The Buffalo Preservation Board continues to support building stabilization in the Cobblestone District

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Tensions remain between Buffalo officials and the current property owner following Tuesday night’s fire that gutted several buildings in the Cobblestone neighborhood.

The big question now is: what’s next for charred buildings?

The Buffalo Preservation Board held a meeting Thursday. Although the fire was not on the agenda for the meeting, board members weighed in on what can be expected for the future of these historic structures.

Gwen Howard, president of the City of Buffalo Preservation Council, opened the meeting by thanking the Buffalo Fire Department for its careful but successful efforts to put out the fire.

“They could have come in and started bashing, but they didn’t,” Howard said. “They were careful in what they did. They protected the historic structure. They understood its importance and did a great job putting out the fire while preserving what was left so work could continue there.

Following the fire, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced that the city would not carry out an emergency demolition. Howard says this is a decision she completely agrees with for several reasons, one being the local economy.

“The historic structures we have provide a significant economic benefit to our community,” Howard said. “It comes from people coming to visit the community and spending money here as visitors. It comes from the films that come here and shoot. There have been significant investments in our film industry.

As for the process of re-stabilizing these buildings, Howard explained that it would take about a year. She said it won’t begin until the city resolves the eminent domain case with the current owner, Darryl Carr.

Carr said he had to try to get the property demolished. He described it as contaminated and said anyone could attest to that.

Howard said the city likely won’t pursue new development at 110-118 South Park Ave. She says it’s likely it will be made available to another developer.

Several buildings were burned and then rebuilt. Some of these include the Market Arcade Building, the Webb Building on Pearl St., and White’s Livery Stable on Jersey St.

“All of these were vacant, and once they were stabilized, they were able to stand for a while while the project was planned,” Howard said.

Howard also talked about what’s next after The Old Pink burned down on Monday. Since Allentown is also a historic district, she says the Buffalo Preservation Board has a say in what could be added to the land now that the bar and restaurant have been demolished.

“Any new construction that would go on where the Old Pink Flamingo was would still go through the preservation board,” Howard said. “There are standards for new construction. This does not mean that every building is a replica of a historic building, but it does mean that it has the appropriate scale, size, level of detail, organization, rhythm and geometry that would fit into this historic district.