Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - After hearing from residents of the Marine Drive apartments and workshopping ideas for the future of the apartment complex, the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority has released renderings and floor plans for the first phase of construction aimed at keeping affordable housing along the Buffalo waterfront.
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"People wanted to stay in the Marine Drive community, they wanted to be part of the waterfront and they wanted to not be disrupted as much as possible as much as building a new community of this size can be done," said Jeff Head, VP of Development of the Habitat Affordable Group, one of the developing groups in charge of the project.
"What we really focused on was finding a way to build 300 units of new residential in the parking lot of the existing development. What that allows us to do is allow people to stay in their apartments until new housing is completed. We've designed a mix of high rise and low rise developments, with potential for some new commercial space, really creating a new, more pedestrian-friendly development that's oriented to the waterfront, and will integrate with the larger developments that are going on at the waterfront like Canalside and the Naval Park."
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One of the main priorities for the developers was making the complexes larger, not just for luxury, but for easier accessibility for those who are handicapped.
"They want to have nice layouts, they want to have a place to where they can store their clothes, there's very little closet space in the existing apartments. We heard a lot from residents that had accessibility issues at Marine Drive. There's a lot of seniors there. Currently, there are no legally accessible units in the Marine Drive complex. All the new units would be accessible by somebody with a wheelchair. The doors are wider, the bathrooms and and kitchens have space, there's elevator access. So it's it's a different experience. It's a more contemporary experience," says Head.
Buffalo Municipal Housing Authorities Executive Director Gillian Brown remains steadfast in efforts to make these apartments accessible to those with low income.
"There are 616 units at Marine Drive, there will be at least 616 units of affordable housing when we're done. However, it is going to be a complete 180 degrees different. This is going to be a visitable area, it's going to be integrated into the rest of the community and it is still going to have a, sort of, organic mix of incomes, that will be able to be an asset for the whole city. That's what I think is the big takeaway from this whole project."
Brown continues, "If you look at those renderings, you see, this is a development that looks like any other big city. It is not as dated, obsolete, frankly, pretty ugly housing that we have right now. We're going to take that footprint of the parking lot, and we're going to build brand new housing with modern amenities and decent sized rooms instead of teeny tiny rooms with no closets. We're going to turn it into a place where people can be proud to live."
Brown says he is excited to showcase the three-story apartment complexes that come with the two 12-story complexes being built as part of the first phase as well as display the opportunity of more commercial space that could come with the new builds.
"We now will have four bedroom units with their own door out onto the street, because we have traditionally, like all housing authorities, found that large families don't do as well, in a whole range of ways, in big apartment buildings. This is a way to sort of give larger families their own access to the street level.
I think the increase in commercial space is going to lend itself to the whole community becoming more thriving right now. There's basically one commercial operation at Marine Drive, we have a little market which is great, but after the redevelopment, we'll have a number of commercial opportunities and and gathering places for the community that I think will be a big difference."
"I think the biggest thing that has come to life in in the renderings that we're doing is the focus on the larger pedestrian experience and making the community more of a walkable neighborhood experience and that walking up to Marine Drive will be like walking up to any other neighborhood," adds Head.
Construction on phase one, of what will be a $400 million, multi-phase project, is expected to start on the development’s surface parking lot in 2024. After residents relocate to the new dwellings, the first group of vacant towers will be demolished, clearing the way for the next phase of construction.
"Phase one of preliminary cost estimates are in the range of $225 million and that incorporates both the residential construction of two 12-story buildings and the additional 3-story buildings, a five-deck parking garage and extensive site work costs, it's the most expensive of the phases," says Brain Heeger, Managing Director of Duvernay + Brooks, developer of the project.
