nice success story. reclaiming buffalo - one house at a time. and although i think kleinhans community association is the best & most effective of the true grass roots not-for-profits in the city of buffalo - joe delaney, dave stieglitz & john gulick are all current or former board members of "heart of the city neighborhoods, inc." (HCN) at 42 plymouth. they have made it their mission to reclaim the first block of plymouth avenue. so i'm guessing HCN deserves some credit for this project.
Thanks for bringing that up. I will do some research on that group and put together a future BRO piece on them.
There are very few buildings that "can't be saved". This proves it. People want to live in interesting urban neighborhoods. Preservation works. And it is slowly but surely revitalizing the city. Thanks to everyone involved.
I met these guys during Brush Up Buffalo, we were working on the house across the street. It is fascinating to see what they are going to restore this house, the rehab is definitely costing more than the house is currently worth; but the owner told me that his investment would pay off substantially in the future. This neighbourhood is on the rise!
These guys on the project are THE BEST around. This structure couldn't be in better hands. Joe & David are very experienced Architects, and John is an excellent craftsman. I can't wait to see the results.
Preservation works if you have the money to do it. Last I checked the majority of city folk werent doing all that well so to be one who preserves such homes ends up being an exclusive niche in the market for those with the resources and know how to do it. Meanwhile other areas of the city continue their downward spiral into decay. It ultimately still comes down to jobs. I think boy last year I had just graduated UB with a masters degree and was hoping to stay in Buffalo to live near friends, family, places I know and enjoy, the streets I know so well from Niagara Falls to Amherst and Lancaster and Tonawanda, And Cheektowaga, downtown, north Buffalo and everywhere pretty much and now I find myself in Virginia because I couldnt find employment. I'm doing well down here but i'm another Buffalo boy gone. I was born at Sisters Hospital and here I am living in Virginia. I think of it as a new perspective, a means to gain experience and meet new people and learn about a new area. But Buffalo honmestly if you want to keep the money in the area to support business and "preservation" you really need to shape up and become a pro business place and get that city moving progressively. Things need to be built on a large scale because the rest of the country continues to grow. Just drive down I-95 and you'll know what I mean. Stop the petty BS tying evbery large development proposal and killing it. Do something, you cant preserve everything and i'm one less person in the area with the earning power to help in that process. The town I know and have loved so much my whole life effectively booted my ass. I'm not bitter but I am. I'm also very homesick but thats how it goes and there are plenty of Buffalonians down here I have met to back me up.
flyguy, preservation is part of an economic development strategy. It doesn't pay off immediatly and there are some bigger fish to fry such as lowering taxes but restoring a house can help lift taxable property values of neighboring houses and create the momentum to turn a neighborhood around. It is very relevant to the ecomomic rebirth of the city but just on a smaller scale. And preservation has hardly killed anything in Buffalo. There are special interests that might kill a project but little concerted effort by a large group of perservationists. The only real example is bass pro but that goes beyond preservation issues.
Well, flyguy, let those with the money continue to preserve. Does anyone lose? If not for them, there would be so much more lost than we are already losing with the hackneyed phrase, "you can't save everything." We are actually saving very little.
Preservation is the best economic development program we've had in the past 30 years. None of those silver bullets (Convention Center, Main Place Mall, ballpark, etc.) did nearly as much as reclaiming old buildings for new uses, especially downtown. Taxpayers benefit by having rising property values that improve the City's bottom line and because most of it is done with private investment.
Hey Flyguy, why don't you stay in Virginia and hang out with Bruce Smith. Don't expect me to host an Old Home Week and beg you to move back. You left, so long. If you couldn't build a career here, then you are more of the problem and most likely not capable of being part of the solution. When we speak of preservation, one fellow mentioned it being an economic stategy. That's one way to look at things. The other is that if something is of value, and doesn't always mean monitarily, if it's of value, that could be artistically, historically, or culturally, then it is worth saving. If it makes a contribution to improving society, then it's worth repairing, restoring, refurbishing, etc etc. There are people that leave, people that return, and those that stay. Give my regards to Bruce !!! Maybe you can find a Buffalo Bar to hang out at on Sundays.
Willie1...YOU ARE A MORON AND A TOOL. People who want to live in Buffalo and have a MASTERS DEGREE but can not find work are not the problem. People like you are.
The reason why Buffalo is in the shitter is people like you say things like "If you couldn't build a career here, then you are more of the problem and most likely not capable of being part of the solution."
