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Mechanicville Draws Developers Focused on GlobalFoundries Workers
"A $40 million housing and retail development is planned for land along the Hudson River that is five miles away from the GlobalFoundries computer-chip plant. The Esplanade would include 225 apartments and 36,730 square feet of office/restaurant/retail space on 11 acres in the city of Mechanicville and adjacent town of Stillwater.
An old pulp and paper mill now used as a warehouse would be demolished to make way for the development, which was designed to take advantage of the views of the river, a lock and surrounding countryside. The only tenant in the warehouse, Leonard Bus Sales, a school transportation company, would be moved to a new facility at the W.J.GrandeIndustrial Park in Saratoga Springs.
The Esplanade is proposed by the owners of Logistics One, a warehousing and distribution company based in Saratoga Springs. “It’s a good location for housing and it’s better suited than warehousing,” Logistics One President William J. McNeary IV said.
Rents would range from $800 to $1,200 for the units, which have an average size of 1,000 square feet. The units would be contained in six buildings, all of which have balconies facing the water. There will be no boat launch to access the river.
The Esplanade’s small-town ambiance, modern amenities and proximity to the chip fab will make it a desirable place for GlobalFoundries workers, McNeary said.
The chip fab is scheduled to open in 2012. About 1,400 people are expected to work there when production hits full-scale in 2014. The Mechanicville planning board recently approved the site plan for the Esplanade. Another developer is pursuing a residential project in Mechanicville with an eye toward renting units to GlobalFoundries workers, though on a much smaller scale.
The former St. Paul’s parochial school would be converted to 14 upscale apartments under plans approved last week by city officials, according to Mayor Anthony Sylvester. The developer, Keith Harris of Schuylerville, couldn’t be reached for comment.
The Esplanade would be the first residential/retail development for Logistics One, a company that had revenue of $28 million last year and employs about 200 people. Nevertheless, McNeary and his father, William J. McNeary III, executive vice president, have been involved in real estate for a long time.
“I started my career building houses and my father has been in the real estate business for over 40 years,” McNeary IV said. “It’s not a foreign business for us.” About 75 percent of the construction cost would be financed through borrowing.
Although access to credit has tightened during the recession, particularly for commercial real estate developments, McNeary IV said they have “partial commitments” and he’s confident the funding will be approved. “We are discussing financing with several sources at the moment,” he said.
They will also be seeking an unspecified amount of sales and mortgage tax exemptions from the Mechanicville-Stillwater Industrial Development Agency. If all goes according to plan, The Esplanade would be ready for occupancy in 2013.
“We will be one of the first few in the game,” McNeary IV said of the new residential options for GlobalFoundries workers. 'However, we’re the only ones on the water. We feel it gives us an edge.'" M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study on this project in 2010.
Albany Business Review
August 2010
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Plans to Renovate Former Buffalo Church Move Forward
"Developer David Pawlik has cleared another step in his plan to transform a Buffalo church into a residential-based development. According to documents filed in the Erie County Clerk’s office, Pawlik’s 700 Parkside LLC, has officially bought the former North Park Presbyterian Church, paying $210,000 for the complex, located at 700 Parkside Ave.
Pawlik, through his Creative Structure Services Inc., plans to renovate the church into 12 market rate apartments and a small amount office space. The project carries a $1.5 million price tag.
Tentative plans call for the units to range between 1,000-square-feet and 1,300-square-feet with the church’s main sanctuary renovated into six loft-style apartments and the remaining six units shifting over to the former Sunday school complex.
The Erie County Industrial Development Agency, in May, approved an incentive package for the project, which was eligible under its adaptive re-use policy. The main church sanctuary was constructed in 1927 and an adjoining Sunday school building was built in the 1950s.
North Park Presbyterian once had a large congregation, but in recent years, that dwindled to about 40 members. The church closed five years ago.
Pawlik, who grew just a few blocks away from North Park Presbyterian, said he was inspired by the renovation of another former church on Tacoma Avenue that sat shuttered for many years and was recently opened stored as the Tacoma Lofts." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and market study on this project.
Business First
August 2010
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Ground Broken for St. Martin Village on Dodge Street
In an earlier era, the cavernous complex of brick buildings was an orphanage. It later became a seminary for Catholic priests, then a diocesan education center. But for the past quarter-century, the buildings in the 500 block of Dodge Street near Wohlers Avenue have been empty. "It's been vacant for so long, and it was not maintained or taken care of," said Frank R. Robinson, who can see the complex from the front porch of a home he has lived in since the late 1950s. "It was an eyesore. It brought down the property values." When a fleet of construction vehicles converged on the site earlier this year, Robinson and other neighbors were pleased that the former German Catholic Orphanage was being primed for an extreme makeover.
Recently, nearly 100 people gathered beneath a large tent to help usher in a new life for the complex. ErieCounty's largest nonprofit group is teaming up with numerous funding partners to transform the site into a $16.2 million residential community, complete with a chapel and a small center that will provide services to dwellers.
When St. MartinVillage is completed next year, it will feature 36 townhouses and 24 apartments that will be marketed to low- and moderate-income residents. Three buildings are being torn down, and two others are being renovated. An old chapel is also being restored.
The Community Action Organization of Erie County is the project's lead sponsor. It has been working with the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, Key Community Development Corp. and other partners. Mayor Byron W. Brown joined other local government leaders and community activists at the groundbreaking. The project is being funded through numerous sources, including $2.4 million in federal housing money earmarked by the city, state funds and other grants. The project will be built using energy-efficient technology.
