“The goal is to do everything we can to make this a win for the city, rather than a win for Darryl Carr.”

Yesterday, standing on the corner of South Park and Illinois Street, watching 110 and 118 South Park Avenue burn, it was hard to think that I was in the city of Buffalo in 2024.

After losing the Old Pink to fire a few days ago…and visiting the site of the former Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Apostles SS Peter and Paul (now demolished) last April, and reflecting on the beauty of bricks on the corner of Vermont and 16th (now demolished), Two Wheels Bakery (demolished), 324 North Oak (demolished), The Great Northern (demolished), 510 Niagara Street (demolished), 743 Main Street (demolished), 68 Sycamore (demolished), The Continental (demo), North Park Baptist Church, (demo), Paul Rudolph’s Shoreline Apartments (demo)… and going back a little further to Thornton Hall (gone), The Falcon building in Allentown (gone), 411 Jefferson (gone), St. Mary’s on the Hill (gone), the Vernor Building (gone) and, oh yeah, half of downtown Buffalo at the time (bulldozed)… it was hard to imagine we were about to lose another. And not only another. A building of such importance that it seemed the entire city supported it.

How did we, as a city that is supposed to hang our hat on its architecture, sink so low that we couldn’t even save these large-scale historic structures?

I barely slept last night, thinking that there was yet another part of the city that had suffered a horrible blow. What was next? What other buildings would soon face the wrecking ball? What would stop Buffalo from becoming another Plain Jane USA? Bricks for everyone! Put them on your shelf to remember our historic buildings that continue to bite the dust.

This morning I felt I should call conservationist Tim Tielman to offer my condolences. While I was on the phone with Tim, I learned from West Coast Perspective that architect Steve Carmina was ready to step in and save the day. He had saved The Nash Lofts from a similar demise. Could this be true? And if it is was That’s right, it’s almost the case that demolition crews work much faster once word gets around on the street that there’s a glimmer of hope for a building at risk. You can almost hear the knives sharpening in the distance, as they slobber on the injured prey.

A while ago I spoke to Steve Carmina (Carmina Wood Design) who has been advocating for the adaptive reuse of South Park buildings for years.

“I’ve been advocating for this property to be taken back for a long time,” Carmina said. “This process is expensive as fuck. The last thing we need in the Cobblestone neighborhood is another parking lot. As far as I am concerned, this fire was not due to chance. This building wasn’t going to burn down on its own. If it was anyone, he was failing. They did not accomplish what they set out to do. This site is recoverable. I’ve toured the building…we’re going to save it and restore it. It only really burned in the middle section. This building is not finished. This comes from me, as an architect and preservationist. I can work with people who can stabilize the building, until the City can reclaim it and appoint a developer, which they intend to do. The goal now is to do everything in our power to protect the population by stabilizing it and carrying out selective demolition. The City now considers this a preservation project and not a demolition project. If I have to do it for free, I will. I’m 68 – I don’t care (laughs).

“As for Carr (the owner), he came across as insincere and unrealistic. To say that he is going to build a Bashar Issa (esque) tower on this site is incomprehensible and will never happen. The goal is to do everything we can to make this a win for the city of Buffalo, rather than a win for Darryl Carr.

The City is now focused on working with Carmina, Sam Savarino (developer), Preservation Buffalo Niagara and others to develop a strategy to stabilize 110 and 118 South Park Avenue so they can then be developed. Could this be the fire that needed to be lit under Buffalo’s feet, as a heartfelt wake-up call about the importance of preservation (real action rather than rhetoric)?