M&T Contribution Moves UCI Housing Program Forward

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A contribution of $31,000 a year for two years from M&T Bank will allow the University Community Initiative (UCI) to move forward with its housing acquisition, rehabilitation and resale program in the University Heights neighborhood of Buffalo.

The first house purchased and renovated through the program, located at 31 West Northrup Place, was put on the market at the end of last month. Moreover, UCI has contracts pending with property owners on West Northrup Place and Lisbon Avenue for the purchase of the other two houses in the initial three-house pilot program, says Danis Gehl, UCI project director.

Fannie Mae Corp. and the University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc., are funding the pilot program. The law firm of Magavern, Magavern and Grimm, LLP, is providing pro bono legal services.

"We're encouraged by the confidence in this project that M&T is showing through its two-year contribution," Gehl says. "We look forward to working with them and are pleased to have them join UBF and Fannie Mae in this venture."

The UCI housing program will benefit greatly the neighborhoods around UB's South Campus, noted James J. Beardi, president of M&T Mortgage Corp.

"By acquiring, rehabilitating and reselling homes on targeted blocks within our urban communities, UCI will have a positive impact on those neighborhoods," said Beardi. "This initiative will stabilize residential property values, invigorate nearby commercial districts and strengthen community institutions.

"M&T Bank is pleased to join with the University at Buffalo and Fannie Mae as a partner in the University Community Initiative."

As envisioned, the program would stabilize housing -- and thus renew the "university community" around the South Campus -- by attracting young households, including renters, and baby boomers to University Heights, the most visible and influential neighborhood in the area surrounding the South Campus.

A marketing study commissioned by UCI and funded with a $30,000 contribution from Fleet Bank determined that such a housing-rehabilitation project is feasible and would have a positive impact that would be "unparalleled in the region."

The house at 31 West Northrup Place, a 1 1/2-story, four-bedroom, single-family home, was purchased in October from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The house underwent extensive interior and exterior renovation.

Now that the three-house pilot project is well under way, UCI would like to "move forward and execute a fuller version of the project," Gehl says, adding that the contribution from M&T will go into the fund to purchase and rehabilitate additional homes.

She notes that the housing program is based on the concept of the block as the "unit of development." Based on this concept, UCI has begun its "block-focused activity," meeting with community stakeholders about the house at 31 West Northrup Place, she says.

UCI plans to coordinate the efforts of other community partners, including financial-service agencies, community-based organizations, residents and the City of Buffalo, to try to put together a package of resources that would be available to property owners, as well as other activities that could enhance the value and aesthetics of the block, Gehl says.

The housing project is one of several projects of UCI, a collaborative partnership led by the University at Buffalo, the City of Buffalo and the towns of Amherst, Tonawanda and Cheektowaga to stabilize, rebuild and revitalize the neighborhoods surrounding the South Campus.