Robinson's earliest recollection of the site was when he was 9 or 10 years old and the complex was being used as a seminary for priests. He hopes the project strengthens one of Buffalo's historic neighborhoods. But he said it will be important for residents who move into the new housing to "take pride" in their community and care for their homes. He also urged city officials to take more aggressive steps to deal with blighted empty buildings that dot many streets around the former orphanage.
Lenord Bethel has lived on Dodge Street for nearly 50 years. When he moved there in the early 1960s, the neighborhood was peaceful and immaculate. These days, a light post outside Bethel's home is adorned with flowers that mark the spot where someone was gunned down a couple of years earlier. Bethel wants to believe that the construction of the new housing in the center of his neighborhood will be a catalyst for community renewal. 'The place will look better,' he said. 'It will make people feel better and safer.'" M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and market study on this project.
The Buffalo News
July 2010
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21 North Greenbush Acres Sell For $2.5M
"Twenty-one acres in North Greenbush, the future home of a proposed 180-unit apartment complex, hotel and retail stores called Quackenberry Commons, sold for $2.52 million.
Catlyn & Derzee Inc. sold the property off Exit 8 of Interstate 90 to Van Allen Apartments LLC, according to brokers Bruce Ginsburg and Derek Brown of IKON Realty Group in Albany.
Amedore Land Development in Albany formed Van Allen Apartments to buy the property and pursue the project. The property is located on Route 43, near the Route 4 intersection.
The land is part of a planned development district that is zoned for 180 apartments, a 100-room hotel and 120,000 square feet of retail. Construction of the apartments is expected to begin in early 2011.
Site work has begun for the retail stores, which will be located near the Home Depot on Route 4. The retail stores are being developed by Catlyn & Derzee and should be finished by summer 2011." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and market study on this project.
The Business Review
June 2010
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New Housing for Seniors on Track in Southtowns
"Niagara County developer Calamar Enterprises moved a big step closer to making its new independent senior living community in Orchard Park a reality, as it snapped up the land it needed in three purchases late last week. The Wheatfield developer is planning to build a 90-unit, 82,000-square-foot complex called Eagle Crest Senior Village on 22 acres along Weiss Avenue. The $10 million, two-story building will include both one-and two-bedroom apartments at market-rate prices, aimed at middle-income seniors who don’t qualify for federal subsidies but can’t afford high-priced apartments.
Recently, the firm’s RM3 Holdings LLC entity paid $400,000 to buy vacant land from Downing Family Real Estate LLC, according to Erie County clerk records. It also purchased two adjacent parcels — from Leisure Rinks Southtown and from Bally Total Fitness of Greater New York — in separate deals, according to the clerk’s records.
The project was first unveiled in September, when the Erie County Industrial Development Agency approved $1.38 million in tax breaks to support construction. Specifically, Calamar will save $1 million on property taxes, $300,000 in sales taxes and $79,000 in mortgage recording taxes.
Officials plan to hold a groundbreaking in a month or two, and construction is expected to take about a year. The residence will be owned and managed by Calamar. Calamar is a family-owned construction, development and management firm, with projects in various parts of the United States and Canada. The developer has overseen $125 million in construction in the last decade.
This is the fourth senior community that Calamar will be completing within 24 months, including the 110-unit Woodlands Senior Village project in Wheatfield, the last piece of which opened in February. Calamar is considering a similar venture in Hamburg.
While the developer has also done industrial, commercial and retail work, its focus in Western New York is now on senior housing. The firm told the ECIDA that the over-60 population in Orchard Park, Hamburg and West Seneca will rise from 27.9 percent of the population to 34 percent within five years. It’s also engaged in similar efforts elsewhere, including a big senior housing project in Omaha, Neb. Nationwide, the firm says, 22 million baby boomers will be retiring shortly, giving significant impetus to the efforts to ensure there is enough housing for their needs." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study on this project.
The Buffalo News
May 2010
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From Warehouse to Apartment House
"A long vacant set of former department store warehouse buildings has a new lease on life, as the AM&A's Warehouse Lofts project opened May 14 with residential tenants and a collections agency moving in immediately. Rocco Termini unveiled his mixed-use conversion of the deteriorated warehouses at 369 Washington St. into 48 apartments and 15,000 square feet of commercial space.
The completion of the eagerly awaited project marks a big accomplishment for Termini, and a turnaround for a large derelict parcel in the center of Buffalo. The yearlong, $12 million project required a complex array of financing involving historic and other tax credits, as well as nine public and private sources of outside capital, to revive the century-old landmark structure.
"It had been vacant for 15 years, so financing was very difficult," said Termini, who led the project through his Signature Development Buffalo LLC company. "Without the New Markets Tax Credits financing, it never would have gotten done." Those federal credits are geared to help urban redevelopment.
Built in 1892 as a dry-goods store, the building was later used by the Adam Meldrum & Anderson store as a warehouse until the business closed. In redoing the building, Signature kept the original hardwood floors, extensive brick and marble, and 14-foot ceilings.
The 65,000-square-foot complex includes 50,000 square feet of residential space, featuring 36 one-bedroom apartments and 12 two-bedroom units. Rents range from $850 to $1,175 per month, depending on variations in size. There are also two workout rooms for residents.
