BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Marine Drive apartments have been a fixture on the Buffalo waterfront since the 1950s.
It is state public housing with a spectacular view of the now booming Buffalo waterfront.
Located at the east end of the Erie Basin Marina, the seven-building complex sits on over six acres and it's not as eye-catching as the waterfront townhouses and condos just steps away. RealtyUSA commercial realtor George Hamberger said people are often surprised to see the buildings still standing. He remembers when they were built. "It was originally Dante Place (Dante Projects) and it was a very scary neighborhood, with all the guys from the grain ships and everything."
Each apartment building has 12-floors. It's run by Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority (BMHA). It is not subsidized housing.
Developers readily acknowledge it is prime real estate. Residents who live there know it too as many pay monthly rent between $450-$750.
Meanwhile, according to Hamberger, "a few feet away they're paying a fortune.The homeowners fee I think for some of those towers is like $1,200 a month."
Marine Drive resident Marcia Roberts works and pays just under $400 a month for a two-bedroom apartment. She said, "it's only a matter of time before they send us all out, I have no idea where, so they can knock them (apartments) all down and put up the high rise expensive (condos) like in the high rent district."
Fillmore District councilman David Franczyk knows the property is prime, but cautions,"everyone of any income and all incomes, rich, poor have a right to live on the waterfront."
Over a decade ago, there was a proposal for residents to purchase their individual units at an affordable price.
Hamberger said it was very well received and the plan was discussed from the end of the former Masiello administration through the start of the current Brown administration.
"It was very frustrating because it was going to be a total re-due of the place. We were going to put balconies on the outside of each apartment," Hamberger said
As far back as 2003, the former BMHA Executive Director Sharon West said the longterm plan was to privatize Marine Drive.
In 2017, the BMHA's administration clamed the "plan is for Marine Drive to remain affordable public housing managed by BMHA and that there are no plans to sell Marine Drive."
They acknowledge BMHA made upgrades to the sprinkler systems, gas lines and water lines. Nearly $700,000 was spent on capital improvements in 2016.
590 of the 616 apartments are occupied.
Back in 2003, when the city was looking at selling Marine Drive, the price tag was up to $37 million dollars.