United House of Prayer for All People will have to wait a while longer before it can start its 28-unit townhome project on Adams and Watson streets, after the Buffalo Zoning Board of Appeals approved five variances, but tabled four others related to its design.
The East Side apostolic church wants to construct a set of 14 attached townhouse buildings in four clusters at 151 Adams St. and 162-164 Watson St., using a 1.2-acre site between the two parallel streets, with two apartments in each townhouse, for a total of 28 units.
Each three-story building would have a middle and end multilevel unit, with six one-bedroom units of 856 square feet, eight two-bedroom units of 959 square feet and 14 three-bedroom units of 1,824 square feet.
The property currently consists of vacant land and a three-story vacant brick warehouse complex from 1900 that would be demolished. The church plans to remediate the site under the state Brownfield Cleanup Program prior to construction. It obtained a designated-developer agreement with the city for the properties, and had previously asked the Common Council to rezone them from single-family residential to allow multifamily housing.
“It would not be financially feasible for the Church to develop the Project in a manner consistent with its project objectives and plans without the requested relief being granted by the ZBA,” project attorney Ryan P. McCarthy wrote. “The Project site will be improved by removing an abandoned structure, remediating environmental contamination, and providing safe, efficient housing and other site improvements for neighborhood residents to enjoy.”
Based in Washington and founded in 1919, United House of Prayer has 137 congregations nationwide – including a block away at 60 Howard St. – and has been active in residential and other development projects around the country. The project is designed to “encourage connection between Adams and Watson Street, allowing residents easy access to the church” and the William-Emslie YMCA, “contributing to a vibrant neighborhood community,”
The ZBA will take up the proposal again on Oct. 15. The project also requires site plan approval. The church is also building a single-family parsonage house on Howard for its own needs.
“The current proposal as presented is the best use of the land,” McCarthy wrote. “If the variances sought are not granted, it would dramatically limit the applicant’s ability to realize their optimal site plan, reducing the number of units that can be constructed, as well as increasing project costs. Such revisions to the plans would make the project financially unmanageable. We respectfully submit that there is no feasible alternative to the variances requested.”
Reach Jonathan D. Epstein at (716) 849-4478 or jepstein@buffnews.com.
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Jonathan D. Epstein
News Business Reporter
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