Before Steel wrote about this parking garage blight (bottom photo) a few weeks ago, I had been planning on writing something myself. During a visit to Midtown in NYC I stayed at a hotel within walking distance of the parking garage pictured in the top photo. The more I looked at the structure, the more that I thought about the nasty parking garage on Pearl. It was apparent that a building such as this could be transformed into a relatively modern (or retro modern) looking structure with the simple addition of a metal screen facade, similar to the one in Midtown NYC.
Steel is right, in that Buffalo does not deserve to be stuck with such eyesores, when there are relatively simple solutions to these aesthetic blunders.
In the comment section, Buff 2020 said this:
What’s the economic argument? What would a face lift look like? How much would it cost? If there are ____ parking spots in the building, how much more could the Owner charge if they invested in the facade? How long would it take recoup the cost? Are there are facade improvement grants / matching funds out there to help the Owner?
I am of the belief that if the City can help to identify fixes such as the one that we see here, and is proactive in its approach and dealings with these types of property owners… and can even help to identify potential matching facade funds, then we would be ahead of the game rather than wallowing around waiting for disinterested property owners to do the right thing.