White Dove by Benjamin Moore on the walls with bright white semi gloss on the trim. Yes, there are differences with white paint and yes, they can be used together. We like it because it is sophisticated and lets residents use their furniture and decorations as the pop of color that you need. You can learn about white paint colors here!
This hallway is a dream. We did not install this, it came this way! I think it has to be about 80+ years old.
It’s rumored that Louise Bethune, America’s first female architect, bought the first women’s bicycle in Buffalo. She designed this beautiful space in 1888 at the age of 33! She must have been a badass. Sometimes I just can’t even imagine what she had to do to make it work. It’s hard for us in 2020! Can I get a YOU GO GIRL! for Louise Bethune?!
Just wait until this space is done. I know she’ll be proud. 💖
#femalearchitects #womenarchitects #louisebethune #architecture #tinceilings #pinkglass #womeninconstruction
One of our newest residents sent this photo to me. Squee!!! It’s temporary peel & stick wallpaper from Target. I’m in love! We use Chasing Paper before but never the target one. We love temporary stuff like this - it brings a little sparkle to the apartment!
If you’re a West Sider, you probably know about the Massachusetts Avenue Project. Every Thursday, they have a MAP Farm Stand Pop Up at their farm on Massachusetts Avenue across from the Boys and Girls Club and Massachusetts Avenue Park. It goes from 3pm - 6pm and you can order everything online and pick it up! It is so easy! We wanted to share it again, just in case you haven’t made it yet. It has become the weekly staple for many of our residents in the neighborhood.
https://www.mass-ave.org
We explored this historic mansion last week. We didn’t end up moving forward with it… for various reasons… but it was still a gem. Part of our job is analyzing risk and project scope instantly so we can make sure we don’t get in over our heads! This project had a lot of work to do and while I believe we can do anything we put our minds to, I also am a realist. Anyhow, I am sure someone will come to rescue it!
Proud Places has launched and we are all working to create fun and action oriented content for people to make and build places they’re proud of.
You can read the article I wrote here. It’s a good one - about how many people it takes just to get a lovable place up and running!
With love,
Bernice
It takes a village!
New York State has passed a series of NYS Fair Housing Laws in the last year. As of today, June 20, 2020, there are new rules about providing the fair housing discrimination notice and for it to be visible and available on our website. We have updated our processes and website to reflect the requirements because Buffalove Management LLC is a licensed broker in New York State.
You can find the new Fair Housing information here: here.
You can also find the NYS Fair Housing Disclosure Form HERE.
With Buffalove,
The Buffalove Team
Jen, Alli and I will be doing a version of our “Lady Developers” talk from the Congress for New Urbanism today at 4pm. It should be a blast. We typically talk about projects, how hard it is, what it is like to do development with babies in the mix, how to make things cute AF, etc. What fun it is! We hope you’ll join us.
To watch: Go to the DOWNTOWN HAPPY HOUR facebook page (Here is the link) and they will broadcast it LIVE at 4pm.
Quarantine has kept us busy on daily needs but we have been focusing on a couple of really important extras. One of them launches today, it’s called Proud Places.
"Our places shapes our lives, and every single person deserves to live in a place that fosters community, promotes dignity and makes them feel proud. Join us today at 5:30pm edt as we announce a new endeavor aimed at reshaping our places to be worthy of the people that inhabit them."
Buffalove Development is excited (dare we say, proud?) to be a contributing partner to this organization along with people from around the world who are moving and shaking in their communities.
You can check out Proud Places here.
Join us for the launch today at 5:30pm! https://www.facebook.com/groups/217779022781533/
One of our new residents, Sarah, sent this text to us… along with this photo. She was excited to have a chair that matches the countertop. As a team, we all cheered!
“I've had my life in boxes for years because of living in small spaces Brooklyn. I literally moved back home to Buffalo to have a space to finally unpack and make feel like home. Glad to put down some roots in such a beautiful spot with an amazing community and fantastic management team. Thank you. Sincerely. “
Planters can play such a critical role in bringing comfort to the street and smiles on your faces. When your neighborhood is lacking street trees, big planters in the hell strip can close the street in a bit to calm the traffic. And if you think the flowers are going to get stolen… yes, that may happen but more often than not, I lose flowers because the squirrels dig in there!
The ingredients: Home Depot 20” planter for $12, one concrete block smashed up in the bottom, two bags of soil and flowers. In this case, these bluebells were donated by a local instagram friend who wanted to help make her old neighborhood a little more beautiful.
Simple!!
With the weather breaking, we are focusing our energy on getting our giant hell strip planters cleaned and filled with annuals and the community garden cleaned up and ready for planting!
We added fresh soil and compost, planted some strawberries and scallions, got some annuals (Cosmos, dusty miller, petunia) in the front beds so it will shine as the summer comes. We planted a ton of wild flowers for the front two beds and sunflower seeds. We already have lettuce, collards, kale and fresh scallions in the garden right now!
Now we have to fix the front fence piece, get the veggies in and set up the rain barrel!
P.S. Can we just take a moment to appreciate this all black wheel barrow? We picked it up at Dibble, our local hardware shop. They get me.
P.P.S. You’re probably wondering why this matters to a “developer”. We have news for you - we like to develop smiles AND homes. Flowers make people smile so we’re ok with it. Gardens bring people joy, including us!
Right before Valentine’s day, we asked the community to make calls to save this little cottage - it was going to be demolished by the City of Buffalo because the front house was a huge health and safety issue. The front building was ultimately demolished but the City of Buffalo gave us some time to find a solution for the rear little cottage that dates back to 1870 or so. Phew!
