BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- The Buffalo Zoning Board of Appeals halted plans to construct an apartment building at 794 Potomac Ave. in Elmwood Village.
Local architect Karl Frizlin wanted to build the 26-unit facility but he needed two variances to move forward with the project. Current zoning of the property only allows for 13 units.
The Zoning Board did not approve the variances after a public hearing on Wednesday.
Frizlin said he will now have to go back to the drawing board with the help of the community.
“I’m interested in working with them but here again there is financial feasibility that has to be considered, 13 units is not going to work,” he said. “Land is very expensive, the environmental cleanup costs might be very expensive, so yeah I wish I could just do 13 units.”
The building plans show the property would include two to three bedroom apartments and condos. It includes below-ground parking for about 57 vehicles. Frizlin said the building would’ve met the demand for handicapped accessible housing in Elmwood Village.
Residents critiqued his design and told News 4 the design was too big and didn’t fit the character of the neighborhood. They were also concerned people visiting the complex would create parking problems.
“I love to see development, I think it’s a good thing,” said Larry Wright, who lives two houses away from the property. “It’s just that this is the wrong project on the wrong street.”
Other people living nearby were concerned about privacy.
“This building is completely out of scale with what we have,” said Michael Tritto, who lives on Inwood Pl. “Our concern is that it will make it so unpleasant to live on the street in terms of traffic, in terms of the intrusion of privacy. A 26 condo development would have balconies that look out right to people’s homes, in their backyards, where nothing like that exists.”
Frizlin is now asking for community input as he works to come up with a new plan.