One, great to see what is happening at this property. And two I get uneasy every time someone mentions job loss or lack of jobs in this town. Look at what has happened in the past few years... Jobs; Geico, Citi Group, New Era, Labatt Blue, a few bio techs and for the blue collar crowd the newly approved clean coal power plant in the Tonawanda’s and the ethanol plant. Projects; Federal Courthouse, Statler, Larkin, ECC Dorms, Dulski, 33 gates circle, Pierce arrow building, Buffalo City Tower, Water Front, 50 Court St. Waterfront Condo Tower, Health Now, Webb building (I know I missed a bunch and a lot of these are not approved yet and I’m sure I misspelled a few) but regardless, simply amazing to look at when compared to the past few decades and I'm sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. Now I know Buffalo is far from perfect but I believe tremendous progress has been made over the past few years so we should be keeping our heads up. If you have relocated but wish to come back just wait a short while… the time will come.
Andrew - Let's look at Northern Virginia for a few seconds - since 1996 the economy for Fairfax, Loudon, Prince William, and Arlington Counties has grown an average of 5% each year. Why, two words for you.. FEDERAL PROCUREMENT... the federal government has spent more almost $4 BILLION dollars in Northern Virginia in the years following 9/11. Employees with a security clearance are in such high demand in Virginia that an administrative assistant, with a basic security clearance can earn $90,000+ a year working for any one of the many federal contractors in the region, and there are many of them. I have a friend who worked for BAE systems for 6 months for $65,000, was recruited by, and accepted a job with, Raytheon for $75,000 where he upped his clearance level. Three months later he was recruited by SAIC for $90,000, four months later he moved to CACI for $94,000 and a signing bonus, then back to Raytheon a year later for $115,000, followed by CSC for $121,000, then back to Raytheon less than a year later for $130,000. CACI recruited him back for $150,000, but he decided to accept a position with Northrup Grumman for $165,000. Not bad for a self-proclaimed slacker, without a bachelors degree or military background. He claims that he has done almost nothing for 5 years except move between companies to work on projects that are pending funding, pentagon approval, or to fill in a position for the guy before who left for another contractor. This is how are tax dollars are spent, and this is why there are better opportunities for people like FLYGUY outside of Buffalo. I wish that this was an isolated case, but this is a typical experience in Virginia. My question is, why aren't contractors located in Buffalo? Why do they all cluster in one location? Isn't that a threat to our national security?
Good luck FLYGUY, I hope you move back someday when the economy is more conducive to your needs.
This neighborhood is definitely turning a corner and many great things are happening. BRO will have another piece of good news to report soon for a building a few blocks away as well. Buffalo needs these neighborhoods to improve and succeed in order for the region to prosper. When outsiders look in and see a rotting core their impression of the entire area is fixed as negative. When young talented and energetic people look for a place to move and bring their careers they often look for central cities with prosperous, vibrant and unique neighborhoods. Something Buffalo does not have at a critical mass level at this time. But, it does have the great potential for this kind of attractiveness. That is why it is so critical to save and improve the infrastructure and urban fabric that can create and support attractive urbanism. Saving houses like this is going to save Buffalo and WNY. We can't save everything?? Flyguy, we have barely tried to save anything. What are the results of that?
Flyguy, Everyone knows the economy of WNY is horrid and everyone knows that high taxes and anti business government is a major factor in this. You bring no new news on this front. What you do bring is unnecessary and unproductive negativism with regard to this project and the power it has to turn the city around.
Andrew, I am all about being positive but lets be real. New Era is more of a move and not new jobs. Labatt USA is like 15 employees. The ethanol plant is not a good thing for the city. Buffalo is on the verge of something but nothing is guaranteed.
I am really saddened by the bashing of FLYGUY. I now see in this thread why so many hate Buffalo Rising. I am not one of them, but now I see the elitist's that others mention.
All FLYGUY said was his opinion. That Buffalo needs to allow for new business to come without hassle. To allow development without lawsuits. Preservation comes from a strong real estate market. At least that is what I took away from his post.
It is pathetic to hear those in Buffalo bash people who left. They say things like "I hope you move back someday when the economy is more conducive to your needs." or "If you couldn't build a career here, then you are more of the problem and most likely not capable of being part of the solution" YOU SOUND LIKE THE FAT KID WHO WAS STOOD UP AT PROM. Pathetic.
