The State of Preservation
By Elizabeth Licata
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In 2001 and 2002, Buffalo Spree Magazine published several feature articles about the state of preservation in the City of Buffalo. We looked at which buildings were endangered, which were in the process of being saved, and which still trembled on the brink of demolition. In this issue, we are revisiting some of those structures. The fact that we are using the same photographs we used in the original articles doesn’t mean we didn’t want to bother taking new ones. It’s simply that nothing has changed.
At presstime, at least two of the buildings (Schmidt and Vernor) were hanging on a judge’s verdict—and one of them may be down by the time you read this. Other endangered structures have a more hopeful outlook.
Main Street I–the 800 block
First, the (possibly) good news. Thanks to their strategic location on the western boundary of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and their proximity to the Theater District and Chippewa, the 700-800 blocks of Main Street have been attracting a lot of serious attention. For many of these buildings, the attention is coming just in time. Over twenty years of neglect—by both private owners and the City of Buffalo (via tax reversions)—has left leaking roofs, unsalvageable interiors, and—in some cases—seriously compromised structural supports. In 2002, all the City-owned buildings on the 800 block were turned over to the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency. It was felt that BURA would be more successful in overseeing their transformation into a thriving housing/commercial combination. At the same time that this was happening, a private development team called Emanon, led by architect Robert Stark and engineer Thomas Barnes, had been negotiating with the City for the acquisition of three of the buildings, 854, 858, and 864. These properties include a small, but charming storefront known to most as the Granite building (858). The Emanon group plans to use that for its offices, while a dilapidated mansion next to it would be renovated for office space. A two-story building immediately south of the Granite would be renovated for a catering firm downstairs and residential space on the second floor.
It all sounds good, but at presstime, Emanon was still trying to pull together financing for their projects.
Meanwhile, another group, which has received considerable media attention, has entered the 800 block picture. First Amherst Development and Peyton Barlow, the team that developed a stylish set of loft apartments at the former Elk Terminal, has joined with former City planning head Joseph Ryan to offer a mixed use development project for six buildings in the 800 and 900 numbers between Allen and Virginia on Main. These structures include a massive corner building at Virginia that has long been targeted by squatters and graffitists, as well as some buildings of lesser historical interest.
The First Amherst team wants to create 120 residential units—hence, their need for as many buildings as they can get—as well as storefront amenities such as a small grocery store, a coffee shop, a dry cleaners, and other modest-sized businesses. They now have designated developer status through June, 2003, which means that they must have an acceptable development plan and financing in place by then. (Buffalo News, 1/9/03, 1/28/03)
One building not available to either of these development teams—the Red Jacket at Main and Allen, is considered by many to be key to revitalizing the block.
For a neighborhood that has long been watching in helpless frustrations as these once-beautiful buildings crumble, this burst of development interest is almost an embarrassment of riches. But they’ll believe it when they see it. As of now, early February, 2003, snow, wind, and freezing winter temperatures continue to ravage these empty hulks—and there isn’t a contractor in sight.
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Last year, these two buildings were the focus of considerable media attention, particularly the Squier, and both were covered in the March 2002 Spree.
Purchased in 2001 by auctioneer Cash Cunningham, the Squier (1313 Main St.) was built in 1860 and is one of our last surviving Italianate mansions. Nonetheless, it was under an emergency demolition order almost immediately after the purchase, and two holes were punched in a side wall before the demolition could be stopped. An injunction brought by the Preservation Coalition and a lengthy court battle have saved the Squier’s original footprint (but not an 1880 “Connector” and an addition to the rear of the mansion, which are being demolished). It is thanks solely to the legal efforts of the Preservation Coalition that the Mansion was saved. In August, 2002, the owner agreed to preserve and maintain all the mansion’s architectural features, detailing and ornamentation and pay for any damage to the mansion caused by the 2001 demolition work. So far, the building has been “buttoned up” for the winter, but a full rehab of the building is still in dispute—the owner had originally hoped that the Preservation Coalition would take over this process and find another owner for the property.