As of today, 45 of the 48 apartments are rented, with tenants ready to move in as early as Saturday. However, Termini said he is offering half a month's rent free for tenants as an incentive to encourage them to stagger their moves over the next 15 days, so as not to overwhelm the building at once.
About 30 percent of the tenants are medical residents or fellows who are coming from out of town to work in the nearby medical corridor. That's because, instead of working 18 hours straight, medical residents now work 10 hour-shifts and are on call for eight more hours. That means they may "have to get to work quickly," so "all the residents have to live within a few minutes of the hospital," Termini explained.
Collections firm P&B Acquisitions will occupy 15,000 square feet on the first floor, moving from smaller space it leased from Termini at Ellicott Commons above the Washington Street Market, at 465 Ellicott St. That will enable the company to more than double in staff from 50 employees currently to 130 within the next year … up from just five employees five years ago. "This is really a stimulus project," Termini said. "That's what the stimulus money was intended to do."
The rehabilitation was funded primarily through a $7.4 million construction loan from KeyBank, helped by an allocation of New Markets tax credits. "KeyBank has been a valuable partner with us," Termini said. "They provided financing for a very difficult project that other banks wouldn't even consider." Key sold the tax credits to investors and used that revenue to "buy down" the interest rate on the loan to 1 percent for the first two years and then 4.72 percent for the remaining five.
"The loan is very important to our position and visibility here in Buffalo," said Joseph G. Eicheldinger, senior relationship manager for Key Community Development Lending. "We make loans in the communities in which we serve and the mission of those loans is to revitalize urban neighborhoods and to encourage economic diversity and neighborhood reinvestment. This particular investment accomplishes all of those."
The project also qualified for federal historic tax credits, which Termini will then sell to U.S. Bancorp's U.S. Bank Community Development Corp. in exchange for a $3.5 million equity investment that will reduce KeyBank's loan to $5.2 million. And it involved participation from First Niagara Bank, Evans Bank, National Fuel Gas Co., National Grid USA, the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp., the Erie County Industrial Development Agency and the Empire State Development Corp.
"As the excitement of the redevelopment of downtown Buffalo gains momentum, KeyBank is committed to financing both new construction and historic renovations, especially in redeveloping neighborhoods," said Key's Buffalo district president, Gary Quenneville.
The completed complex is the first of three such major redevelopment efforts by Termini, who originally bought four warehouse buildings for $720,000 in June 2009. Three were of historical significance and were retained, but the fourth was knocked down using $400,000 from BERC to create 20 parking spaces. To ensure adequate parking, Termini has also rented additional spaces from the city, for a total of 60.
He also has an agreement to buy the nearby Hotel Lafayette, a once-opulent landmark opened in 1904. Termini plans to spend $35 million to convert the six-story, 367-room hotel into a mixed-use development with 115 market-rate apartments, a boutique suites hotel, five restaurants, 15,000 square feet of office space, and a banquet facility.
And he has an option to buy the 350,000 square-foot AM&A's department store building itself, with plans for a $70 million renovation. That will include a 117-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel, banquet center, meeting and conference space, food court, bar and restaurant, 28 independent senior-living apartments, 24 market-rate apartments, and 30,000 square feet of office space for Hamister Group's new headquarters. But the other two projects are on hold until Albany passes legislation that would make major changes to the state's historic tax credit program that Termini says are necessary to make the renovations viable. Termini said he has not even completed the purchases of the buildings. "Everything's still pending," he said. "Without those credits, it's not do-able." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and market study on this project in 2009.
The Buffalo News
May 2010
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Parkside Church May Become Residential Development
"A vacant Parkside Avenue church that has stood as a North Buffalo landmark for decades may find new life as a residential-based development.
Creative Structures Services Inc., a Buffalo-based construction company, has agreed to purchase North Park Presbyterian Church at 700 Parkside Ave. It intends to renovate the building into 12 market-rate apartments, as well as office space. Creative Structures plans to move its own offices into a portion of the church. The development project carries an estimated price tag of $1.5 million.
David Pawlik, Creative Structures co-founder, confirmed he will be seeking an inducement package from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency for the project, which is eligible under the agency’s adaptive-re-use policy.
The IDA has scheduled a May 4 public hearing on the project. Its board of directors is expected to vote on the project at a meeting on May 10. Creative Structures has the building under contract, with a closing set for later in May.
Pawlik, who grew up on Parkside Avenue a few blocks away from the church, said he was intrigued by the building, given its location and architectural elements. “There was something about it,” Pawlik said. He was a City of Buffalo development official under former Mayor Anthony Masiello.
The church’s main sanctuary was constructed in 1927 and an adjoining Sunday school building was built in the early 1950s.
North Park Presbyterian once had a deep congregation, but recent years saw it dwindle to just 40 members. The church closed its doors about five years ago and was marketing the property. Pawlik said that when another nearby church on Tacoma Avenue was renovated into the Tacoma Lofts, he decided to give North Park Presbyterian a good look. “There was something intriguing about it, especially looking at how well the Tacoma Lofts were received,” he said.
The Parkside area where the church is located is considered one of the most stable in Buffalo and in North Buffalo, in particular. The property is one block north of Hertel Avenue and less than 10 minutes from downtown Buffalo.
Tentative development plans call for six loft-style apartments to be developed in the main sanctuary and the other six apartments going into the Sunday school building. The plan was put together by local architect James Rumsey. Pawlik’s company will serve as its own construction manager.