People in Buffalo have to get over the fact that a lot of SMART PEOPLE LEFT. Stop feeling like you were dumped and stop holding a grudge. Buffalo is not going to "come back" with just the people living there today. The reality is Buffalo needs people like FLYGUY to move back. I need to move back. Others need to move back. The reality is Buffalo has experienced a brain drain and corporate America knows this. There is a lot of talent in Buffalo. A lot of talent that never left. BUT IT IS NOT ENOUGH.
The attitude of "we don't need your help" or "come back when the work is done" IS EXACTLY THE SAME ATTITUDE THAT HAS STALLED PROGRESS FOR THE LAST30 YEARS.
Get over the complex, act older then a 9 year old and get on the same page. If you are posting here you want the same thing.
RonR,
It is not fair to apply the comments of one or two posters to all the people who read and comment here or to all the people of Buffalo. It is also not fair to blame preservationists for stalling or killing projects in the city. I can not think of one project stopped by preservationists. I can however think of multiple projects they have facilitated and made possible. The kind of rhetoric that condemns preservation of the city's limited and irreplaceable supply of historic urban fabric is ill informed.
-Hey RonR one person dissed flyguy chill out. -And how is the ethanol plant not good for buffalo, abandoned grain silos reused, millions of private investment 80 jobs, increases rail and shipping whats the problem? ooo the first ward will smell bad and bring rats give me a break -And that move and 15 employees are jobs that were not here two years ago and i'm sure they brought a family or two to our city. and i couldnt dissagree more about the "brain drain" with the number of graduating college students in the area. Few people of my generation have attachment to where they are from, they follow the dollar. If a corp. wanted to put 1000 back office jobs here as a cost saving measure (citi group) they are going to get filled. When they moved here there were recruiting signs all over canisius and ub for a few months.
Never once did I say that i left Buffalo because I didnt love my hometown. Never once did I say "Buffalo sucks". Since I was very young i have always been fascinated with Buffalo and the surrounding area. I recognized the beauty in its architecture, the natural resources, change of seasons, proximity to other great places, and the value I had in family and friends and great places to grab a beer! The city of Buffalo and its issues were what inspired me to pursue an education in planning, to try to contribute positively and be a positive energy locally to help get the ship bailed out and moving again. During my middle school days I used to cut out newspaper clippings and scrap book the damn things about stories of Buffalo history, economic progress, economic decline in the area like the closing of Trench Manufacturing, Trico, the ConAgra Mill, etc. As a friggin hobby I was an amateur photographer around town taking pictures of new construction projects downtown and on numerous occassion I was approached and asked why I was taking pictures as if I was a terrorist or something. Damn it was just my hobby. I attended Thusday in the Square often, stayed in town to get both my bachelors and masters degree, took internships in Buffalo but could never find a job here other than right out of college when I accepted something on the outskirts of what I actually want to do, i could apply what i knew but wasnt doing what I wanted in the long run, i wasnt in an economic dvelopment or planning or urban design capacity. For those of you who think i am anti-preservation i would like to inform you that i volunteered for the illinois street cobblestone project and did the big dig this past year up at the tonawanda landfill. I recognize the value of preservation but also recognize that to some extent "radical" preservation isnt helping this area all that much. i refer you to the proposed hotel development at Elmwood and Forest? or how a movement was put in place to try to block the gates circle condo by designating that ok historic building next door a historic place? I see how people fought Starbucks on Elmwood and created a big to do about nothing really. How badly hasthe Elmwood Strip been hurt by that Starbucks???? I dont think it has and frankly it seems to fit in over there pretty well. I dont agree with the suburbanization of the historic city but I am pro development, nifill development, new large scale development. I heard the HealthNow headquarters building referred in one of the comments and lets not forget that it was fought as well because the decaying gas plant would be removed. Were we really gonna save that entire building in the economy Buffalo has? Really? I think itr was a great idea to preserve that facade and incorporate it into the redevelopment scheme but again it is a success story that was fought. Why must everything be so hard? How many projects were fought and ended up dying because it became finacially unreal? Lets face it, preservation is expensive and i am saying that this town isnt necessary living in the lap of luxury, it takes alot of money and it seems only an exclusive group can play while the rest of the neighborhoods continue to decline. Lovejoy might still be a strong knit community but its aging and is showing its age and the lack of money to imrpove and upkeep as an example. I cannot believ and m deeply disheartened by you who say good riddance because i had no choice but to move. you know life is short and we're only here on this earth for a little while so i'll be damned if i'm going to just sit around and wait to see if smoething will happen for me in Buffalo. The opportnity wasn't there as it isnt for many others and WE HAD TO MOVE! Competition is extremely fierce for work in Buffalo and because of that fact employers can underpay workers because they know someone else would love to jump in and fill their place. I remember the story about Bethlehem Steel closing and the line that wrapped around American Brass to get work when only a few positions became available back in the 70's 80s. Its very hard to start a career in Buffalo because employers also know that they can get experienced workers over newbies. Good luck finding an entry level job that actually pays a livable wage. or those examples of you that have I say good for you but alot of us could not and its not because we are idiots, its because there are too many cooks in the kitchen, the economy will not support us and we left. Also, did you find a livable paying job in your field or did you accept second or third best just to stay? Lastly i would like to say to those of you who say good riddance that your attitude is ridiculous. the Buffalo area could be double its size and your arrogance says good riddance? Are you for real? Its a very dumb thing to say. I'm not calling you dumb but it is a dumb statement. How can you say good riddance to HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people who have left the region? There is a herd of Buffalo all over this country and many didnt leave thinking Buffalo sucks.
