The Glenny Drive Apartments (also known as Kensington Heights or Kensington Towers) were a

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

project built during the expansion of public housing in the United States in the 1950s.

History

The complex was finished in 1958 on the site of a former

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

, and consisted of six seven-story brick apartment buildings, each containing approximately 67 units. The housing complex was spread across 12 acres and located next to the Kensington Expressway (

New York State Route 33 New York State Route 33 (NY 33) is an east–west state highway in western New York in the United States. The route extends for just under from NY 5 in Buffalo in the west to NY 31 in Rochester in the east. It is, in fact, t ...

) and behind

Erie County Medical Center Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) is a hospital with 550 beds located in the East Side of Buffalo, New York and a member of the Great Lakes Health System. It is the primary teaching hospital for the University at Buffalo. It is also a New York S ...

. The site was built by New York State using bonds and managed & maintained by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority. During the construction of the

Kensington Expressway New York State Route 33 (NY 33) is an east–west state highway in western New York in the United States. The route extends for just under from NY 5 in Buffalo in the west to NY 31 in Rochester in the east. It is, in fact, ...

, any family displaced was given priority in the complex.

End of use

With reduced federal funding and increased operating and utility cost, maintenance of the buildings began to suffer and living conditions of the Glenny Drive Apartments began to decline. By the end of the 1970s, Kensington Heights had a vacancy rate of 64.7% (240 vacant units out of 371 available units). In 1980, a relocation plan was approved and the remaining residents were relocated. The site remained vacant for nearly three decades, becoming significantly deteriorated and vandalized in the process. Demolition began in 2009 but was quickly stopped after concerns about asbestos removal in the buildings. Demolition resumed in 2012. The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority put the property for sale in July 2016 with one tower still standing.

purchased the property in 2017 and plan to use the site for parking. The last tower was demolished in October 2018.

References

{{reflist Residential buildings completed in 1958 Public housing in the United States Buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York Urban decay in the United States

History

End of use

See also

References