Buffalo Pursues Work on Disputed Cobblestone District Buildings

The ongoing battle over two buildings in the Cobblestone district continues, as the Buffalo Common Council voted Tuesday to approve and greenlight a series of emergency stabilization repairs the buildings’ owner has said he will not support. 

The buildings at 110-118 South Park Avenue were badly damaged in a fire in June, later determined to be “suspicious” by fire inspectors, and the owner, Darryl Carr, has sued the city to tear the buildings down. 

On Tuesday, the city did the opposite, approving a $395,000 contract with Regional Environmental Demolition of Niagara Falls, NY, to stabilize the buildings to prevent future harm and danger to the community. The work will include partial demolition to remove some extra weight and material from the buildings and restoring a portion of the wall that had been cut through by an excavator to help extinguish the fire on June 18. 

Carr has wanted to tear down the buildings and build a high-rise complex, something he’s sued the city to pursue, but the city has fought back and attempted to claim ownership of the dilapidated buildings through eminent domain, arguing that the buildings are historic and should be preserved and reused. 

In a statement released by the Common Council following the vote, the governing body says Carr had until the end of August to make the repairs himself. “The buildings, which once held promise as historic and potentially revitalized sites, have been plagued by neglect. The owner, despite being taken to housing court on multiple occasions, failed to maintain the properties, leading to their steady decline. Over time, the structures became increasingly hazardous, prompting community outcry and further legal action.” 

Regardless of Carr’s intent or willingness, the city says he will be on the hook to pay the $395,000 bill for stabilization work, including the 12% interest rate, and all fees will be collected through a lien against his tax bill or will be deducted from any proceeds he might be found eligible for through the adjudication of the eminent domain case. 

“We will keep pursuing, fighting to try to save this project and my life savings,” Carr said. 

He originally purchased 118 South Park in 2003 and 110 South Park in 2008, the latter of which was home to a blacksmith shop for more than 50 years. The other building was a biscuit maker during the Civil War before operating as a die casting company from 1950 through 1988. As a result, preservationists and historians say the buildings are critically important to Buffalo’s history and are among the oldest of the remaining buildings in the Cobblestone District, recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as a whole in 2014 after earning local landmark designation in 1994. 

Carr remains undeterred, saying the stabilization efforts are a “band-aid” and “a huge waste of taxpayer money,” adding that he will continue to challenge these efforts and the city’s intentions in court.