Andrew it was a couple comments on FLYGUY but anyways....
On the ethanol plant, you sound like you are regurgitating information not sharing an opinion. First off, the fact that the grain silos are still standing is a symbol of why Buffalo is in rough shape. Holding on to the past is the best way to prevent the future. They should have been knocked down.
Now I know you are in school so the world is still not discovered by you but here is the reality of the situation. As someone from the sticks of Holland who has adopted Buffalo from a dorm room, you really should have more respect for the 1st ward. But you are a child and I digress.
If the ethanol plant goes up you can pretty much shoot down any development of the outer harbor and the 1st ward. These two areas provide the vast tracks of land that can be redeveloped with ease and serve as the gateway to a new Buffalo. Take a look at the map kid. The only way for the outer harbor to happen is for all signs of industry to be removed, including things like the GM plant and working Ethanol plants/empty grain silos. Now maybe when you went on vacation with mommy and daddy you realized that hotel rooms are booked on view. No hotel is going to build on the water provided half of it's view is of rail yards, ethanol plants and the like. Oh yea, Marriott and Hilton also will consider smell and rats to be a problem.
Buffalo needs to consolidate its industry/rail and brown fields. Allowing this NEW operation prevents this consolidation. Without this consolidation, it becomes virtually impossible for wide spread land to be reclaimed for uses other then industry. ALL OF THIS FOR 80 JOBS. Yep, that sounds smart. Typical Buffalo...Short term gain for long term loss.
As for the brain drain. Get out of college and see the real world before you comment. Yes Buffalo has close to 70K college students but most are from outside of Buffalo and will not stay. For those who are from the area, the smartest students most likely are attending schools outside of WNY and will not come back. For those we went local, they most likely will need to move unless the basement of mommy and daddy has a vacancy sign. Remember we are talking about %'s of thousands of kids not your group of friends that goes to Coles every Tuesday.
As for 1000 back office jobs, of course they will get filled. It is only 1000 jobs. It is only one employer. Now I know you are a confident kid but before you start discrediting proven trends like population shifts and the brain drain, I suggest you grow your resume of living experience to more then the farms of Holland and Elmwood Ave.
If you want to see why the brain drain exists, look up science/biotech jobs. Look up marketing/advertising/PR jobs. Look up Business Management jobs. Compare the listings of these jobs in Buffalo to other parts of the US. Or wait until you get out of school to understand that 900 of the 1000 back office jobs at citi group are not what mommy and daddy paid 4 years at Canisius for. Instead of looking at the jobs that college kids would jump all over, add 5 years of experience to your resume, a new wife and a kid on the way. Now think how well these jobs pay when you are competing with college kids who just want to bust their fist nut.
There were a few bashers of me in this blog actually. I just hope you have a great life in Buffalo! I hope you never end up in the situation I and many others have been faced with. Obviously you dont know what its like and how hard it is to make a decision to look outside the area for employment and opportunity and then take interviews and accept the job and pack up all your worldly belongings into a van with car in tow and leave your family, friends, places behind 500+ miles. I'll tell you it teared me up the night before I had to move. I had a bad month gettiing to that point as well but its something I had to do. The process involves a great deal of emotion to move to a new place and a new job all at once. I have been and will continue to be a Buffalo supporter for those who understand where i'm coming from. For those of you who let your arrogance get the best of you I say "good riddance to you, the contributors of Buffalo's downfall"
Flyguy..Not a bas\her here so don't swat me.
