By Erica Bouska
The Record
TROY, N.Y. — The Troy Fire Department took down four more “Red X” signs on several buildings in the city this week.
The Red X — which Deputy Chief Jared Barringer pointed out is actually a white X on a red background — denotes a building that is unsafe for firefighters or other emergency services to enter. Though some may be past saving, the Troy Community Land Bank and the city would rather repair the buildings than tear them down.
“To me, the benefit is more than just the bricks and mortar,” said Land Bank Board Chair Jamie Magur. “It’s recreating, restabilizing neighborhoods, creating opportunity, and stabilizing the future for the City of Troy.”
The cost to repair the buildings ranges from $7,500 to $40,000, said Brad Lewis, executive director of the Land Bank. But it can cost the city $50,000 or more to demolish a building, he continued. Then, the city owns another empty lot that isn’t generating revenue.
Many people see Red Xs and think the house is falling down or is condemned, but as Lewis explained, two of the structures at 3229 and 3230 6th Ave. just needed rear decks built. They are now both safe to enter and the Red X is gone.
Others, like 3209 and 3211 7th Ave. across from the Lansingburgh Little League, look like they are in bad shape, Magur said. However, it needed a new subfloor and floor joists and could be turned into homes or multi-unit apartments for local people.
“You’re gonna knock a building down ‘cause it needs a deck? That’s crazy,” Magur said, referencing the buildings on 6th Avenue. When talking about the one on 7th, he said, “It’s just neglect. Neglect and not the right vision for it.”
Lewis said the Land Bank focuses on stabilizing these structures and preventing a hazardous situation from occurring as it continue to decay and deteriorate. If a building has to be demolished, that fee goes on the owner’s taxes. If the owner doesn’t pay, the building is foreclosed, the tax base is lowered and the city has to swallow the cost themselves.
It can create a cyclical problem, he continued. Besides the finances of the demolishing, it also can hinder development in the area and drive down property values.
The city is struggling with housing stock and these buildings are worth more to the neighborhoods by staying upright, Magur said. Sometimes it does cost more to rehab them, but Troy’s historic buildings can’t be recreated. Additionally, the current cost to build a structure of that caliber would certainly be higher, he said.
As far as the opportunities for residents, Magur said they give owner-occupied priority before leaning towards any other options for the buildings. After Tuesday morning, there are 49 Red X buildings left in the city.
Tuesday’s buildings were funded by the Land Bank Initiative Phase 2 funding from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). They work closely with the Code and Fire Departments to determine what exactly needs to be changed, Lewis said.
The four Red Xs coming down were a culmination of a plan from this fall, Lewis said. Lewis and Magur said they also benefit strongly from the amount and variety of experience from reality to construction to history at the Land Bank and on their board.
“This project here,” Lewis said about 3229 6th Ave. , “when we’re done, if we list it for sale or we take further development, either way, it symbolizes opportunity for somebody to potentially have two units of housing that’s already passed zoning and planning and everything else.”
Their projects generate taxes, as “evil” as the word might sound, Magur said. But it’s property tax and having a stable tax base can completely transform a neighborhood.
These properties and their taxes also create generational wealth, he and Lewis said. A lot of these places have good bases and the neighbors want to see them fixed up.
Magur pointed to the artwork on the boarded-up windows of the building on 7th Avenue . It was a range of designs with Spongebob, the Buffalo Bills and a living room with a Christmas tree. Someone spent money to do that because it’s such a cool building, he said.
“If you have the bones, which we have stabilized the bones, you put some love and care into it,” Magur said, “and then, you know, block by block the neighborhood comes back.”
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