Buffalo Rising Online

According to who has the criminal activity come from? And who has complained? Other property owners on Chippewa have complained because the people are not middle income suburbanites. There are more police calls on Chippewa for fights and drunkenness from the 20 year olds.

Wow look at all that surface parking!

Since we bought the CAlumet Building in 1988 we've been living with the horrors of the Chippewa Hotel. Through the term of two and a half mayors and even more police chiefs, we have done all that we could to call attention to the problems there.Yet nothing has ever been done to improve the place. Our problem with the hotel has not been, as one correspondent suggests, because the residents are not "middle-income suburbanites", but rather because many of them are and have been pan-handling, deeply annoying, if not dangerous, drug addicts. In addition, the property has been poorly maintained, with little effort paid to any house-keeping amenities let alone compliance with local building codes. One of the problems here is that there is little financial incentive to change the nature and character of the place since almost all of the rents go directly to the landlords in the form of County and federal welfare benefits. It is therefore unlikely that the new owners, unless they are willing to make an enormous short-term sacrfice, will do much to alter the form and the function of what for too long has been known as "The Chippewa Hotel."

Didn't the building sell in November, 1994 for $90,000? Hopefully the city will notice that this property is assessed at $245,000 and, considering a $950,000 sale, loses just over $30,000 per year in potential property tax revenue.

What markgoldman said is correct about tenants receiving welfare benefits. In my experience with these types of buildings Erie County Social Services and Section 8 (federal housing program) will not pay the landlord if a certificate (occupancy and boiler to name two) are expired. In the 418 class (rooming house) the landlord must have an on-site manager and change bed linens weekly, for example.

Personally I would not want to change the way these benefits are directed. It gives private landlords a chance to earn a living, rather than housing all "low-income" people in city, state and federally-funded projects which are a complete waste of taxpayer money.

As another Chippewa Street owner, I can fully validate the issues relating to the hotel. The hotel has been a major problem on the street. The owners have done nothing to try to curb the problem or even addresss. They just take the state funded rent every month and let the tennants do what the please. Local political leaders have tried to address but run into road block. For Chippewa to go to next level...the Hotel Chippewa must go and alternative use built. That is the big question...ball is in new owners corner.

With a mortgage in the Million $$ range they are likely looking for a higher use (unless the bar pays the freight). No one wants to live above a loud nightclub however so it will be interesting to see what happens

I live in the neighborhood and certainly do hate running by there in the morning. It's not the people so much as the smelly cigarette butts, booze containers, and garbage. I'm surprised nobody has gotten on the bar owners to do a better cleanup after the nightly fesitivites.

Oh, OK TommieBoi... Introduce RETAIL? Yeah, "they" should. Hmmm... 24/7 destination? That sounds good, too! Put something over the surface lot next door? Gee, you're right! That would be great.

All this cliche'd advice and ridiculous criticism from people who have probably never paid a dollar in taxes to the City in their lives is what drives me away from BRO every so often.

All of this stuff is market driven. The reason you haven't heard anything about Issa's mixed use skyscraper recently is the same reason Chippewa has crime-ridden boarding houses and surface lots. But this million dollar sale is a start.

Please just gut it and turn it into retail and living space. Take the "Chip Strip" back and make it more than a bar area. Mixed use makes more people happy and will cut down on the crime, increase daytime usage, and alleviate that putrid smell from the bar.

DJK - actually I pay a lot of property taxes, both personally and corporately. My assessment was tripled on my home in the Elmwood Village this past year. I bring up tax assessments quite often because they dictate how my business is run.

This is section 8 housing? Government paying the bills for people who can't make it on thier own or moreover may have issues such as drug use?

if so....doesn't it seem cruel to put these people above a bar? in a nightclub district?

Great job uncle sam!