Mural, street sign honor legacy of East Side civic leader Rhonda Ricks

On Sunday, a small street in that community was dedicated to her.

City, state and local civic leaders gathered in socially distant fashion to name a small portion of Mortimer Street for her, honoring the longtime advocate-turned-developer who fought for quality affordable housing in Buffalo.

"We remember a woman that loved our city, believed in our people, and was one of the first private developers to invest in a substantial way on Buffalo’s East Side," said Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, who unveiled new street signs. "Rhonda operated from a place of purpose and integrity, and believed strongly that all residents deserve the opportunity to live in safe, upscale and affordable housing."

Ricks died of cancer just over a year ago, in June 2019, after a multi-year battle. She was 56. Her birthday was Sunday.

"It’s a proud day, but it’s an emotional day, because I want her to be here," said Jennifer Parker, a friend of Ricks' and a marketing communications consultant for her project. "It's her birthday, and we have a lot to celebrate."

The new Dr. Rhonda Ricks Way stretches from Broadway to Sycamore streets in Buffalo, along one side of The Forge on Broadway, a sprawling new affordable housing complex that she conceived and championed.

Located on a former industrial site at 490 Broadway, the $50 million two-building project contains 158 units of mixed-income housing, with amenities like a green roof and patio area, a playground, an indoor gym, a running track, as well as higher-end finishes in each apartment.

It was started in 2018 by Ricks' company in partnership with development firms SAA-EVI and SCG Development, which recently finished the state-funded project, and started taking their first new tenants into the complex.

"It is more than just quality affordable housing. It is luxury housing," Brown said. "The apartments inside here are better than where I live right now."

The street dedication also extends onto the driveway leading into the development.

"We see The Forge as a symbol of hope and a symbol of rebirth, and of all the things we can accomplish in Buffalo," said David Alexander, one of the two partners of SAA-EVI, and son of SAA founder Stuart Alexander. Alexander, who lives in Florida, participated via video.

Ricks' company is still a co-owner of The Forge, for the benefit of her two sons – one in Maryland and one in the U.S. Navy. Her R+A+R Development also built the Parkview Apartments at 769 Best St.

"She has created an access to generational wealth for her boys. They will benefit from her persistence," said Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, a personal friend and mentor of Ricks.

Ricks, a Buffalo native who earned a bachelor's degree in telecommunications and later a master's degree in education administration and a doctorate in higher education administration, focused her career on working with and helping the community through a diverse set of roles. She had served as treasurer of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library and vice president of the Buffalo Niagara Freedom Coalition. She was later appointed to serve on the Buffalo Preservation Board.

She started her professional career in community outreach for construction giant LPCiminelli, and then worked as a compliance monitor on the city's $1 billion Buffalo Joint Schools Construction Project, which was undertaken by LPCiminelli. It was during that multi-year role that she saw the impact of the city's population loss, with a number of former school buildings left abandoned and neglected, even as the need for affordable housing grew.

"Just because you are at a certain income level does not mean you do not deserve quality housing," Ricks had previously said. "I would like to change the way my community looks like by providing affordable, safe and quality housing."

That led her to target P.S. 59, teaming up with SAA-EVI to convert the school into Parkview. The $8 million project opened in July 2017, with 26 apartments.

"She was audacious. She knew what she wanted to get done, and she got it done," said Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen. "This represents a woman who is fearless, who is bold."

By then, she had already identified the former Buffalo Forge Manufacturing Co. site as another target, again partnering with SAA-EVI. Crews broke ground on the project in November 2018.

“Her love for Buffalo was immeasurable,” said Ernst Valery, the other SAA-EVI partner. "Rhonda believed in the East Side of Buffalo. We miss her presence, her tenacity, her perseverance. We will never forget the impact she has had on this community and the entire city of Buffalo.”

SAA-EVI will launch a fund to invest in startup developers like Ricks.

The ceremony was streamed live on the Forge website and on Facebook, through the complex and city pages, and will be rebroadcast on the city's government channel on Monday.

Along with the street dedication, the developers also unveiled a new mural along one entire exterior wall, also in Ricks' honor. Designed by local artist Julia Bottoms, the mural features industrial gears interspersed with bright long-stemmed roses on a light-blue background, incorporating the site's industrial history while celebrating Ricks' favorite flower and color.

"She's here in every brick. She's here in the mortar," Pridgen said. "She'll be right here and we can remember her every time we drive past Broadway."