The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority and its selected development team have submitted plans to redevelop the Shaffer Village housing development in Riverside for City approval. The Buffalo Equitable Housing Collaborative, which consists of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority (BMHA), Bridges Development, JHM Group, The Richman Group, and Penman Development Partners are working with HHL Architects and Wendel to implement the project.
The project plan aims to improve the existing conditions of Shaffer Village. The existing site is a “super-block” campus, with no public streets, a dense building layout, a lack of architectural diversity, and minimal shared common spaces.
From the Project Description:
The Shaffer Village redevelopment will include demolition of the existing buildings on-site and the construction of approximately 217 housing units, a community center/office building, utility/maintenance building, approximately 151 on-street and 222 off-street parking spaces, and “flex space” (enclosed playgrounds, bioretention areas, or green space). The central community building will provide an indoor community gathering space, gym, and computer room for residents to use.
In order to re-integrate the Shaffer Village campus with the greater Riverside neighborhood, the project will also reconnect the street grid by extending Chadduck and Henrietta Avenues to Isabelle Street (see master plan below). These extensions will be designed to provide two-way circulation. A new loop road will serve the portion of the site east of Isabelle Street.
The new buildings will be a mix of two-story townhouses and duplexes and three-story apartment buildings (except for the senior apartment building on Ontario Street, which will be four stories), and include a range of units of differing sizes, from one-bedroom units to five-bedroom units. These buildings will vary in design and face the street, blending the new campus into the surrounding neighborhood. There will also be improvements to the public realm (e.g. streetscape, sidewalks). The master plan includes perimeter fencing, clear sight lines, and dedicated porches and entrances for each residence (except for the apartment buildings). There will be no dead-end streets and all of the sidewalks will be accessible.
The redevelopment of Shaffer Village will significantly improve the character and quality of the surrounding community. The current layout of the housing complex isolates the residents from the rest of the Riverside neighborhood. The new master plan will integrate the buildings into the community by extending Chadduck and Henrietta Avenues to Isabelle Street, thereby reconnecting the street grid; siting buildings to front on Ontario Street, as well as the extended Chadduck and Henrietta Avenues; including a variety of different housing types, such as single-family townhouses, two-family upper/lower flats, and larger apartment buildings; and incorporating the architectural vernacular of nearby residential structures into the architectural design of the buildings.
The Planning Board will review plans to subdivide the site at its Monday meeting. The design of the new buildings has not been released but was hinted at in the massing exhibit below.
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