The apartments will range in size from 1,000 to 1,300 square feet. All will be two-bedroom units. The office space, roughly 6,000 square feet, also will go into portions of the sanctuary. Creative Structures Services will use about 2,100 square feet of the office space. “There’s already a street buzz and it has been very positive,” Pawlik said. He plans to meet with Northwest Savings Bank regarding financing for the project, he said. Work could begin as early as June, with the first units ready for occupancy by early winter." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and market study on this project in 2010.
Buffalo Business First
April 2010
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Housing Planned at Former Dodge Street Orphanage
"A boarded-up East Side complex that once served as an orphanage is slated to be converted into housing for low-to moderate-income people. The $16.3 million St. Martin Village project was reviewed Thursday by the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency, which allocated $2.4 million in federal housing funds toward it.
The project is being undertaken by the Community Action Organization of Erie County, an agency with close political ties to Mayor Byron W. Brown. “This is an excellent project,” said Brown, chairman of the Urban Renewal Agency. “This facility has been vacant for nearly 30 years. This will go a long way toward stabilizing that part of the community.”
The Community Action Organization, a nonprofit community group, is partnering on the project with Delta Development of Western New York, the development arm of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
Plans call for partial demolition and renovation of the former German Catholic Orphanage, 564 Dodge St., along with new construction.Three buildings will be demolished, and two others will be renovated and converted into 24 two-bedroom apartments. Six new buildings will be constructed, creating 36 three-and four-bedroom townhouses. The chapel will be converted into a common area for St. Martin Village residents as well as a community services facility occupied by the Community Action Organization.
In addition to the $2.4 million from the Urban Renewal Agency, project funding includes $2.4 million from the state Housing Trust Fund Loan Program, $1 million from the Community Preservation Corp. loan program and more than $9.5 million from the Key Community Development Corp.
L. Nathan Hare, executive director of the Community Action Organization, was not available to comment Thursday. Hare has ties to Grassroots, the political organization that has served as Brown’s political springboard.
Also, the Urban Renewal Agency allocated $900,100 in federal funds to help convert the former Holy Family Elementary School on Tifft Street into affordable senior housing. Plans call for converting the three-story building into 35 apartments. The building also will become the permanent home of the South Buffalo Food Pantry.
The $8.2 million project is being undertaken by Delta Development along with Living Communities LLC. Additional funding includes $2.2 million from the state Housing Trust Fund Program and $4.9 million in tax credits from the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal.
“This is an excellent project,” said South Council Member Michael P. Kearns. “It keeps our seniors in South Buffalo.” M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study and appraisal on this project in 2010.
The Buffalo News
March 2010
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Upgrades - At Any Cost
"Just a short distance east of downtown Buffalo, a few blocks away from neighborhoods pocked with vacant lots and boarded-up buildings, you'll find Sycamore Village. It's an upscale development in one of the poorest parts of the city, featuring houses that receive unprecedented subsidies to go with unprecedented price tags.
Looking for a good deal on a new house? In Sycamore Village, a $225,000 Colonial goes for $176,000. Those who qualify as low-and-moderate income under federal guidelines (that's a maximum income of $50,800 for a family of four), can get a $215,000 model for just $90,000.
Worried about property taxes? For the first 10 years, they are discounted. It's another perk for agreeing to live in this experimental community -- a high-end East Side development built on a former industrial site.
And there's more. Before City Hall built the 15 homes that now make up Sycamore Village, it spent $1 million in state funds to clean up the property and another $1 million in city funds on sewer and water lines and other amenities. But those costs aren't folded into the price tag. Nonetheless, when calculating the full development cost of these houses, these environmental and public works expenses bring the amount the city paid for each Sycamore Village home to as much as $350,000, according to Buffalo News calculations.
Some say this is the cost of rebuilding an inner-city neighborhood. "Trying to take a deteriorated part of the city and turn it into a successful mixed-income neighborhood -- that does not happen without subsidies," said Janet Penksa, the city's commissioner of finance, who is a member of the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency.
Critics don't dispute Penksa's rationale, but say Sycamore Village takes her good intentions a bit too far. "It's absurd," said Steven H. Polowitz, an attorney who has worked with various housing organizations in Buffalo. "How do you justify these kinds of subsidies when you look at the need out there in the neighborhoods for all the existing people whose homes need work who don't get a dime?"
Traditionally, subsidized housing in Buffalo meant low-to-moderate-income homeowners got $20,000 to $25,000 in federal funds from the city to help purchase a home built by private developers. Ten years ago, for example, the average subsidized home cost $93,400. With a $22,000 federal subsidy, the buyer paid about $71,400.
But today, subsidized houses in Buffalo -- and not just in Sycamore Village -- cost upwards of $200,000 each to build. City property values are not keeping up with these rising housing costs, so subsidies now go to developers as well as homeowners. The combined subsidies total as much as $100,000 in order to keep the average sale price at $80,000 to $90,000.
Private companies are no longer involved in developing these homes. Instead, subsidized housing in Buffalo is exclusively the domain of nonprofit organizations, including City Hall. The federal government now provides full construction funding as well as subsidies as long as home buyers qualify as low or moderate income. That's generally the case with 50 subsidized homes that Belmont Shelter Housing Corp. developed in the Hickory-Kane-Kamp Road area at the City of Buffalo's request. The homes cost, on average, $190,000 each to build, with the largest houses in the group costing as much as $200,000 for construction, soft costs, subsidies and soil remediation.
