English: Baptist Manor Apartments, 276 Linwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, April 2013. A 16-story, fireproof apartment tower for fixed-income seniors, Baptist Manor sports a solid construction of precast concrete, and, thanks to architect Donald W. Love, boxy forms characteristic of 1970s-era modernism. The development was the brainchild of Theodore C. Orr, the president of the board of directors of
Delaware Avenue Baptist Church, which abuts the tower on their respective rear property lines. This was the era of so-called "white flight", when Buffalo's communities of mainline Protestants were decamping for the suburbs in greater and greater numbers, and like many congregations in the city proper, Delaware Avenue Baptist found itself contending with the problem of a steadily decreasing membership. Accordingly, Orr envisioned Baptist Manor as a solution to two problems at once: a productive use for the now-underutilized lots surrounding the church which they had earlier purchased for parking, as well as a readymade population of potential new church members. Planning for the new building began in 1971, but quickly hit a snag in what the
Buffalo Courier-Express described as "a simple example of how a well-intentioned organization's plans can become snafued when government funding is involved": the financial losses that the initial building contractor (BAW Construction Corporation of Williamsville, New York) was simultaneously incurring on other area projects were cause for concern on the part of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, which was providing much of the funding for the project, who then balked when Baptist Manor asked them for additional money to cover budgetary overruns (construction of the building ultimately cost $3.7 million, about three times the estimate initially quoted to the SUDC). BAW then withdrew from the project, leading to a two-year delay while a new contractor was sought out. At long last, ground was broken for the building in May 1974, and two years later, in July 1976, the building's 128 units were opened to residents who were aged 62 or older, of any race or creed, and in good health. All the apartments boasted then-state-of-the-art amenities such as an intercom system and a CCTV feed trained on the building entrance (intended for the screening of guests), emergency buttons to summon medical assistance when necessary, self-contained ventilation systems in each unit so as to inhibit the spread of fire, and even a monthly tenant newsletter and onsite hair salon. As a condition of federal subsidies for the project from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 90% of the units were reserved for residents with annual incomes less than $11,328, and monthly rents at the time of opening ranged from $180-340, depending on income. (Nowadays, rents are pegged at 30% of a tenant's annual income and include all utilities.)