Buffalo Business First: BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Dressed in his dark-blue suit and with his dignified voice, Rev. Michael Chapman does not look like your garden variety, everyday developer
But, he is.
Rev. Chapman, pastor of St. John Baptist Church, is the point man for an ambitious project that could dramatically change the face of a Buffalo neighborhood and have a ripple effect on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Allentown and downtown.
Rev. Chapman is spearheading a $54 million effort to build 150 homes in Buffalo's Fruit Belt District. The homes are just part of the initiative. Other aspects include an eight-bed hospice center, a pharmacy, townhouses and an assisted living center.
The $54 million price tag represents one of the largest investments in a Buffalo inner city neighborhood and several years.
"It's a huge task," said Tim Wanamaker, head of Buffalo's Office of Strategic Planning. "But, the fact of the matter is that something like this gets easier when you have a Rev. Chapman involved."
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