The houses sell for an average $82,000 after subsidies. A similar pricing structure exists with 25 homes being built by Bethel Community Development Corp., headed by the Rev. Richard A. Stenhouse, and three houses being built by True Community Development Corp., headed by the Rev. Darius Pridgen.
Pridgen's group was recently awarded more than $724,000 in HUD money for three homes on Woodlawn Avenue, near Pridgen's church. That's $241,000 each for houses that will sell for $80,000 to $100,000 each.
With the Belmont Shelter, Bethel Community and True Community programs, these homes are designated for low-and-moderate-income home buyers. Also under federal regulations, proceeds from the sale of these homes must be used on future housing projects. Those also are the rules for the city's most highly subsidized houses in Sycamore Village, which City Hall is developing.
Sycamore Village
The four Sycamore Village homes designed for low-and-moderate-income buyers are scattered among the other 11 houses in the village project, which are sold without regard to income limits.
The four low-to-moderate-income homes cost a total of about $860,000 to develop and build -- or $215,000 each, excluding environmental cleanup costs. They have $150,000 price tags, but each homeowner gets a $60,000 subsidy, meaning the new homeowner pays $90,000. That still leaves a gap of about $64,000 per home, which is considered the developer's subsidy. The federal government picks up the cost of these homeowner and developer subsidies, which totaled about $500,000 for the four houses, or $124,000 per house.
The 11 larger Sycamore Village homes the city is building are not federally funded. They are designed for the relatively well-to-do. But they still receive a subsidy -- which the city picks up. These homes cost about $225,000 to develop and build, and sell for an average $205,000, although buyers pay, on average, $176,000. That's because the city gives each homeowner, on average, a $29,000 subsidy. The remaining $20,000 gap is picked up by the city also as a developer subsidy.
The city's total cost to subsidize the 11 houses is, on average, $49,000 per house, or $536,000 for the 11 homes. The funds to pay for the subsidies come primarily from the sale of a city-owned parking ramp, said Penksa, city finance commissioner and Urban Renewal Agency board member. No federal antipoverty money was used for these 11 "market rate" houses, Penksa said.
Since being put on the market in November 2008, the city has sold all of the 11 market-rate homes that were built, the last two selling in the past two months. Three of the four highly subsidized ones are also sold, according to Keith L. Barnes, the realty agent working with the city to sell Sycamore Village.
"From the perspective of bringing new life into a neighborhood, the project has been clearly successful," Penksa said. "There was nothing there, and now there is development."
Peter K. Cutler, a spokesman for Mayor Byron W. Brown, predicted that Buffalo's subsidized housing will prove to be a good investment. "I think it's reasonable to expect that as continued investments are made in the community, we will get to that point [where the homes are worth their construction price.]," he said.
Others are skeptical. "Look at how many homes they have built in the area already," said attorney Polowitz, referring to the hundreds of less-costly subsidized homes built in the surrounding area over the past two decades. "Why do they think by building 15 to 20 more homes at that outrageous expense that we will have different result?"
For now, Sycamore Village is on hold. Sycamore Village was initially envisioned as a 24-unit development. With 15 homes already built in Phases 1 and 2 of the development, that leaves nine more yet to be built. Before Buffalo decides if it will build those nine houses, the city wants to do a market analysis, Penksa said.
"There are no plans to proceed with Phase 3," she said. "The next step is to evaluate the project. The city is committed to continuing development in the Sycamore Village neighborhood, but not necessarily the planned Phase 3. The real estate market and economy have changed dramatically since Sycamore Village. We are going to do a market analysis, and like any development, make sure it makes sense in the short and long term."
In the beginning
Sycamore Village wasn't always intended to be as expensive as it became. Back in 2002, during the Masiello administration, city officials hired M.J. Peterson to build homes on the Sycamore Village site that would be more typical of subsidized housing in Buffalo. But while Peterson was building three houses, the Masiello administration realized that the land where the houses were built on was contaminated with heavy metals.
Eventually, at the beginning of the Brown administration, the city paid to demolish the houses and remediate the land, a process that cost well over $1 million, recalled Timothy E. Wanamaker, the former city housing chief now working in California. When the city was ready to rebuild, Wanamaker decided to test the waters and see if the Sycamore Street area was ready for upscale housing, in some cases including Corian countertops, ceramic tile floors, fireplaces, central air conditioning and whirlpool tubs.
The highly subsidized houses in Sycamore Village are somewhat smaller than the more expensive ones -- 1,300 to 1,400 square feet vs. 1,700 to 1,900 square feet. The highly subsidized homes have one-car garages rather than two, fewer high-end amenities and no whirlpool or Corian counters. Nonetheless, the development was designed, Wanamaker said, so that you can't tell the difference between the federally funded and the market rate homes. That's important, he and other planners say, to maintain the value of all the houses.
Wanamaker, who had a street in the development -- Sydni Lane -- named for his daughter, Sydni, added that it's important when redeveloping in urban areas to provide homes for people of varying incomes, not just low-income, and to provide an alternative for people who might otherwise move to the suburbs. At the same time, he said, you don't want to create a development on the East Side only for the higher income. That would become a gated community, he said.
Size a factor
Wanamaker left Buffalo city government before the project came to fruition, and the prices on the houses were set. But other development officials say they aren't surprised by the level of subsidies required in today's market. Part of the cost reflects the sizes of the homes -- many are several hundred square feet bigger than the ones built in the city years ago.
