Land Banking

[Michele J]

There is no real "plan" in effect for landbanking... Public officials will say there is but there has never been any efforts made to clear areas for redevelopment accept for newbuilds which should not be even happening in a city with perhaps 20k vacant houses.. No developer is going to come into the city and look at a single vacant lot here and there..it has to be acres of land..That is why some areas teetering on the brink will soon be lost,Some areas are so far gone that the little old polish lady lives amongst mass destruction and why no developer would even think about investing on the East Side...
3 years ago I did several months worth of research on a 4 block area that would of been a prime candidate for landbanking...located next to a park, between 2 main thoroughfares and with a very low number of owner occupants..It was ignored.
We should of implemented landbanking perhaps as far back as 10 years ago.. the money saved would of been in the millions..

[bornandraised]

There is no real "plan" in effect for landbanking... Public officials will say there is but there has never been any efforts made to clear areas for redevelopment accept for newbuilds which should not be even happening in a city with perhaps 20k vacant houses.. No developer is going to come into the city and look at a single vacant lot here and there..it has to be acres of land..That is why some areas teetering on the brink will soon be lost,Some areas are so far gone that the little old polish lady lives amongst mass destruction and why no developer would even think about investing on the East Side...
3 years ago I did several months worth of research on a 4 block area that would of been a prime candidate for landbanking...located next to a park, between 2 main thoroughfares and with a very low number of owner occupants..It was ignored.
We should of implemented landbanking perhaps as far back as 10 years ago.. the money saved would of been in the millions..

What arm of the government would be in charge of organizing a land banking plan? i.e. is there a strategic planning unit in BUF and who is in charge if it? Where was the 4 block area you looked at 3 years ago?

[keyboard150]

I also proposed this several years ago and it was ignored.

Land banking is actually a SMART idea. Better than leaving up those abandoned homes.

[bornandraised]

I also proposed this several years ago and it was ignored.

Land banking is actually a SMART idea. Better than leaving up those abandoned homes.

Yes, land banking seems like something BUF needs. Who did you propose this to several years ago?

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

I don't mean to be taking it out on you, Keyboard, but I will say it for a third time: What, exactly is the plan, then?
Build what? When?
And, (third time I'm asking), has the City of Buffalo done this before?

The city does not need shovel ready sites. There are way too many today.


If done right, landbanking could take large sections of the city off the grid. It would create buffer zones between neighborhoods and break up the endless "East Side" into manageable development plots.

The same is the best location for this is where the city has built crappy Vynil Victorians on the edge of downtown. This area should have been cleared and not built up until private development at market rates was justified.

[Michele J]

What arm of the government would be in charge of organizing a land banking plan? i.e. is there a strategic planning unit in BUF and who is in charge if it? Where was the 4 block area you looked at 3 years ago?

The Office of Strategic Planning has probably 8-10 F/T employees
I would take over as Director and work for $1 a month for the first 6 months to prove myself.I have made that public on my radio show in the past. Landbanking HAS to begin.

[bornandraised]

The Office of Strategic Planning has probably 8-10 F/T employees
I would take over as Director and work for $1 a month for the first 6 months to prove myself.I have made that public on my radio show in the past. Landbanking HAS to begin.

What radio show are you on? Have you talked to Byron about your idea to work for $1?

[winfield31]

FYI , the homes being built on Sycamore are not being subsidized , they're being sold at "market value" . "Land Banking" has never been proven to work in any "rust-belt" city , but has in certain cities like Dallas-Fort Worth , Charlotte , etc. but not with "great" success...........It's a theory , possibly the nation's mortgage "crash" may even further affect them ? Forgot , I believe the word "regentrification" has to be the direct result "prior" to land banking having a chance of being a success.............

[300miles]

The same is the best location for this is where the city has built crappy Vynil Victorians on the edge of downtown. This area should have been cleared and not built up until private development at market rates was justified.

I don't like what they did there either. That area is better suited as a future expansion area for downtown business growth, not low density residential.

Had they built those same houses a mile further out from downtown, it would have been fine.

[Michele J]

Sycamore Village is going to be Hickory Woods 2 in 5 years. I had a radio show on WNYMEDIA last year( very successful show as I had guests from Mayor Brown to Judge Nowak to Rich Tobe)
4 homes in Sycamore Village are being marketed to low income families.

[winfield31]

Sycamore Village is going to be Hickory Woods 2 in 5 years. I had a radio show on WNYMEDIA last year( very successful show as I had guests from Mayor Brown to Judge Nowak to Rich Tobe)
4 homes in Sycamore Village are being marketed to low income families.

I believe that entire block had been remediated from contaminates , problem is........where was the original contamination from ? Was it from across the street , down the block , Buffalo Forge , etc. ? Will it "migrate" back to "under" the new foundations , or right to the surface ? Unfortunately the first baby born with defects or some genre of cancer will be the telling sign especially if it shows-up in a claustered effect ? Prayfully we're wrong here , but Love Canal was built knowing it was "hot" , Hickory Woods" they knew was "hot" , now "Sickamore Village" ? Man oh man , what a country........what a state , what a county , what a city.............

[Michele J]

Buffalo has many areas that the project could of been built on not that we have a great need for housing quite the contrary..BEFORE who build we should remove the 14-20k vacant houses and bring supply and demand in closer proximity..... There is nothing there on Sycamore & Jefferson..no stores.. nothing...no economic development at all ... Jefferson & Utica is doing well but that not exactly a 10 minute walk.

[nickelcityhomes]

FYI , the homes being built on Sycamore are not being subsidized , they're being sold at "market value"

These homes are depreciating assets and should be viewed by lenders in the same regard as mobile homes. Of course some sorry suckers will buy them and wonder why they are upside down on the note after a couple of years. At that point the owner will make the decision that it isn't worth the monthly payment to live in a house that is losing value every month, and attempt a short sale or deed in lieu. About 3 months later I'll get a call from the bank asking for an opinion of value and proceed to spend several hours explaining why the new builds on the east side are decreasing in value (for a nice fee, of course). In the meantime another sack of sorry suckers will buy into the newest urban subdivision and the process will repeat itself.

I know the following opinion is not politically correct, but at some point lenders need to regain the legal ability to redline neighborhoods to stop these ludicrous housing renewal attempts. The only people who benefit are the politicians and the contributors whose political donations purchase the right of exclusivity in providing services...and I make some beer money on the side for delivering the bad news to lenders when the new builds ultimately go into foreclosure.

But in the parallel universe also known as Buffalo, the people request more government intervention (land banking) for a problem that was caused by the government. The irony is directly correlated to my personal discretionary spending.

[300miles]

Land Banking would not cost extra money. It would merely focus the money we already spend... instead of scattershot bulldozing and misplaced redevelopment.

[300miles]

Buffalo has many areas that the project could of been built on not that we have a great need for housing quite the contrary..BEFORE who build we should remove the 14-20k vacant houses and bring supply and demand in closer proximity..... There is nothing there on Sycamore & Jefferson..no stores.. nothing...no economic development at all ... Jefferson & Utica is doing well but that not exactly a 10 minute walk.

I never understand why they insist on building suburban-style housing near downtown in areas with no other economic activity... instead of building townhouses in an area that already has potential from existing businesses and homes.

(and yes I realize "suburban-style" is one of the most overused phrases of 2007)