State purchases former Episcopal Church Home
“The former Episcopal Church Home – the key Busti Avenue property needed to expand and enhance the Buffalo plaza of the Peace Bridge – is now owned by New York State.
The purchase paves the way for an expedited development of the West Side parcels that stood at the heart of a bitter dispute between New York State and Canada over the pace of development on the Buffalo plaza of the Peace Bridge. The international dispute appeared to be settled last week when Cuomo and the U.S. and Canadian ambassadors announced in Buffalo an “understanding” that ensures continuation of previously approved bridge projects along with preliminary steps toward more development on the U.S. plaza.
The agreement also closes a long and dark chapter in the history of the Episcopal Church Home, a one-time major institution of Buffalo’s West Side that decayed and eventually closed after many years of plans for a new bridge or expanded plaza. The purchase avoids state fears of a protracted court fight to obtain the property, makes whole as much as possible the Episcopal agencies that once ran the home, and will result in eventual removal of the now-blighted buildings.”
McCarthy, Robert. Buffalo News 2 July 2013.