More significant is the cost surrounding the city's decision to require clean fill used in any project involving city property, hoping to avoid environmental problems. Most recent estimates peg the cost at $30,000 to $40,000 in soil remediation costs per house. But the bigger issue seems to be that property values in Buffalo -- particularly on the East Side -- haven't kept up with the increasing cost of construction in recent years, making it hard to follow subsidy formulas of the past, according to development officials.
Often the appraised price of the house, as established by the bank, does not equal the cost to build the house, especially when property acquisition and all soft costs are included. What's more, given the median income of the area, federal regulations effectively limit the price a subsidized home can be sold for to $150,000.
So in addition to the subsidy the buyer receives, a subsidy also goes to the developer, to bridge the gap between the home's selling price and construction cost. That's not the case in more-affluent communities such as East Amherst but holds true in Buffalo and to a lesser extent in some of the city's older suburbs, including Cheektowaga, according to development officials.
Build or rehab?
Given the high cost of new construction, development officials, including Wanamaker, said government needs to consider whether it makes sense to build new homes in Buffalo or rehab existing ones. Generally, it costs about $100,000 to acquire and rehab a house that then sells for no more than $60,000, said Bryan M. Cacciotti, executive director of HomeFront Inc. a nonprofit housing agency in Buffalo dedicated to housing rehabilitation. But there have been instances, he said, where costs have reached as high as $200,000.
In those cases, HomeFront felt restoring a few key houses that needed extensive rehab would have a positive domino effect on the neighborhood.
Dennis M. Penman, a home builder who is the current head of the city's economic agency, the Buffalo Economic Development Agency, said rehab doesn't always make sense with larger East Side homes.
Given the need to remove lead and asbestos from houses, and the costs associated with providing aluminum siding, plumbing and other basics, it could cost as much or more to rehabilitate as to build a new, smaller house, Penman said. And the smaller, newly built homes are more affordable to maintain, given such factors as heating costs, he said. Nonetheless, Penman agreed with Cacciotti and others who said a combination of new builds and rehabilitation might be the answer to revitalizing a community while keeping costs in mind.
"When you do development or neighborhood revitalization, you have to have so many tools in your toolbox," Cacciotti said. "You can't just look at one activity and expect a neighborhood to come back." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and market study for this project in 2008.
The Buffalo News
March 8, 2010
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AM&A's Lofts Expected to Open in May
"Rocco R. Termini’s new AM&A’s Warehouse Lofts residential project is more than half leased and should open by early May, the downtown developer told the Buffalo Place board.
Termini, through his firm Signature Development Buffalo LLC, is converting the former department store warehouse buildings into 48 loft apartments — 36 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom units — and 15,000 square feet of commercial office space.
So far, 26 of the apartments are rented, and the office is slated to be occupied by P&B Capital Group LLC, a collections agency formerly known as Phillips & Burns LLC. Monthly rents run from $850 to $1,150.
The apartment tenants are “a mix” of seniors, researchers and others with ties to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and new employees of M&T Bank Corp. M&T recruits a new “class” of workers every June.
In a previously announced project, he’s hoping to line up financing and other support to turn the landmark 350,000 square-foot department store itself into a $70 million mixed-use project. He has an option to buy the vacant and dilapidated building from the current owner.
Plans call for the AM&A’s complex to include a 117-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel, a banquet center, meeting and conference space, a food court, a bar and restaurant, 28 independent-living senior citizen apartments, 24 market-rate apartments and 30,000 square feet of office space. Additionally, Termini is also buying the Hotel Lafayette, with hopes of reviving it.
However, both projects rely on use of the state historic tax credit, which he and other critics say is burdened by crucial flaws. In particular, the law does not allow him to sell the tax credits to banks and insurers, who are among the biggest potential buyers, and he can’t sell the federal and state credits separately. Termini is pushing for passage of a bill, co-sponsored by Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, to change the law." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal on this project.
The Buffalo News
February 2010
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Lofts Open at Broadway and Fillmore
"Urban multifamily housing developer Eran Epstein has completed his renovation of a former East Side factory into affordable housing and retail space, opening East Village Lofts.
The $4 million, two-year project by Epstein’s E Square Capital LLC converted the four-story, 45,000-square-foot factory at 937 Broadway at Fillmore Avenue into a mix of 43 affordable studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.
The apartments rent for $325 a month for a studio, from $348 to $517 for one-bedroom units, and $549 for the largest two-bedroom apartment; all rents include heat. The firm said Monday that 60 percent of the units were rented within the first five days after opening.
The apartments range in size from 416 square feet to 1,248 square feet, with loft designs, new appliances and ceramic tiles. The building features on-site laundry, a community room, elevator and a security system, as well as a gated parking lot for 22 cars at Wilson and Townsend streets, where E Square purchased nearby vacant lots from the city of Buffalo.
Wagner Optical, the only current commercial tenant, remains on the ground floor, but E Square also created two more retail spaces of 3,000 square feet and 1,000 square feet.
The opening of the building completes a project that began when Epstein bought the building in 2002 from Mauntner Co., a jewelry display case maker that left the building in 2000. He paid $10, and also assumed $20,000 in back taxes and $40,000 in utility bills owed on the property. Epstein and Chris Gerhart of CWG Development collaborated on the project with Silvestri Architects, but E Square was the contractor and will manage the property.
The project received government benefits from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency and the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, and financing from Boston Capital Corp. and Citizens Bank.
