WEST SIDE
‘Makeover’ home about to rise again
Published: November 10, 2009, 12:30 am
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A new home is taking shape today at 228 Massachusetts Ave., as workers plan to pour the basement floor and start constructing the house’s frame.
Monday evening, the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” team finished tearing down the Powell residence on the West Side, said Nancy Cardillo, who is handling public relations for David Homes, the builder.
At least 90 percent of the wood and other materials removed from the site will be recycled and reused, Cardillo said.
The volunteers took apart much of the house by hand Sunday and Monday, but the builder also used heavy equipment to rip down larger sections and to prepare the foundation.
The work crew Monday evening was expected to set sections of wall in place to form the basement for the `home.
Sometime this morning, a crew was to pour the basement floor and then start setting the frame for the house.
Construction must be finished by Saturday, when the finished home will be revealed to Delores Powell and her family, Cardillo said.
With so many people volunteering on the “Extreme Makeover” project — far more than needed — organizers are putting them to work on other properties.
Monday, volunteers — including a group from the International Preparatory School at Grover — raked leaves, cleaned up trash and started work on porches, gutters and siding on homes in the area.
A group of students and staff from St. Mary’s School for the Deaf is building a gazebo to go in one of the community gardens also being created, Cardillo said.
Buffalo police have closed off seven blocks to all but local traffic: Massachusetts Avenue from West Avenue to 14th Street; Plymouth Avenue from Rhode Island Street to Hampshire Street; and Normal Avenue from Hampshire to Rhode Island streets.
Michael J. DeGeorge, a Buffalo police spokesman, declined to reveal how many officers are assigned to this around-the-clock detail. Some are working as part of their regular shifts, and some are working overtime, at the city’s expense, he said.
A number of charitable endeavors are piggy-backing on interest in the project.
The Red Cross and “Extreme Makeover” are setting up blood drives at School 77, 370 Normal Ave. The drives will run from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. Wednesday and Thursday and 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. Friday.
Also, David Homes, Western New York AmeriCorps, The Tabernacle church in Orchard Park and Upward Bound are organizing a food donation drive.
People can drop off canned food between 9 a. m. and 6 p. m. through Sunday at the former Grover Cleveland High School, 110 14th St.
The project site is open to the public from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m. through Saturday, though visitors are kept across the street.
Visitors are asked to sign in at the parking lot of the Colonel Ward Pumping Station, 2 Porter Ave. in LaSalle Park. A shuttle bus will take them to and from the work site.
swatson@buffnews.com
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