Renovating neighborhoods, block by block

By Stacie Duderwick, Stephanie Ortiz and Jolene Zanghi
BengalNews Reporters

Original stained-glass windows.

Unique woodwork.

Timeless staircases.

These are a few enduring characteristics of a handful of houses on Nineteenth Street, which have survived fires, decrepit conditions and abandonment.

In 2008, HomeFront Inc. purchased six houses on 19th Street from the city and its Division of Real Estate at the city’s public auction.

HomeFront, a non-profit community development agency, has been working on ways to redevelop vacant city homes, block by block. An example of one of these properties is 110 19th St.

The two-story home was built 100 years ago and up until recently has been neglected, causing the walls, roof, and flooring to deteriorate. Hypodermic needles and rubber gloves were some of the many objects found on the dirt-encrusted carpet on the hallway leading to the upstairs bedrooms.

Joseph Bologna, HomeFront’s construction analyst, said the previous homeowners of some of these units leave the properties a mess.

“When people leave, they just leave everything behind,” Bologna said. “Furniture, clothes, toys, plates, pots and pans. They just leave.”

Joseph Bologna talks about abandoned houses:



After purchasing the properties from the city, HomeFront works with Bologna to establish a reconstruction plan. Bologna said construction costs total up to around $150,000 and they sell the homes for around $50,000.

The first steps include gutting the houses down to the bare bones, or framework, and salvaging what unique characteristics the homes still possess, said Bologna. The houses are then renovated with the additions of new flooring and carpets, windows and doors, as well as energy efficient heating systems and duct work.

So far the biggest success story for HomeFront is 106 19th St. which was built in 1900.

Before and after views of the project at 106 19th St.:



The two-story home was in left in deplorable condition after it caught fire three years ago, leaving it with half a roof and a tree growing inside, Bologna said.
In August 2009, its rehabilitation process began when it was restored by HomeFront through Calabrese General Contracting and sold to a Somalian couple.

Bologna said the philosophy of rebuilding the neighborhoods is inspiring.

“This is probably the first time a community housing development organization actually went out and bought multiple houses on the street to do,” Bologna said.

The block-by-block initiative is an idea that HomeFront values greatly as there are approximately 11, 400 vacant housing structures in Buffalo, according to the 2000 Buffalo Census and a survey conducted by the Buffalo Fire Department.

The executive director of HomeFront, Bryan M. Cacciotti, said that the community response to the redevelopment-housing program on the West Side has been strong.

Cacciotti said that strategic planning is only one element of what HomeFront does. The business also provides financial literacy and education for first-time homeowners, financial assistance programs, and various support groups that deal with subjects such as budgeting money and home repairs.

Local political leaders have commended the restoration process that HomeFront has started on 19th Street and the collaboration of community organizations to reinvest into the West Side community.

Councilman David A. Rivera, who represents the Niagara District, said city leaders and groups are working hard to promote that Buffalo is a great place to live.

“You’re not just buying a house,” Rivera said. “You’re buying into a neighborhood.”

The West Side has gone through a period of disinvestment, when people went to out to the suburbs, took business away, turned around and rented their property instead of putting money back into the community, Rivera said.

With 100 19th St. on the brink of renovation, HomeFront’s mission to push forward with their block-by-block initiative is picking up pace.

“This is solely our baby,” Ciaccotti said, referring to 19th Street. “This is really our biggest project to date.”