This is the latest venture for Epstein, who began investing in Buffalo residential real estate in 1994 while he was a student at the University at Buffalo. Since then, his firm has purchased a 21-unit apartment building at 367 Elmwood Ave., a 23-unit building at 2803 Main St. and a 48-unit building at 950 Delaware Ave.
The firm also worked with Gerhart to renovate the former Holling Press factory at 501 Washington St. into 82 affordable apartments, and turned the building across the street at 504 Washington into loft condominiums. Last year, Epstein and Gerhart opened The Residence at 245 North St., with 64 affordable senior citizen apartments in the former YWCA Residence." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study for this project.
The Buffalo News
January 2010
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Rochester Management, Inc. and Rochester's Cornerstone Group Finish $60.425 Million Renovation Project
"Affordable housing originally built to help World War II veterans save money in order to purchase their first home is now completely renovated to serve a new generation. Rochester Management, Inc., Rochester's Cornerstone Group (RCG) and the city upgraded a total of 516 city apartments across three different apartment communities in city's northeast and northwest quadrants. The total development was $60.425 million.
In 1946, as thousands of local World War II servicemen returned home to overcrowded and substandard housing, the need for solution to this growing housing problem became clear. With the same "can-do" attitude that America demonstrated throughout the war years, eight local banks joined together and formed a nonprofit that collaborated with the city to quickly address the needs. Their solution was called, "The Rochester Plan," and it was an effort to create affordable rental housing for the veterans and their families. The city donated the land at a nominal cost and provided a low tax assessment. The participating banks formed Rochester Management, Inc., a non-profit corporation that built the rental units and manages them, to this day, on a non-profit basis. The banks then received an insured mortgage from the Fair Housing Administration (FHA) at a very low interest rate. Construction began in the spring of 1946 at the first community, and the latter two were built shortly thereafter.
As construction progressed, nearly 3,500 applicants poured in from servicemen for only 516 units. To assure fairness, tenants were chosen by lottery. The plan's goal of enabling the young families to save money toward purchasing a home was a resounding success: by 1956, nearly 900 families had purchased their own homes in the area. The plan was recognized as a national model to address the national housing shortage. To this day, returning veterans still receive preference at each of these three communities. Over the years, there have been 8,000 city families who have called these apartment communities home. As the three complexes had begun to show their age, a major renovation was in order.
Rochester Management, Inc. selected RCG to oversee the renovations. LeCesse Construction and Konopka Architecture were also selected for site work, design and construction. A thorough review of the projects revealed the need to replace a majority of the roofs, windows, rear porches, landscaping, and all the mechanicals. It became clear that some buildings needed to become handicap accessible, and as the communities lacked any community space, community centers were built at all three projects. The improvements were completed in September. Cornerstone's primary goal as developer has been to maintain the affordable nature of this project." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and market study for this project.
New York State Real Estate Journal
November - December, 2009
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Developer Proposes Apartments for Holy Family Site
"A Buffalo school attended by the late Tim Russert is being eyed as a new senior apartment complex. Delta Development Co. confirmed it wants to renovate the circa 1915 Holy Family School into a 35-unit senior housing complex. The former school is located at the corner of Seneca and Tifft streets.
Delta will unveil the proposal for the $8.2 million project during the Nov. 17 Buffalo Planning Board meeting. The planning board is one of several city approvals needed before construction can begin. Because of its age and potential historic status, the state Office of Historic Preservation must also sign off on the project.
Holy Family School closed in 2004 due to dwindling enrollment. During its peak years of 1950 to 1975, the school averaged more than 1,500 students each year. By 2004, however, it had just 105 students. Russert, longtime host of "Meet the Press," attended kindergarten and first grade there.
Holy Family Church, which neighbors the school, remains open. Catholic Charities of Buffalo continues to run a food pantry in the basement of the former school. The school is among 22 properties - mostly senior or elderly care residential complexes - that Delta Development operates in Western New York.
Pending various approvals, the renovation project should start by early spring. The apartments should be open by spring 2011. More than 200 people have expressed an interest in living there. The three-story complex will have 30 one-bedroom units and five two-bedroom apartments.
Delta Development is working with KeyBank on both construction and permanent financing for the project. The City of Buffalo, through its HOME financing program, has offered $900,100 for the project. Living Communities LLC has been retained as Delta's development partner." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study for this project in 2008.
Buffalo Business First
November 2009
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Housing For Elderly Gets IDA Tax Breaks
"A senior citizens apartment complex in Orchard Park is receiving nearly $1.4 million in tax breaks through the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, despite the objections of County Legislature Chairwoman Lynn M. Marinelli.
The agency approved property, sales and mortgage tax breaks Monday for the 90-unit Eagle Crest Senior Village complex on Weiss Avenue in Orchard Park that is being planned by an offshoot of real estate development firm Calamar.
IDA officials said the 82,000- square-foot complex will help fill a growing need for affordably priced senior citizens apartments in the Southtowns. The apartments, which are expected to rent for $850 to $950 a month, are for senior citizens capable of an independent lifestyle, said Karen Fiala, the IDA’s coordinator of tax incentive products.
The $8 million project will fill a void for middle-income senior citizens, who have too much money to qualify for subsidized housing, yet can’t afford to live in a more expensive life-care community, she said, noting that 28 percent of Orchard Park’s population is 60 or older.
