In 2023, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced his intention to work with the City of Buffalo to invest nearly $25 million to build affordable homes throughout Erie County, with the county and city combining funds to build dozens of homes solely within city limits.
Two years later, officials got together to celebrate the groundbreaking for single-family home construction.
Groundbreaking on vacant lot where two new, affordable homes will be built at 440 and 442 Berkshire Ave. in the Kensington-Bailey neighborhood, part of a $24.5 million effort to bring more affordable housing to Buffalo.
Poloncarz, Mayor Chris Scanlon, Buffalo and Erie County Land Bank representatives and others stood together and shoveled some ceremonial dirt on a Berkshire Avenue lot in the Kensington Bailey neighborhood that will eventually become the construction site of two single-family, two bedroom homes, each just under 1,500 square feet. A similar home will be built on a vacant lot across the street.
These in-fill homes are among 47 new houses that will be built from scratch or trucked in as prefabricated, modular homes, starting with homes in the neighborhoods of Kensington Bailey, University Heights, the Old First Ward, the Lower West Side, Black Rock and Riverside.
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“This is not just about building a few homes across the community,” Poloncarz said. “It’s about getting the best bang for our buck to build the most homes that we possibly could in the neighborhoods that need it the most, and that’s what we’re here to do today.”
The 47 new homes were initially expected to cost more, which presented problems because that meant fewer homes could be built with limited funds, officials said. When this effort to bring more affordable housing inventory into the region was first announced, Poloncarz had said he expected the program to build at least 69 houses, possibly up to 100.
The plan for affordable homes was subsequently “value engineered” to bring down the costs to a more manageable level so that once the homes are sold, the proceeds can be used to build successive waves of affordable homes through the area.
“Through those efforts, the costs associated with each of these homes dropped by $100,000 collected through collaborative cost saving measures and construction solutions, working with Buffalo Construction and everyone involved,” Scanlon said.
The new homes include:
- 22 three-bedroom homes of about 1,485 square feet
- 13 three-bedroom prefabricated, modular homes of about about 1,250 square feet
- 12 two-bedroom modular homes of about 1,000 square feet.
The building costs of these homes are subsidized by the county and city so that while they may cost more than $300,000 to build, they could be sold to new owners at a cost of $250,000 to $275,000, said Jocelyn Gordon, executive director of the Buffalo and Erie County Land Bank, which owns the vacant land and is coordinating the home construction project.
The homes will be sold to first-time home-buyers whose incomes amount to 300% of the federal poverty level, Gordon said. That equates to more than $96,000 for a family of four.
The county is pitching in $13.5 million in American Rescue Plan funds, while Buffalo is contributing $11 million of the same federal stimulus funds toward the project. The state also has a $1 million affordable housing grant awaiting approval through Empire State Development. Because federal stimulus money is being used, the clock is ticking to get these homes built before the end of 2026.
Special sale provisions are also included in the sale of these affordable homes to deter house flippers. People who purchase these properties would be required to pay back the government subsidies if they were to sell the house within a few short years of buying it. The plan would also require that the home remain an affordable home for at least 15 to 20 years after it is built.
“So, the owner couldn’t sell it two or three years later, flip it, and create a nice, big profit on it,” Poloncarz said.
As new owners buy the homes and pay the mortgages, the city and the county would have a continuous revenue stream to build more affordable homes in the future, which would not be reliant on federal stimulus money, he said.
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