The Preservation Board will be reviewing redevelopment plans for the Quick House at 72 Sycamore Street. The project will utilize funding from state and federal historic tax credits and will contain offices for Preservation Buffalo Niagara and Heart of the City Neighborhoods. Plans for an addition to the building are on hold for now.
The three-story plus basement building was constructed in 1848 by entrepreneur Eliza Quirk. 72 Sycamore is locally designated as part of the Michigan-Sycamore Historic District, is individually listed on the State Register of Historic Places, and National Register listing is pending.
From the Application:
The goals of this project are to provide office space for two non-profit organizations on the second and thirds floors, meeting space for those organization and the community of the first floor, and a classroom/workshop space in the former storefront space in the lower level. Along with Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN), the other organization planning to inhabit the building is Heart of the City Neighborhoods (HOCN), an organization focused on affordable housing. This rehabilitation will help reactivate the urban context and street life along this unique and historic section of Sycamore Street at the eastern edge of downtown.
The exterior scope of work includes:
• Repointing and limited rebuilding of exterior brickwork where required at all elevations. The strength of existing bricks will be tested prior to work and the historically appropriate mortar type selected, mostly likely Type N.
• The strength of the existing brick at the front façade below the existing paint layers has been tested and determined not able to withstand general weathering. Paint removal will be undertaken using the gentlest effective means. Since the brick has been found to be too soft to withstand general weathering, the brick will be repainted.
• The existing windows are recent vinyl replacements. These will be replaced with new wood windows at the front (south) elevation only, and aluminum-clad wood windows at the remaining elevations. The sash will have a 6-over-6 muntin pattern consistent with the Federal architectural style of the building. See enclosed cut sheet from Weathershield.
• The main low-slope roof has already been removed to the wood deck, the deck repaired, and new insulation and EPDM installed. The lower low-slope roof at the north addition has not been replaced and will be during this project. These roofs are not visible from the street. The simple wood cornice at the top of the front façade will be repaired or replaced in kind.
• The existing deteriorated wood front stair will be removed and a new more ornamental masonry stair will be constructed, with a design derived from rowhouses elsewhere in Buffalo and the Northeastern US.
• The existing paired hollow metal front doors will be removed and new historically-appropriate doors will be installed filling the full 8 foot height of the original opening at this location.
• The existing cast iron storefront at the lower level will be rehabilitated, the existing infill will be removed and new glass will be installed, and the existing concrete stair leading down to it will be repaired.
• The existing metal fire escape will be removed from the rear of the building and the brick repaired at the removal points.
• At the west elevation, one basement window will be removed and one new door will be installed at the first floor to provide exterior access to the interior lift (will be a 3-stop lift from the basement to grade to the first floor).
• Existing ivy will be removed from the side and rear walls.
Plans for an addition at 68 Sycamore are on hold (below). Six apartments were proposed for the larger project but PBN was not successful in securing a low-income housing grant. Therefore, 72 Sycamore will be all office and workshop space.
“We do have an exciting interim use for the lot,” says Jessie Fisher, PBN Executive Director. “Wath for some fun announcements about that soon. We didn’t want to let the existing building languish while we raised funds for the new build portion.”
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