We are currently trying to track down the owner. This is the vacancy vortex in a nutshell.
The good news is:
It is boarded up - thanks to Jeff and Yoav from our team who got some boards on the windows.
We have support from Preservation Buffalo Niagara - they helped immensely with the discussions at City Hall for us. (Thanks PBN!)
We also have loads of interest from people who want to buy it as well, which is a great thing.
Thank you to everyone who made calls to City Hall! We appreciate it so much. We are keeping an eye out as best as we can. (Our office is right across the street!) It will be saved - we just have to get it unstuck.
Stay tuned.
Why a bus stop doesn’t have benches is beyond us. People get their groceries and need to wait for the bus - they can at least have a seat while they wait. It breaks our hearts to see families sit on the ground. Anyhow, we fixed the problem. It isn’t perfect but it does the trick. Inspired by this super cute bench with a planter (bottom left photo) we saw in Berlin! Small and incremental changes really matter.
Without music, I’d be lost. It define trips, days, seasons, feelings, etc… all the things.
I thought it would be fun to share the playlist that I tend to put on as I am working. It’s upbeat, minimal words, optimistic and features a lot of random indie artists that Spotify has helped me find over the years. If you’re looking for something to listen to, check this out!
Love, Bernice
Friends, this is what incremental small scale development looks like. Today @whatspopinpopcorn has their grand opening. 🎉
As of today, just over a year later, the Huntress (yes, that is her name) is operating at full speed on Chenango and W. Ferry. She’s a West Side warrior. She’s timeless and fierce. A champion of small business. A little engine that could. This Titan Titan is the home of three businesses and a house. Three small businesses who took the leap to make their dreams come true.
I love little buildings like this. They contribute so much to our world yet are often overlooked for larger bigger projects because they’re not as shiny or new. But these little neighborhood buildings matter so much more to our community. They contribute to our walkability, our tax base and our local employment and make our neighborhood more livable and lovable.
The photos tell a story over one year. A spectacular apartment renovation, getting the storefronts up to speed, doing pop up dinners and art shows to gain momentum. Getting @whatspopinpopcorn @topcoatnaillounge and @theblackbirdsphotography up and running... and photos of most of the people who helped make it happen.
I have to thank @maggiemayham for finding it, @littlewheelhustle for the muscle, @kylemgregory for answering my last minute call and believing in me, @theblackbirdsphotography for not thinking I was crazy and taking beautiful photos, @austin_dianaa @whatspopinpopcorn and @topcoatnaillounge for inspiring me with their hustle and commitment and @rudeboyzartworks for hunkering down in the beginning with us which kept us going while we figured some things out.
This isn’t a perfect building. We made mistakes that we turned into lessons for next time. But this is how it happens... one foot in front of another. More importantly, this is how is has to happen for Buffalo to grow and be a more sustainable and resilient community.
Join us today at the Grand Opening! If you can’t, try to support these businesses when you can.
With all our hearts and all the buffalove,
Bernice and the Buffalove squad. #fivepoints #westside #buffalo ##popcorn #incrementaldevelopment
Take a look at this new video made by the Incremental Development Alliance! I am a proud faculty member of this non profit organization. The video sums up why we are working so hard to get so many home grown locals trained and ready to do something special in the place they live and love.
With love,
Bernice
As luck would have it, I found myself in Austin for a few days partially for work and partially for fun. Austin is the 2nd fastest growing city because it is a huge tech city. Austin has a lot of growth issues but also an old school weird vibe that combines southwest and Portland together. While we here in Buffalo are very different from Austin, there is so much to take in as you walk around and so much can be applied to our work here!
Here are some of the things that inspired me the most about Austin, Tx.
Austin is a super dog friendly city. Dogs everywhere! What a simple way to accommodate folks. We are getting a dog bowl and treats out for our residents and neighbors ASAP.
Patios are important… and so is being silly. “Guac this way” really made me giggle. Note: this is a restaurant but do you see the name anywhere? No… and that is OK.
This door and this color palette made my heart explode.
Murals don’t always have to be elaborate. Even the simple ones can create fuzzy feelings and happiness!
I’ve been a huge fan of fake grass rugs for a while… but seeing it be really popular in Austin made me happy. More of this…because, why not?
Waiting in line is OK… and when the rent is high, don’t be afraid to mix uses in one place. LA Barbecue has a BBQ line, a coffee shop and a grocery store. We waited in line for over an hour for the BBQ… it was so worth it! (Women owned and locally sourced meat, I might add!)
Neon EVERYWHERE. Austin has this mid century vibe so it makes sense. There were neon signs for restaurants and stores …coffeeshops… bars… you name it, there may have been neon. It is really impressive!
Hi Friends!
A mentor of mine always says - you’ve got to sow the seeds behind you. When Arvi asked me if she could shadow me for a day, I was thrilled to say yes. Arvi is a 23 year old who already has two properties! She’s TWENTY THREE. She’s really working hard to figure out her way and I hope I can help her out as she develops her skills and voice. She was lucky enough to go to City Hall with me to attend the City of Buffalo Zoning Board meeting… and didn’t find it boring. We had a full day of meetings, interviews, project discussions, zoning and drinks afterwards. Here we are - two tiny titans inside the beautiful City of Buffalo City Hall.
If you’re in a position to share your wisdom, do it. Only together can we make our communities stronger!
xoxo,
Bernice
Buffalove Development LLC
Bernice Radle
Bernice Radle - CEO / Founder of Buffalove Development LLC & Managing Member of Buffalove Management LLC.
Office: 716.235.5563
bernice@buffalovedevelopment.com
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