Tag: Niagara falls

Funding Available For Niagara Falls: Vacant Rental Improvement Program

Revitalizing Niagara Falls: New Funding Program to Renovate Vacant Apartments

Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) is launching an exciting new initiative to breathe life into vacant rental properties in Niagara Falls, NY. Funded by New York State and administered by the Office of Community Renewal (OCR), The Vacant Rental Improvement Program (VRP) offers financial assistance of up to $75,000 to property owners who want to renovate empty apartments. The program aims to help owners of rental properties bring vacant units and spaces in small-scale properties back into productive use to create safe, quality, and affordable long-term rental units.

Deadline for First Round Application Submittal: Applications can be submitted through May 20th, 2025 at 5pm. You can submit the application here. Paper applications can be mailed, picked up or delivered if necessary – please call us for that.

Construction Timeline: Summer 2025 – Spring 2026.

Questions? Email VRP@pbnsaves.org or call 716-852-3300

How It Works  

The program provides grants to cover renovation costs for eligible vacant rental units. Funding can be used for essential repairs, safety upgrades, and modernization—turning neglected properties into safe, quality housing.  This program does not give money to owners directly – PBN administers the funds and will hire and manage all constriction. PBN will not approve any property owners that evict tenants specifically to take advantage of this program.

Eligible Participants

An eligible participant must meet the following criteria:

  • Ownership: must be the legal owner of one of the following:
    • 1-5 unit residential property
    • Mixed-use building with up to five (5) housing units
    • Other buildings that will be converted to one of the above
  • Compliance Period: A 10-year Regulatory Period will be required during which the owner must be willing to execute an agreement and rental covenant on assisted units that will subject units to rent limits and other requirements.
  • Additional eligibility requirements do exist and can be found on our website: https://preservationbuffaloniagara.org/techservices/vacant-rental-program-niagara-falls/

Informational Session for Property Owners

Virtual: May 13th  from 12:00 Noon – 1:00 pm

Preservation Buffalo Niagara is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom webinar. This webinar will cover the basics of the program and will have time for Q&A.
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bqTLyn57SF-p03Btz3LZpg
Passcode: 14301

Virtual: May 14th 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Preservation Buffalo Niagara is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom webinar. This webinar will cover the basics of the program and will have time for Q&A.
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yAMKJVTBQOS5G5W00cLo5Q
Passcode: 14301

In Person: May 15th 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.  Constance will be at the Misty Guild Café’ from 10am – 2pm to answer any questions and review the program with you as needed. No “presentation” will be given, this is meant to be a place to stop in casually if you have any questions / concerns. We will have paper applications on hand if anyone needs one.

Address: Misty Guild Café’ at 324 Niagara Street, Unit 103 New York 14301 (716) 215-6009.

We are excited to be able to assist property owners with important repairs! If there are any, please email VRP@pbnsaves.org or call 716-852-3300. For more about this program across New York State, you can find the details here: https://hcr.ny.gov/vrp

Save Our Sacred Sites Update: Attention Niagara Falls, NY !

As part of our ongoing Save Our Sacred Sites efforts, we know there are several Catholic Churches closing in Niagara Falls, NY. We also know there are many other Churches that are at risk and/or have recently closed.

We want to be a resource for you and your Church. While our tools are limited due to time and financial restraints, we want to help if we can. For example, once approved, our Local Landmark effort allows Churches to apply for important funding through NYS for repairs! We can do those local landmark applications for you – for a small fee to cover our costs of research and application.

So if you have a Church in your community that you want to see saved, please fill out this google form to let us know of the details and we will get back to you!

Also, if you didn’t catch it, we did a great lunch and learn with Monte Anderson, a Dallas-based Developer who has renovated several churches, and our Executive Director, Bernice Radle, on repurposing church spaces. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp6f7r0KLUY

Love,

Emily, Bernice, Laura, Constance, and the rest of the PBN team.

Preservation Win! The Turtle has been deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—

The Turtle has been deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

A Celebratory Gathering is Set for September 13th at Cataract House Park

Niagara Falls, NY – The Turtle (Native American Center for the Living Arts) has achieved a significant victory in its ongoing battle for preservation, receiving a Determination of Eligibility (DOE) from the Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. This DOE acknowledges the Turtle’s cultural and historical importance, making it eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places—a milestone that recognizes its vital role in Native American history and the heritage of Niagara Falls.

Despite this achievement, the fight to preserve the Turtle is far from over. Earlier this year, the Niagara Falls City Council controversially decided that the Turtle was not “historic enough” to warrant local landmark status. The DOE, granted by State Historic Preservation Officials, stands in stark contrast to the City Council’s ruling, affirming that the Turtle indeed holds significant historical value. The DOE addressed the age of the building by stating, “While planning for the project started in 1976 and it has not yet reached the 50-year mark, the building appears to be exceptionally significant for the relative rarity of its iconic zoomorphic form. The turtle holds great spiritual significance to the indigenous community, and its sitting, with its head raised to look over Niagara Falls, further connected it to this sacred location.”

The DOE is an essential step, but it is not the final one. While it confirms the Turtle’s eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, the next step requires action from the building’s owner to complete the formal nomination process. If successfully listed, the Turtle will gain national recognition and access to resources that could ensure its preservation for future generations.

To mark this achievement and to rally support for the ongoing efforts to save the Turtle, we invite the community to join us on Friday, September 13th, at 6:00 PM at Cataract House Park, located directly across from the Turtle. The event will include a presentation on the Turtle’s rich history, the significance of the DOE, and the path forward to secure its place on the National Register.

This gathering is more than a celebration—it’s a call to action. As we honor the Turtle’s legacy, we must also look to the future and what we can do to ensure it remains a vibrant part of our shared cultural landscape.

Event Details:

  • Date: Friday, September 13th, 2024
  • Time: 6:00 PM
  • Location: Cataract House Park, Niagara Falls, NY (across from the Turtle)

2024 Preservation Awards Announcement

It is time to announce the winners of the 2024 Preservation Awards!

We have 12 awardees this year that span across WNY in preservation advocacy, preservation craft, residential restoration, commercial restoration, emerging preservation leadership, lifetime achievement, and so much more. Each awardee was nominated directly by the community and was reviewed and selected by the PBN Nominating Committee. You can also see our past winners from 2023 here and you can read about our criteria and awards details here.  

This slideshow below is a teaser for you! We will be highlighting the stories of each one of the awardees over the next few weeks – to entice you to attend our award ceremony on May 30th at the Buffalo History Museum.  Our awardees span across WNY and are doing the hard work – putting the blood, sweat, and tears into leading by example. Because the celebrations are too few and stress is so high, must take time to celebrate and express gratitude. Come and celebrate the preservation wins with us!  You can get your tickets here. 

To all our winners – thank you. You’re doing great work and we all appreciate you. WNY is better because of your dedication and love for your work. We cannot wait to celebrate with you on May 30th at the Buffalo History Museum!

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