Two other buildings on the same lot as the Squier—a Green and Wicks dormitory and an Art deco gym built by George Deitel—are under no threat of demolition and the owner hopes to find tenants for them.
Anyone driving past 591 Delaware lately has no doubt noticed that the still-imposing colonnaded mansion is now a three-sided empty shell. This beautiful structure, built by Esenwein and Johnson in 1899, was damaged by a serious fire in 1996—with the coup de grace administered by subsequent years of neglect by delinquent owners. Purchased in 2002 at a city auction by Matt and Chris Moscati, of trm architects, the building is slowly being prepared for a new life. According to the Moscati brothers, the structure has undergone “necessary selective demolition” to enable its reconstruction. All building elements except the historically significant exterior walls and front portico have been removed, with the remainder stabilized through the use of a reinforcing structural steel system. The next phase—reconstruction—is expected to occur during the 2003 construction season.
An interesting aspect is that the brothers plan to reconstruct the building in accordance with LEED standards. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED-approved buildings emphasize sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, and indoor environmental quality. In other words, 591 will become a “green” building.
Main Street II–the 700 block
Another long-running preservation tragedy has been playing to a small but select audience of concerned preservationists, bored city officials, and impatient developers for at least ten years.
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The Schmidt and Vernor Buildings on Main have been in jeopardy for decades. In this 2000 photograph, then-Housing Court Judge Diana Devlin stand in front of them. Henry Nowak is now the Housing Court Judge.
Photo by Jim Bush. |
Demolition of both buildings—in preparation for an illusory condo project—was halted in 1998, thanks to preservationist efforts by Scot Fisher, of Righteous Babe Records.
The ninety-eight-year-old Vernor once served as one of Buffalo's earliest automobile showrooms and displayed Pierce-Arrows, while the eighty-year-old Schmidt was also built to accommodate Buffalo’s early motor trade. Both buildings have distinctive terracotta facades and Classical styling. Both were considered in good condition as recently as 1988, according to preservation reports.
For the past fifteen years, however, the fortunes of the two buildings have declined. Roof and other maintenance-type repairs have not been made, with dire results. Its roof and floor seriously compromised, the Schmidt is in the most danger. The Vernor is considered savable by some experts, but its facade has been ravaged. Any efforts to preserve either of the buildings at this stage will be last ditch efforts and will probably involve some demolition.
A preservation policy that doesn’t preserve
After the 1998 demolition attempt on the Vernor and Schmidt buildings was halted—accompanied by a deluge of negative publicity— there was an effort on the part of City Hall to create a watchdog system so that at-risk properties could be addressed before the wreckers arrived. First, all the at-risk properties (150 was the estimate at the time) would be mapped out and inspected. Court proceedings would be reviewed with new strategies suggested to make the process more transparent and more effective. Regulations would be reviewed to make it easier for owners to fix their properties. A final proposal was to put the at-risk properties on a website so that anyone could access them, with photos and assessment and contact info. This proposal ran into some legal difficulties, though an amended version of it may still happen.
In spite of the City’s good intentions in 1998, however, the situation in 2003 remains the same. Buildings are empty, warehoused by their owners in the hopes that they’ll either fall apart and have to be demolished (at the City’s expense) or get bought for big bucks some day by the developer du jour. Sometimes the City owns the empty buildings. Preservation watchdogs—all volunteers—are the only hope most of these buildings have. The City’s Preservation Board can only react to what is brought before it—it cannot go out and identify problem properties on its own.
There is talk of a new preservation policy which will create a faster response to small problems before they become big ones. For the Vernor, the Schmidt, the Squier, 591 Delaware, and probably some of the buildings on the 800 block, that policy will come years too late.
Elizabeth Licata is editor of Buffalo Spree.
Sources for this article include Buffalo News articles by Donn Esmonde, 5/21/88, 5/23/88, 6/14/98; Matt Gryta, 6/6/98; Thomas Dolan and Anthony Cardinale, 6/5/98; Mark Sommer, 1/23/03. Thanks also to Chief Housing Inspector Louis Petrucci and the office of Interim Strategic Planning Director David Sengbusch for their assistance.
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