City and county officials announced Monday that 20 new, affordable single-family homes are up for sale through the Building Buffalo Roots initiative. Construction for the homes was funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds — $1.1 million from the City of Buffalo and $13.5 million from Erie County.
According to Mayor Sean Ryan, the collaboration will allow the city to rebuild neighborhoods and create generational wealth through homeownership in communities that faced years of disinvestment.
“There is a demand for new-build houses, and the good news is we have a lot of lots in the city of Buffalo that we intend to put those new-build houses on,” he said, while delivering remarks in front of two new builds at 206 and 208 Miami St.
The new homes — two- and three-bedroom units ranging from $175,000 to $205,000 — will be sold through a lottery process to income-eligible applicants. Applications are open through Belmont Housing Resources of Western New York through May 27, and the lottery will be held on June 4 at 1 p.m.
The ARPA funds will deliver a total of 47 homes in Buffalo, with the county's contribution also funding new builds in Cheektowaga. The houses will be sold through a lottery process for low- to moderate-income homebuyers. The city and the county partnered with the Buffalo Erie Niagara Land Improvement Corporation (BENLIC) and Belmont Housing Resources of Western New York.
The collaboration was started under Buffalo Common Council President Chris Scanlon's leadership with the help of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who praised the former acting mayor's dedication to proposing new solutions to the city's housing crisis.
"He took some really strong action, and I want to thank him for doing that. As a result of it, there are going to be more homes built in the City of Buffalo than were originally planned," Poloncarz said.
Scanlon said the Miami Street homes were a testament to the revitalization of the neighborhood, which had special significance to him.
"My father grew up two blocks from here, and I wish he would be here to see these additions, these new homes being built in a neighborhood that he loved, a neighborhood that has met means and has meant so much to my family and played such an important role in our family," he said.
Many of the new builds are sites of former vacant lots. Ryan has been critical of the city’s past demolition practices, which Fillmore District Buffalo Common Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski attributed to the current landscape of the city that lawmakers are trying to correct.
“It was common practice of city policies decades ago that they would demolish homes, demolish neighborhoods, and then have no plan to rebuild, leaving neighbors and community members in urban prairies and vacant neighborhoods,” he said.
Proceeds from the initial home sales will be reinvested to support future phases of construction.
Open houses will be held on the following dates:
• Saturday, May 2: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• Saturday, May 16: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• Thursday, May 21: 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Open house locations include:
• 440 Berkshire Ave.
• 362 East St.
• 233 Masten Ave.
• 206 Miami St.
• 251 Normal Ave.
