Buffalo Rising Online

Not the best picture of this place on Google Maps Street View... looks like 3 guys sitting on the stoop drinking 40's in brown paper bags.

Sign me up!

Tim Sparks is my new stage name!

The bars on the windows...is that some type of 3M product to repel the ultraviolet rays from the sun?? This "option" will certainly be an enticement!!

Whitney is a quickly changing street. Drive up and down it. You get a lil bit of every walk of life. Including a lot of young proffessionals. I have two friends that recently purchased some beautiful homes on this street.

this is awesome!!! the city needs about 100 more of these types of developments.

I hope they put the cornice back on.

This actually makes me quite happy. We talk about Buffalo in a lot of different senses, and one is in terms of its neighborhoods. South Buffalo, Elmwood Village, Allentown, East Side, etc. But this one, the Johnson Park neighborhood, is clearly the most historic and, in most respects, the most forgotten. From the outside, the homes in this area have a classic look like few other areas in Buffalo.

Having the Whitney convereted into condos is probably one of the biggest steps in Buffalo's rebirth going forward (can't believe I just used the word 'rebirth' by the way). Consider its proximity to downtown, incredibly close and if you lived there and worked downtown your car would become an afterthought. Also, if successful, consider the plethora of other buildings in that area that have the same skeleton as the Whitney and could be converted in a similar manner and probably pretty reasonably priced. Also, consider the crowd this unit is trying to attract. It is decidely not empty nesters in their 50s who want panoramic views of Lake Erie. It is people in the 20s who would, ideally, want to build a future in this city.

This thing is risky, given the neighborhood. But I still believe it is good foresight here on the part Sunset Bay Park (I cam unfamiliar with them). I think its great that they decided to go condo as opposed to another loft situation creating a set of transient Buffalonians who head for the burbs once they need a place to call their own. They probably did some thinking and realized they were more likely to find condo buyers than continual loft residents based on its location.

I wondered why this place was on the Downtown Housing Tour. Now it all makes sense. This is simply fantastic news.

Cool neighborhood, with some amazing architecture still intact, yet the neighborhood does still have a stetchy element. In any other city, with the proximity to downtown and the type of buildings there, this neighborhood would be $$$. Keep it moving forward, the group of conerned citzens over there are doing a great job.

I've heard these are going to be pretty affordable...any official word?

An alter ego of Sally....cyndrome?

I hope the one on the corner of Carolina goes condo. I had nothing but problems with tenants of that building when I lived on Whitney.

what a great building and project. like someone said before me the city needs 100 more of these. any word yet on when these will go up for sale or the cost?

A few years back the entire area was on the brink of falling down again just like in the 1970s but this West Village Ren Group grabbed ahold of accountability and aimed it at all city departments. What you see now is the results of the continuing struggle and efforts by a great group of neighbors who really care and that includes this developer and his care of structures like this one. Remember, this is the same area where the neighbors got together and saved another building on Johnson Park and it took them 4 years but they never gave up. That's the ticket. Never give up. Make people who aren't doing their jobs shake in their boots because when they thinlk your going away you come back strong. Good going, Sal and the West Village Ren Group.

This is awesome news. Its always exciting to see the possibility of gentrification outside of Elmwood/Allen.

Public records indicate that they paid $43,000 ($7,166 per unit) in 2007, which is almost like getting the building for free. Even after a massive renovation, I assume there is room for a nice profit here.

so your assuming that somebody who lives in the projects can afford to buy a 100k home?!?!

I think these are going to sell in the $100k range which hits the right demographic for the area. These condos should wind up bought by younger people who will invest time and vitality in the neighborhood. This is great news. Ruby is right that there is room for a pretty nice profit as well. $50k per unit in renovations and another $100k on the common areas and services and wow, you have a nice, affordable and profitable project. Way to go!

I can't see these units selling for more than the 100k...I used to live further east on Whitney and know the parking issue...and the crime, the heroin captial of Buffalo is just on the corner Whitney and Carolina. With that said, these will sell if priced right, heck I'm extremely interested as a young professional. The home I own now was completely renovated, new roof, every floor, bathroom and kitchen even the water pipes from the street were replaced. The total cost (of the renovation) was around 42k for 2000 sqft four bed two bath double lot...if these are 1000 sqft no more than 20k is really needed, a good bit of money to be made by these folks...I also hope that these wont be completely finished when they sell them, similar to the project in the Elmwood Villiage allowing owners to pick out styles, furnishings and appliances. I will make this my first stop on the housing tour on the 28th! Very excited to see it!! BRO please keep a close eye on this one!

Ya, its to bad since this guy and his comapny decided to make a investment here and the neighbors have been heroes that never give up. Its to bad that Rich Toby and crew can't get their crap together and enforce the laws on bad rooming houses and corner stores. You wanna critisize? Go after them and leave this guy and his dream alone. He's doing something, the neighbors work their butts off and the standstill comes from city hall. I think its called the bad property owner pay off.

RonR, I wasnt attacking what you were saying before. You bring up good points about the availability of housing. But then i have to ask, why would we displace people from their public housing to build 100k places when there are already places available for them in much lower price ranges? wouldnt it make more sense to get those who can afford it out of the public housing and into these 30k houses before we try turning the projects into fancy 100k condos?