In 2023 Hannah Demolition applied for a demolition permit for 510 Niagara Street, on behalf of property owner Flaneur Niagara LLC. At the time, the 9,214 sq.ft. building suffered from fire damage according to the application. A photo was submitted along with the application showing a portion of the building’s roof and façade had collapsed.
Once again, we’re looking at a pretty good case of demolition by neglect. We’ve been watching this building for years, as it crumbled, with no one being held accountable.
“This is an example of an absurd, short sighted demolition,” said Bernice Radle, Executive Director Preservation Buffalo Niagara. “This could have easily been avoided had the owner provided the community with a realistic selling price.”
This section of Niagara Street deserved better. This building deserved better. Unfortunately the writing was on the wall the entire time, and half the structure is now eliminated.
We shall see what the future holds for the rest of the structure that remains standing. Hopefully that is by design, and the “too-far-gone” section of the building was sacrificed in order to salvage the rest of the structure. We shall soon see.
510 Niagara Street was once featured in an “Opportunity Knocks” spotlight back in 2020. It’s upsetting to see that the opportunity was never realized at the time. It could have been an excellent example of building Buffalo up right, rather than business as usual on the preservation front.
Update: Oh well, so much for wishful thinking…