Buffalo River

The Great Northern Situation Lacks a Good Solution

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Protracted preservation battles have become something of a cottage industry in these parts. In fact, you might just call it an industry for some.

The latest battle has centered around the Great Northern grain elevator after the building’s northern wall collapsed. The usual players have taken sides for and against demolition after it was announced Archer Daniels Midland planned to bring the building down.

News has been mostly good for those hoping to save the structure as they won another favorable ruling in court this week. Doug Jemal has also expressed interest in buying the structure in order to preserve it. What exactly his plans would be are unknown, but if there’s a developer in the area capable of actually saving the building, it would be Jemal.

Tim Tielman came out from under his bridge to get his obligatory quotes in The Buffalo News while other developers such as Rocco Termini and Paul Ciminelli have voiced their support in saving the structure. It’s a good sign for those who hope to keep the elevator intact that Jemal has shown the propensity to hit the ground running with projects he takes on. Something that the preservation community in Western New York has not done.

Whether or not that means the structure should be saved, I’m not sure. I think there are just as many good reasons to keep it as there are reasons to bring it down.

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Apartment opposed, because it’s Buffalo

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

 

Buffalo just can’t seem to get out of its own way. On a week in which preliminary work appears to have begun around the Webster Block and actual testing of lit grain elevators moved forward, another project was announced that would inject private funding and add people to a growing part of the city. It took less than 24 hours for the preservation crowd to condemn the thought of this project.

The background here dates to early 2012 when Sam Savarino purchased the decaying Erie Frieght House on Ohio Street from Great Lakes Paper Fibers. Savarino’s purchase came shortly after a large portion of the building collapsed and was subsequently condemned by the city. The Freight House received local landmark status just prior to Savarino’s purchase.

Savarino now has plans to demolish the 150+ year old structure to replace it with a 48-unit apartment building that would front the river. Of course, there are some out there who bemoan the $15 million project and contend that the Freight House survive.

The Buffalo Rising story shows Savarino’s has done his due diligence and that the building is beyond the point of stabilization for reuse. Naturally, Preservation Buffalo Niagara says the building could indeed be stabilized and rehabbed. Continue reading →