Court orders $13,500 in fines for owner of deteriorated Cobblestone building

On Thursday, Judge Patrick M. Carney, appearing to run out of patience, fined owner Darryl Carr the maximum $13,500, or $1,500 for each of the nine building code violations, at 110 South Park Ave. The fines are due Nov. 19, by which time Carr said he should have a redevelopment proposal ready to submit to the city’s Planning Board, so it is possible he may not have to pay up.

Carney also ordered that the money be held in escrow if the building is sold.

“Basically, it’s been a long, drawn-out case. We’re going to have closure pretty soon,” Carr said afterward. “Those fines (are) not really set in stone right now. It’s a push to move forward.

“I do have a redevelopment plan in place, but these things don’t happen overnight,” continued Carr, who has owned the building since 2009. He also owns 118 South Park and Cobblestone Bar & Grill on the same block.

In February, the judge had ordered Carr to stabilize the building, built in 1852, to meet standards set by the U.S. Department of the Interior for historic preservation. Carr subsequently pleaded guilty to the violations.

The judge was given photographs Thursday that purportedly showed those standards hadn’t been met.

Meanwhile, Carr’s attorney, James P. Milbrand, shared renderings of the fledgling redevelopment proposal with the judge and two city officials.

While the property’s address is on South Park Avenue, it is a series of buildings extending almost halfway down Illinois Street. Carr intends to preserve the oldest buildings toward the front and build new toward the back.

“The buildings that are collapsing, they were collapsing when I bought them,” he said. “Those buildings will be removed.”

Tim Tielman, executive director of Campaign for Greater Buffalo, told the judge Thursday that the Buffalo Preservation Board wanted Carr to receive the maximum penalty.

“The notion of demolishing a landmark building and putting something new is a very time-consuming and detailed process. There is no guarantee that this plan will ever be approved,” Tielman said. “In the meantime, the building continues to deteriorate” in the absence of stabilization that was ordered in February.

Carr noted the building is in a historic district, but isn’t a landmark building.

When Milbrand told the judge that progress has been made, Carney retorted: “You really do have a rosy view of this.”

Milbrand said, “Now we have financial backing; we have the right architects, we want to move forward.”

After imposing the fines, Carney reminded Carr’s attorney that he could submit a motion for resentencing. “My advice is for the city preservation and Mr. Milbrand to give it 30 or 45 days and let’s see what is done,” Carney said.

“I do tend to agree this has lingered,” the judge said.

Common Council Member David Franczyk, who represents the Fillmore District, is among the vocal critics of Carr’s management of the property.

“I was the original author and sponsor of the legislation designating the Cobblestone District (in the 1990s) because there were plans to demolish that whole block,” Franczyk said recently. Those plans were during construction of what’s now known as First Niagara Center.

The building housing the Cobblestone Bar & Grill is in good shape, Franczyk conceded. But he’s skeptical of Carr’s ability to do what needs to be done at 110 South Park.

“I don’t think he has the wherewithal to do it. If he can’t handle it, he should find someone who can,” Franczyk said.

“Carr’s got to show the court a plan and that he has the capital to do it,” Franczyk said. “If he does, then I applaud him. My fear is by their deeds ye shall know them. That’s too important a site to let it languish.”

News Staff Reporter Melinda Miller contributed to this report.

email: jhabuda@buffnews.com