Buffalo Rising Online

i really, really love the idea; condos in a mid-rise in the elmwood village. but the facade is just... ugh. just pick one, all brick or that tan stuff. the two together just look silly to me.

Because you have zero maintenance to worry about. Maybe you're a retiree that can't do garden or exterior housework anymore. This isn't just Buffalo, people pay more for condos than houses all over the country. Just because its not what you want doesn't mean its a joke.

dwilliams666 - because your mansion at that price will need a $350,000 renovation to be in the same condition and as little hassle as a new build. but the exterior does need some architectural help. It looks borderline public housing, especially that entrance from the street.

If that rendering of the living room/kitchen is what's found in public housing....where do I sign up???

exterior ava. i am sure they will be beautiful inside...just needs a bit of exterior design help. but regardless a great project.

Geez....its not all that bad. You guys are all such downers. The city would be lucky to get more projects like this. It builds density, gives people more housing options, and fills a niche in the village.

Some of you most lead some pretty depressing lives I guess. Cheer up.

Delaware Avenue is a bus route and contains some of the city's most expensive real estate....what's your beef Angus?

hmm.... Isn't all of Elmwood Bus rt. 20?

The national trend is that homes on public transportation routes have become more attractive.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gdFE0AUt5PAsJvPD9miPznk3jlCwD91CKTEG0

Good project but poor design. I guess the residents on the ground floor in front wont be able to open their windows considering the access to the underground parking is just below their windows. Lots of exhaust and noise from the other tenants coming and going.

East - West bus routes tend to bring more problems to streets compared to North - South routes...just saying...Walk down Elmwood and/or Delaware and look at the streets that have East-West running bus routes then compare them to the ones that don't...Forest (bus route), Potomic (bus route i think), West Delevan (bus route), West Ferry (bus route), West Utica (bus route), Summer (bus route)...ect...now look at the streets without them...Bird, Lafeyette, Lancaster, Cleveland, Highland, Lexington, Hodge, ect. Now compare the property values of the homes on those streets...or just walk down them with your eyes open...one should not need empirical data to see that these bus routes are a burden to those particular streets...

Forest doesn't have a route, and neither does Potomac.

Virginia, Allen and North (Allen & north are the same route) all have buses that cross Elmwood also albeit smaller routes, none of those intersections are any worse or better than the ones around them.

sbrof, point taken...however, your comment does not address mine...it just points out exceptions (possibly to the rule?)

Lunch break details for parcels within 400' from an East-West Bus Route & Elmwood Intersection

All Parcels: - Bus Routes: $191,788 (jumps to $493,398 if you include downtown parcels at E/W bus intersections) - No Bus Routes: $225,988

But since this is a residential question really lets look at just residential parcels and drop out downtown and all commercial buildings - Bus Routes: $110,866 - No Bus Routes: $149,112

Specific Intersection information on bus routes: Utica: $113,624 Amherst: $84,942 Virginis: $74,442 Delavan: $162,130

Specific Intersection information off bus routes: Lexington: $167,636 Forest: $153,911 Tracy: $74,346 Bryant: $181,930

From this I feel that there are larger neighborhood or community problems that impact the quality of the buildings more than the proximity to a bus route considering there are highs and lows for both. There is a slight preference to non-bus routes but it is route to compare exactly because there are many more non-routes than routes and some whole neighborhoods are included into the non-route numbers. Take it for what you will. I would like to pull out just the parcels along the adjoining streets instead of an 'as the crow flies buffer' but my lunch is over and that takes longer to do.

I would ask that everyone please not judge this project based on a preliminary rendering. I think it is a wonderful project and like someone said earlier, more of these kinds of projects is what Buffalo needs right now.

Blame the terrible renderer for the way the building looks in the rendering, I am sure that when it is fully realized that the building will look much better than the crappy itteration of what is supposed to be.

BRO, the only place where thinking, critique and debate are considered faux pas. Most other place this is called vibrant public participation. Our fault and many of our lingering issues isn't from too much debate but from 30 years of complacency and silence.

sbrof...interesting data...i personally would have no problem living in these units...the rendering of the inside looks incredible...also it is a great stretch of elmwood...i was just making an obervation of those streets...i grew up in and continue to live in the elmwood area and have also taken notice of the poor shape that the streets with bus routes are in...

i think a garbage can or two (that are frequently emptied) at these major bus stops wouldnt hurt either. elmwood & w. delevan by the great wall filled with bottles, cans and papers. Not to mention the smell of urine on a warm summer day.

You can always tell when there's an interesting article here on BRO by the number of responses it receives.

There is serious demand for condos in the city. About 200 people showed up during the recent downtown housing tour (buffalohomecoming.com) for the 6 unit project at The Whitney and we're not even on the market yet.

bc71- see: http://www.buffalorising.com/story/condo_conversion_in_the_west_v

I’ve lived in the city for about 12 years and went the “buy the mansion” route. I don’t regret it but anyone who thinks these prices compare to renovating and maintaining something in this area is mistaken. I think being able to live in new build construction without leaving the neighborhood is a great option. I do agree that the design of this project has missed the mark. It looks like the new student housing at UB north campus.

I agree with AtwnMike. The "Mansion" route is not always a bed of roses, always, and I mean always some sort of repair or maintence to be done, along with yard work etc. Many days I dream of a condo where my gardening consists of tossing the ice from my martini shaker into the potted plant on the balcony before heading out to dinner..

bc71 - that BRO article is about all there is. I believe that they are not legally allowed to market those condos yet because of the state process. Someone else knows more about it than me, but thats why you can't find out anything about it.

Bufago - LOL, five years ago and maybe as early as two years ago I would've agreed with you. Have you seen the recent sales on the first block of Whitney or in the West Village?

Bufago- arent riskey places the best investments? dont we all say we wish we invested in the elmwood village or richmond or the west village 10 years ago?

I investing in my first home on the west side. I thought it was a smart choice being 1 block from and expanding D'Youville and 1 block from Porter. There are bad streets but they only get better if your willing to take the time to make your house look good. You would be surprised how by simply planting dahlias, mowing my lawn and putting up a fence makes the owners around my realize they had dumps and start fixing theres up. The west side is on a turn around( north of Connecticut between porter) A house in here can be found around $30,000 and in 4 years I wont be surprised if its like Richmond. Just my 2 cents