Against preservationists' wishes, Buffalo officials granted developer Nick Sinatra a demolition permit Wednesday to demolish an Elmwood Village house less than 24 hours after the Buffalo Preservation Board recommended granting the structure historic landmark status.
The city had announced earlier Wednesday that it would not grant the permit until after the Common Council weighed in on the fate of the vacant house at 184 West Utica St.
But hours later, a city official told The News that Sinatra's attorney threatened to sue the city if the demolition permit wasn't issued Wednesday.
"I talked to the mayor and said you are probably going to hear that I denied the demolition permit," said James Comerford, commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services. "I explained we're trying to save the building. But at 12:30 I got handed a letter from their attorney basically telling me they complied with all the requirements of the demolition permit, and if it was not issued today they would proceed with legal recourse.
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"So I went back and talked to my senior staff, and we concluded we didn't have the legal authority," Comerford said. "I didn't want to expose the city to litigation."
Comerford said he is legally bound by an administrative order that allows demolitions to be carried out around one month after a demolition application is filed for a building that isn't locally landmarked. That's the case, he said, even if the landmarking process, as it typically does, requires more time than that to be completed.
Sinatra applied for the demolition permit on Jan. 21.
An attempt to reach him was unsuccessful.
The Preservation Board found the house met six of nine criteria used to determine a structure's historic significance, when only one is required for landmark status. It cited the home as a rare domestic example of a Flemish Revival style that reflects the culture in Buffalo and New York state in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and also cited the prominence of the architect and a former resident.
The Common Council was expected to refer the issue to its Legislation Committee, which would have then held a public hearing. The earliest a hearing would have been scheduled was March 24, which meant the Council couldn't have acted until at least March 31.
“I am extremely disappointed in their actions,” said Paul McDonnell, president of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture and Culture, which filed the landmark application. “It shows total disrespect to the Preservation Board and the preservation community.”
Gwen Howard, the Preservation Board's chairwoman, also expressed dismay.
"It is unfortunate that the process could not go through to its completion," Howard said. "We understand the developer's desires but also understand the importance of this structure as a historic resource within the Elmwood Village National Historic District."
The Buffalo Planning Board on Feb. 10 approved a townhouse development by Sinatra & Company Real Estate and Ellicott Development Co. as part of their Elmwood Crossing project. The plan calls for demolishing the 1907 house and another one beside it to build 20 townhouses on a former drug store parking lot at 188 West Utica St.
The developers contend they need all of the planned townhouses to make the Parkhurst Square project financially viable.
Tom Fox, Ellicott's director of development, told the Planning Board the demolition permit would not be sought as long as the application for landmark status was pending.
"We cannot pull a demolition permit because a landmark application has been filed," Fox said. "We wouldn't be able to move our plans any further until that process is concluded."
The house was designed by architect Albert Schallmo, who partnered with Chester Oakley to design Blessed Trinity Church at 317 Leroy Ave., the first building locally landmarked in Buffalo. The men collaborated on three other city churches.
Sinatra and Ellicott Development told the Preservation Board they did not believe the house warranted protection.
At Tuesday's Preservation Board meeting, Amy Nagy, Sinatra's director of development, said neither the home nor Schallmo were architecturally or culturally significant on their own and the house lacked aesthetic value.
"We know things of great beauty in the City of Buffalo. 184 West Utica does not meet the standards," Nagy said. "It would be inappropriate for this important tool to be used to preserve a structure other than that which is truly worthy."
