctors who have moved to the neighborhood in recent years. He came to Sobieski Street in 2001 from Lancaster with his wife and four children. The neighborhood is ideal for his family, he said: His wife is Polish and non-Muslim, so living there exposes the family to both the Muslim culture and the existing Polish culture in the Broadway Fillmore area.
"The value of the houses has gone up and people are starting to view this differently," he said. "It's a cycle."
Other parts of the Crescent Village project include minor and major repairs for owner-occupied homes in the area, stepped-up code enforcement and activities targeting rental units.
Funding for the $4.5 million phase one of the project includes $115,000 for pre-development activities and a $1.8 million contract with the city, as well as $472,000 in federal funds through Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, for targeted demolition. Also, a $38,000 grant from the John R. Oishei Foundation has allowed the agency to hire a residential construction analyst.
No comments:
Post a Comment