Land Bank Saves Property From Demolition

From the Jamestown Post Journal

A house in Dunkirk has received a reprieve from the Chautauqua County Land Bank Corporation.

On Wednesday, land bank officials discussed the removal of a property on North Martin Street in the city of Dunkirk from the demolition list so it can be renovated. Gina Paradis, county Land Bank administrative director, said when two people showed interest in possibly rehabilitating the house, the property was removed from the land bank's list of demolitions. She said one of the parties interested in the property has decided they don't want to invest in rehabilitating the house, but the other party is still interested.

Paradis said the code officer in Dunkirk said the house is structurally sound and capable of being renovated. She said the code officer told her the potential purchaser has a good record for remodeling houses. The house has been vacant for three years.

Mark Geise, land bank executive director, said time is a factor, as the purchaser wants to be able to work on the house before winter arrives. Paradis added there are water issues that need to be dealt with before the weather turns cold. The land bank approved the purchaser's proposal.

In other land bank business, the board approved giving a potential buyer a second opportunity to purchase a house. Paradis said the property, located on Main Street in Dunkirk, had been approved by the board to be sold. However, since the board's approval, there have been several questions about the original proposal.

Geise said when the proposal was first made, land bank officials were under the impression they were dealing with a local contractor who would buy the property. It was later discovered the buyer is from the state of Washington.

Also, the purchaser wants to lower the original proposal from $50,000 to $20,000 because of local zoning laws. The purchaser wants to turn the two-unit house into a three-unit property. However, this is against the city's zoning laws and would require a variance from city officials.

''The deal has changed dramatically since the land bank approved it,'' Geise said.

Land bank officials decided to give the purchaser 10 days to sign the original contract or the property will be remarketed for sale. Peter Lombardi, land bank chairman, said this is the first time in the three-year history of the county land bank that this type of situation has occurred.

The land bank board approved the demolition of the Trophy Building in Fredonia. The land bank acquired the property through a real estate owned acquisition, said Geise. The property was slated for demolition, but Stephen Keefe, Fredonia mayor, asked the board to market the property instead because there was a prospective buyer. However, after the interested party looked at the property, they decided they would not be able to renovate it.