I would like to correct the misinformation you list in your response
None of the projects you mentioned were blocked by preservationists. (Paragraph breaks would help by the way) In fact they are supported by preservationists.
The gas works building was torn down long before Blue Cross decided to put their building there. The facade was retained in place after that demolition with the intent that it would be included in a new building on the site. That has been done. The blue Cross building was not fought. It did however (and rightly so in my opinion) receive some negative reviews for its anti urban architecture and poor integration with the historic facade.
The hotel was blocked by deed restrictions
The Gates Condo is not being fought by preservationists.
perhaps you should start listing theprojects that have been facilitated by preservationists
Preservation is not the cause of Buffalo's urban problems. Those problems run much deeper. The rotting buildings at Buffalo's core are not caused by preservationists.
First off sorry for not maknig nice paragraphs here but i'm just writing thoughts as they come to me in a blog. I'm not trying to write a book. Secondly in saying preservationists i'm referring to those who cant stand change, those who want to preserve everything the way it was and is and "should" be. I refer to an obstructionist mentality and I fear that in some instances have been very difficult to relate to by the overwhelming majority of people because some of them have taken an almost radical special interest platform. Most people just go to work all day and come home to their families only to read the paper and hang their heads after reading what some radical thinking is obstructing next. I realize that it may not have been a particular prservation group or preservationist who screwed the Elmwood Hotel up but it was this resistance to change mentality that pushed the research to locate some BS to kill such a project. We all know there was a group fighting that project and that all the sudden it died miserably. The project would have added some density at that corner, added some mixed use, defined the corner, and catered to the college community and yet somehow it died. That project would have been a good addition, its in an urban commercial corridor dammit. If there was a restriction you would think that someone would go out of their way to work with the developer to make the project work. Instead its dead. Gates Circle is another project hassled by an obstructionist "not in my backyard" mentality. For a movement be made to suddenly get that ok building next door designated historic is a perfect example. Its obvious there was a movement afoot to get Gates Condo tied up in red tape as well. I never said preservation is the cause of Buffalo's urban problems. My first comment on this subject said that jobs and economic growth werer the thing to address and that preservation on a large scalereally cant occur unless we start getting jobs and opportunities to the masses around Buffalo. Right now I think preservation efforts apply to an elite group with the means to do it and that was my point. There are many many poor people or working poor in that city that cant afford to improve their homes. Also there are many asses in the city these days who dont give a rats you know what and live like pigs but thats another story.
Let me clear another thing up and say that I am very happy to see that someone took the time and is making the effort to rebuild that home, it looks great! I'm not against the project and yes belive it is a positive step but as my point has been Bufalo needs more money, it needs to jump on the economy and start growing population or all these preservation efforts will be in vain i fear because day in and out more people leave and there will be less money to keep upkeeping the neighborhoods. Those that will be left will be the lucky ones who have good paying jobs or the poor who are trapped.
Just thinking about the economic benefits of our historic assets, our culturals, and architecture have we regionally sat down to identify the places we want out of towners to see? Have we really prioritized the places of significance instead of just knowing about them ni our own back yard? After recognizing our true treasures we want out of towners to see, our preserved gems, have we led travelers to them while they trabvel? Have we developed a comprehensive plan for tourism signage in the area? When I moved away a little more than a month ago now the only good signage we seemed to have was for entarnce and exits and for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and a few sights along the 33 like the science museum. the 33 is fairly local when you consider the amount of out of state traffic that bypasses Buffalo on the 90 heading east or west. do we have signage 5-10 miles out to lead these people passing through into something that would attract them to making a stop. For instance I had no idea Frank Lloyd Wright had a piece of architecture in Washington DC area until I saw signage for it along I-95. I followed signage to Madison's Montpelier for like 10 miles before i found it. I had no intention on going until signage called me there and it seemed like a cool place to go. I think Buffalo keeps many of its treasures hidden and its part of the reason the gems arent capitalized on to the extent they should. Yeah you can drive down the thruway and stop at rest stops that mostly focus on Niagara Falls, etc. or you can be just passing through and be intrigued by your proximity to FLWrights DDMartin House and stop by or the hard to access Lake erie Waterfront at Erie Basin Marina, a tucked away asset for sure that many out of towners dont know how to get to and even locals have a hard time. I wonder how many people try to get to Erie Basin Marina every year and end up on the skyway instead? If preservation and economic development are an aspect of Buffalo's economy then efforts should be put in place to see a comprehensive signage plan for tourism related resources.
the big issue is a lack of a coherant preservation code and flyguys lack of paragraphs. sorry, but i cant read a giant block of text like that.
we need to create and adminster a plan that spells out what does or does not qualify for manditory preservation EXACTLY. without clear guidelines we will just repeat the preservation arguement every freaking time somebody wants to tear down a shed or a masterpiece. all this does is cost time and money. and perhaps in that code we should place a word limit on any new posts on this thread.
im just kidding around, flyguy! well not about clear historic preservation guidelines.
or was i? hmmm?
