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UB to purchase downtown church property as medical school site

Deal paves the way for med school move

By Jay Rey and Jay Tokasz
NEWS STAFF REPORTERS
Published: April 05, 2010

A Buffalo church will sell one of the largest undivided pieces of property in the city to the University at Buffalo for $15 million, so UB can relocate its medical school and further develop a downtown campus.

St. John Baptist Church, which owns the coveted 15-acre parcel in the medical corridor, will use the money to jump-start its own plans for a $500 million revitalization of the historic Fruit Belt neighborhood.

Those plans — subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — include building townhouses where 150 tenants currently living in the subsidized McCarley Gardens apartments would be relocated.

The deal was scheduled to be announced today at a news conference with officials from the church and UB, who have long been in negotiations over the McCarley Gardens property along Goodell Street and Michigan Avenue.

"We have a shared vision for revitalization, and we agree on how to get it done," said UB President John B. Simpson.

It may be the most comprehensive urban development project under way in the country, said the Rev. Michael Chapman, pastor of St. John Baptist Church.

"We believe this is the best thing for the property, for the church and for the community," Chapman said. "We want the entire community to be blessed by this."

The $15 million deal comes during tough fiscal times for UB, but the land will be purchased by the UB Foundation, the nonprofit entity that manages the university's gifts, grants, philanthropy and fundraising.

The larger question is how UB will fund its ambitious — and expensive — plan to build the downtown campus.
It doesn't need the answer right now. While the agreement will be announced today, UB's acquisition of the property is expected to take several years.

The Oak-Michigan Housing Development Corp. — a development arm of St. John — must now put together a HUD-approved process to relocate tenants of McCarley Gardens, who have expressed their displeasure about being uprooted.

"We are like an extended family," said Lorraine Chambley, who opposes the deal. "There's no way we could get back what we have here."

Bounded by Michigan Avenue, Oak Street, Goodell Street and Virginia Street, the quiet, grassy neighborhood of two-story apartment buildings has marked the entry from the Kensington Expressway via Goodell into downtown since 1979.

The two-, three- and four-bedroom apartment units are still in decent condition and include residents who moved in when the buildings first opened. The buildings are surrounded by large swaths of grass where kids play and tenants mingle.
"It's a safe environment. Everybody looks out for each other's kids," said Jaime Rodriguez, whose mother, Lydia, lives in an apartment and would prefer to stay. "There's a lot of buildings in this town that aren't even occupied. Why don't they build there? It's crazy."

Upon HUD approving a relocation plan, St. John's development corporation will have four years to build the resident townhouses, slated for nearby High Street.

Construction is scheduled to begin by 2013.

St. John and UB also agreed to establish a joint panel that would help East Side residents take advantage of economic opportunities being created by the new development in the neighborhood.

If plans by both St. John and UB are fully realized, they would transform the medical corridor and the nearby 42-block Fruit Belt neighborhood.

St. John — which already has made strides developing new homes and townhouses in the Fruit Belt — has outlined a $500 million plan focused on developing a mixed-use commercial district along High, populated primarily by minority-owned businesses.

It would also include $60 million worth of new townhouses for the McCarley residents; housing for senior citizens; residential facilities for veterans; a $20 million youth center; a mental health facility; a grocery store and gas station; and a business training center.

Chapman acknowledged that there was some tenant opposition to the plan and that there was no way to duplicate McCarley Gardens at another site. But, he added: "No one can say this is not going to benefit this entire community."
Besides, the apartments were becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain, and the new townhouses would be better housing, he said.

"The whole community is behind this," said Chapman, citing the support of 63 community organizations, including the Buffalo Urban League and Community Action Organization.

UB, too, has set lofty goals to create a thriving campus downtown within the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, where it already has several buildings that are either open, under construction or in design.

UB coveted the McCarley Gardens site, because it would need more space for what it's planning.

While it could take decades, university officials envision moving all five health-related fields from the South Campus to downtown, including the Medical School, which would be the first to move to the McCarley site.

"Right now, where I sit, that's the most logical thing to do," Simpson said.

A burgeoning health sciences campus could ultimately draw 13,000 students, staff and faculty downtown.

"There are lots of important things to deal with before this becomes reality, and it's several years down the road," Simpson said of the land deal. "But it's a perfect location and has the potential for being a genuine campus that would have a significant effect on downtown."

Simpson's excitement, however, is tempered by the reality of the state's economic climate.
While the UB Foundation is financing the purchase of the property, he's worried the university won't have the means to do anything with it.

If UB — facing another round of steep state cuts — is going to have the funds to create a downtown campus, it will need reforms being proposed in Albany, Simpson said. That includes the flexibility to control tuition and develop private partnerships to help build projects.

"We need the tools to get the job done," Simpson said.

The announcement is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Rev. Dr. Bennett W. Smith Sr. Family Life Center, 833 Michigan Ave.