BUFFALO, N.Y. — A State Supreme Court Judge will decide the fate of the damaged Great Northern Grain Elevator in Buffalo after the opposing sides failed to reach a compromise this week.
The building's owner, ADM Milling, wants to tear down the structure that was damaged in a wind storm two weeks ago, while a preservation group, The Campaign for Greater Buffalo History Architecture and Culture, wants to save and repurpose it.
The judge involved with this case says the temporary restraining order barring demolition of the Northern Grain Elevator will remain in place pending a fact finding hearing scheduled for Monday, Jan. 3. According to court documents, the hearing will be limited to how the City of Buffalo reached the decision to grant an emergency demolition permit and if it had rational basis for issuing the order.
Both parties were ordered by Judge Emilio Colaiacovo back on Monday to participate in mediation and work out a deal. Those talks didn't last long, however, and ended Tuesday, pushing the decision to Judge Colaiacovo.
"We're looking at a decision from the judge sometime late next week, maybe early into the week after that," said Tim Tielman, executive director of The Campaign for Greater Buffalo History Architecture and Culture.
Through legal action, Tielman and his team were able to halt the City of Buffalo's Emergency Demolition Permit after ADM (Archer, Daniels, Midland) requested that the 1897 structure be torn down.
While the State Supreme Court has yet to rule, Tielman continues to try his case in the court of public opinion and released renderings Wednesday of what the Great Northern Grain Elevator and the surrounding area could look like if restored.
"We wanted to give people an idea of what the elevator would actually look like in full color when it was built, and how it can look like again if we're fortunate enough to get a positive decision from the court," Tielman said.
ADM has argued that the building in its current state is a safety risk, and in their demolition application, they cited multiple reports dating back to 2014 that suggested the building wasn't structurally sound, long before the December wind storm took out a wall.
The company also claimed that between 2003 and 2019 it spent $100,000 on exterior upkeep.
But if money is the issue, Tielman said historic tax credits and grants could be the solution to keeping the last of its kind grain elevator. Tielman explained that Great Northern purposely built the structure along Buffalo's waterfront to make use of Nikola Tesla's, then revolutionary, AC power.
Ganson Street was electrified in 1896 and the elevator opened in 1897.
"It's the oldest [grain elevator] we have standing, it's the absolute last of its type in the city. In fact, there is no other brick box elevator of this type in the nation," he said.
Tielman claims that two-thirds or more of the restoration costs could be paid for using historic tax credits and grants. The grain elevator is a registered national, state, and local landmark.
"20% credit from the federal government, 20% from the state, and 24% for brownfield remediation ... and then if you want at the end of the day, five years when these credits expire, you get another 30%. So in other words, you're at 94% of the cost of rehabilitation and cleanup, and Buffalo gets a fantastically restored monument," Tielman said.
Other than doing the work themselves, ADM does have another choice and could choose to sell the property to another private owner. Buffalo developers Douglas Jemal and Rocco Termini have expressed interest in the property, but like both the company, and the The Campaign for Greater Buffalo will now have to wait for Judge Colaiacovo's decision.
2 On Your Side reached out to ADM via email for this story at 4 p.m. Wednesday but did not hear back by the time it was published. An attorney for the company told reporters Monday, "We certainly will cooperate with what the judge has directed, and we'll be back here when the judge has a decision."