RonR you sound like a stalker and you think you know me. Reread what you wrote and then tell me who is the 9 year old. My comment about the first ward was not to bash it rather than point out the obvious fact that it is an industrial neighborhood and with industry comes a few smells. And if the ethanol plant didn’t go through then I would say it would be quite a few years before the outer harbor is developed considering downtown buffalo has just started to show signs of life. In my opinion I love the view of the industry from buildings downtown. It’s great to see industry, historical buildings and in a few years new modern buildings.
Like i said about the college students, they are not attached to where they are from. They will go where the jobs are. If a corporation wants to put jobs here they need not worry about filling them with educated people because people follow the jobs.
As for my living experiences since you think you know so much; Holland, NY Hamlin park, Auburn ave (Near Grant), Riverside(right now) Mexico DF., Oviedo, Asturias in Spain p.s. I have a full ride to Canisius my mommy and daddy aren’t paying anything thanks.
Like I said don’t think you know me you it just make you sound ignorant
Ok cool al-alo. I understand how such long text might be a bit tedious. I will break it up a bit going forward for y'all because at the end of the day I think we're all passionate about Buffalo. Hell, I had to move away but it doesnt mean I dont care anymore. I visit this site often even though I have days like today where I run into people who tell me good riddance because i left. Nice
The most ridiculus part of it is that these 200K people and the "brains" that left should be the ones working their way up the ladder and bringing development back to Buffalo through their influence and contacts. but we see that does not happen much.
From my last job I learned from my Boss (not specifically to flyguy, but in general):
1)"We don't care if someone decides to go to a different company. We want them to appreciate their time here and hopefully bring back work to us." - What are we doing to create a respect and loyalty to Buffalo in our children to accomplish this? Most likely nothing and probably the opposite. We just knock it so they expect/want to leave and never come back.
2)"Instead of asking yourself where is my job, why are you not asking yourself how do I as an employee do something to create jobs for others." - where I sit now, am I just doing the tasks someone asks me to do, or am I also looking at opportunites to expand what my company is doing and thus maybe create more jobs? Shouldn't it be everyone's "job" to think of ways to grow the company, no matter how small the idea may be?
3)"Are you only doing what I ask you to do, or are you also looking for ways to make yourself more valuable?"- In other words could I get someone fresh out of college cheaper to come do your work, if so you should be scared. I started at a crap salary. But from day one I was gong outsirde the scope of my duties to make myself integral and grab as much experience as I could to either ensure my position in that company, or to make myself more valuable to another. As cities, governments, and people find out, you can't expect to keep doing the same thing forever and remain viable. I choose to start at 26K instead of another at 55K out of town with the goal of getting there and beyond, and then did what I had to reach that goal.
Just some thoughts that came up out of this side tracking. To get back on topic, this is great. There is no reason to throw "its about the jobs" in every god damn positive article. Regardless of the lack of jobs this house undertaking is a positive and done by an outsider of all people. Instead of knocking it, ask what opportunities can be taken from noting that outsiders are curious and getting their feet wet in not just purchasing, but also rehabbing. There is most likely money to made by a local willing to think creativly and put in some hard work. And I'm not talking about purchasing the houses and sitting on them while they rot.....
You sound a lot like me Flyguy. Sorry you had to leave. But another thing my boss used to say...."if somebody truely wants something, they will do what is necessary to accomplish it. Otherwise they don't truely want it". Nobody is saying that for two different people it will be the same amount of effort and sacrifice though. What are you doing now? Are you also doing things to work your way back here? Scoping opprtunities/niches to be able to start your own thing back here with your talents/desires? Or are just waiting for an announcement that 100,000 new jobs magically appeared here and are now hiring?
Nothing is wrong with moving away for the job you want, buying a house in a safe outskirt neighborhood, getting on with your life/etc while missing your home town/neighborhood in a nastalgic way. It happens. It's a choice a lot make and if it is good enough for them to be happy and fullfilled, then by all means they should enjoy it. Just leave the "woe is me out of it".
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