Cynthia Gardens Housing Development
294-302 Hudson Street

What Is The History of This Property?

In the mid 1890’s, a beautiful and luxurious apartment building was constructed at 294 Hudson Street called “The Valois.” This lot was originally home to the entrance of the Sideway Mansion, The apartment building was designed in the French Gothic style by architect Fred Harvey Loverin, built of Roman-shaped buff brick and trimmed with Ohio buff sandstone. The main entrance floor was finished with mosaic tile with marble trim and its halls were floored with white oak.  Unfortunately, this 12 unit building burnt down in 2001 and was demolished. Since then, 294-302 Hudson Street had been a vacant lot.

Why a New Build?

In order to fill the void this large vacant lot created in the community, HOCN decided to reintroduce the original use of this land- residential rental housing. As a community development corporation, we value quality affordable housing for all. These eight units will provide just that, a direct response to the lack of quality affordable rental opportunities for working families in our neighborhood. When rents are guaranteed to remain stable, tenants move less often.

How Is It Designed?

• Two townhouse-style buildings that are designed to reflect the neighborhood’s historic character.
• The exterior uses fiber cement or “hardie board” siding.
• There are four 2-bedroom apartments (2-4 person capacity) and four 3-bedroom apartments (3-6 person capacity).
• All eight units come complete with  spacious  bedrooms, plenty of windows for natural lighting, central air, a private porch overlooking Hudson Street, bistro-style kitchen, laundry room, dining room, and in-unit storage. In addition, all units have been furnished with new appliances, including a refrigerator, range oven, dishwasher, and an in-unit washer and dryer.

What Makes This Development Green?

• The development follows the NYS HCR Green Building Initiative.
• It is sensitive to addressing the Buffalo Green Code which outlines sustainable / livable communities.
• The units will come complete with energy-efficient appliances and heat-saving windows.
• Landscaping will be incorporated into this design, including native plants specific to the neighborhood

How Will This New-Build Integrate Into the Community?

• From the street, these two town-house style buildings will look like two double-family homes, integrating with surrounding structures.
• Although this property is not located in the Historic Allentown District, the design was sensitive to the proximity and incorporated the district’s characteristics.
• We have also submitted to NYS Historic Preservation, and were approved as presented.
• As per the Buffalo Ordinance Off-street parking spots are provided for tenants who have vehicles (a maximum of 8 vehicles may be parked in this lot).
• Section 2.4.16 of the Buffalo Comprehensive plan outline a strategy in which the city would like to have vacant lots infilled with housing or other appropriate use.
• We hope to provide a bicycle rack for tenants with bicycles.

Who Will Own and Manage This Property?

• HOCN will manage the development when it is complete.
• We will be looking to hire a property manager as well as lawn and snow removal services when construction is complete. These services have been budgeted into the grant funding this project.

What Are Some Other Facts?

• Because this development is only 8 units, it will be utilizing no more than 4 garbage totes and four recycling totes; no dumpster will be utilized at this property for trash removal. All bins will be taken to/returned from the curb by the property manager.
• A six-foot wood panel fence will be placed around the perimeter of the rear of the building. This is to preserve adjacent neighbor’s privacy and to reduce any noise.
• Air conditioning units will be installed in the recess of the building volumes in order to reduce noise for our neighbors.
• Cynthia Gardens is part of a comprehensive strategy to assure quality affordable housing for all residents in our service area, homeowners and tenants alike. Information on our other programs can be found here.

How Can I Apply to Be A Tenant?

More information on the application process can be found here.