Application to demolish Cobblestone District buildings filed with city
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- It has been four months since two buildings caught fire in Buffalo's Cobblestone District, which sparked a new chapter in a long legal fight over what should happen to the historic structures.
For years, there have been numerous legal battles over the buildings and now, an application has been filed to request the demolition of the buildings after they caught fire on June 18. No charges were filed following the fire, which the city called suspicious.
That application was filed with Buffalo's Preservation Board, which will address the application in a public hearing Thursday afternoon.
Darryl Carr, the owner of the buildings, will make his case as to why he thinks the buildings are a danger to the public.
"If you can see behind me, the center building they didn't touch and that's completely collapsed. The buildings they took down, like I said, they took down 75 percent of the square footage of the buildings," Carr said. "All that's left is two stories of a façade, there's nothing left of the building."
Carr wants the buildings to be torn down to put up a massive skyscraper called the "Unity Tower" with renal units.
The city's Department of Permit and Inspection Services said the buildings can still be stabilized and repaired, which the city wants Carr to pay for this out of his pocket. There is also a pending eminent domain case on the buildings.
Carr is hoping a new administration in City Hall will be receptive to tearing down the buildings.
"I want to have a conversation with the mayor, at the time it was Mayor Brown, now we have a new young, energetic mayor in, Chris Scanlon, which I think he's going to move the city forward so now we can start maybe a new conversation and see what we can do going forward to really energize development in Buffalo," Carr said.
Thursday's Preservation Board meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Buffalo City Hall.
Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.