Senior citizens housing complexes often have received IDA tax breaks, as developers launch new projects in response to the growth in the region’s elderly population. The number of households consisting of people 60 and older in Hamburg, Orchard Park and West Seneca is expected to grow by nearly 9 percent over the next five years, IDA officials said. Even with the tax breaks, the project is expected to generate an additional $824,000 in local property tax revenue and payments, IDA officials said.
The IDA also approved sales tax breaks of as much as $65,000 for Windham Professionals, a debt collection agency that is expanding its operations, with plans to hire 120 new workers over the next two years. The sales tax break covers the purchase of as much as $740,000 in new equipment, computers, furniture and machinery as part of Windham’s plans to expand its second-floor offices at 300 Gleed Ave. in East Aurora.
Empire State Development Corp. last month gave a $280,000 grant to the Salem, N. H.-based national debt collector, which handles past-due government-guaranteed student loans and some private loans. The company, which now employs 80 people in East Aurora, plans to boost its work force to 200 within two years." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study for this project.
The Buffalo News
October 2009
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Old Livery to Ride Again as Apartment Building
"Saved from the wrecker's ball, a late 19th century equine livery is coming back to life as an apartment building. The Savarino Cos. will present a formal redevelopment plan for the nearly demolished Jersey Street livery to the Buffalo Planning Board Sept. 8. Pending the expected approval and the necessary permits from Buffalo City Hall, work could begin this fall or, more likely, in spring, said developer Sam Savarino.
"We might be a little late for the fall construction season, especially considering all the masonry work that needs to get done and the weather conditions crews may face by late fall," he said.
The former White Brothers Livery, a three-story structure that dates to 1889, was days away from being demolished when Savarino stepped in to save it. The restoration was championed by Mayor Byron Brown, among others. "The mayor really helped us pull this through for us," Savarino said.
The $3.5 million project, jointly funded through public- and private-sector sources, will be a 14-unit apartment building that offers "affordable" housing, he said. The apartments include a mix of one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 800 to 1,100 square feet. "All of our funding is in place and ready to go," Savarino said.
The project represents a mix between civic pride and economics, he added. Despite its unique architecture and history, the building was badly deteriorating and the city was considering razing it out of concerns for public safety before Savarino stepped in and agreed to take on the project.
He has vowed to restore the building as closely as possible to the original design, including rebuilding the front facade to showcase arched windows and a twin peaked roof. The design work was handled by Stieglitz Snyder Architecture of Buffalo. Savarino said he is looking to have the first tenants move in by late next year or early 2011.
The apartments will be on the building's upper two floors, while the first floor will house an indoor, 12-car parking garage. Besides serving as a horse livery for carriages and recreational riders, the building also was used as a gas station and auto repair shop and, later, as a vehicle storage facility." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study for this project in 2009.
Buffalo Business First
September 2009
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School to Become Senior Housing
"A long-vacant building in South Buffalo that once served as Western New York’s largest parochial school will be transformed into new housing for senior citizens. The former Holy Family Elementary School, at 1901 South Park Ave. near Tifft Street, will become a 35-unit apartment complex. City, state, federal and county officials announced the $9 million project Monday at the site, lauding it as a collaboration among various government entities.
Construction will begin later this year or in early 2010. The facility will provide affordable housing to low-and moderate-income residents who are at least 55 years old. Some of the apartments in the Holy Family Senior Housing Development will be tailored to frail residents and will include an emergency call response system and features that make them accessible to people who have physical impairments.
The city will commit $900,000 in funds it receives from the federal government to promote housing, Mayor Byron W. Brown said Monday. The Rev. James B. Cunningham, administrator of Holy Family Parish, said there is a pressing need for senior housing in communities across America. The elementary school was opened in 1915 and closed 89 years later as part of a consolidation of parochial schools in the city.
The housing project should be completed in early 2011. The three-story structure will house 30 one-bedroom units and five two-bedroom apartments. Among officials joining Brown and Cunningham at Monday’s news conference were Rep. Brian Higgins, Assemblyman Mark Schroeder and Erie County Legislator Timothy M. Kennedy. The development will complement millions of dollars in capital improvements that are being made as part of the South Park Avenue Reconstruction Project, said officials." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study for this project in 2008/2009.
The Buffalo News
July 2009
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Coalition of Churches Stalls Plan For Housing
"A $12 million housing initiative aimed at bringing 50 rent-to-own homes to Buffalo’s East Side has been derailed, apparently due to opposition from a faith-based community development group whose president told top city officials the project isn’t good for the community. The housing plan received initial support last year from Buffalo, which led to it receiving funding from New York State as well as a private investor. But since March, when it won city planning board approval, the project has been stalled. City officials haven’t authorized the in-lieu-of-tax agreement the project requires and haven’t transferred to the Cleveland-based developer the vacant lots in the city’s Cold Spring and Masten districts that the project needs.
City housing officials were not immediately available to discuss the issue, but it appears the main opposition to the NRP project comes from the Jeremiah Partnership, a collaboration of seven African-American churches working to revitalize the East Side that is headed by the Rev. Richard A. Stenhouse. Jeremiah Partnership favors targeted development over the scattered site housing NRP is proposing. Jeremiah prefers home ownership to rent-to-own homes. Jeremiah also objects to the city using $1.6 million of its federal housing funds on the project, and doesn’t think the NRP project fits into the Jeremiah Partnership’s strategic plan for redeveloping East Side neighborhoods. The city set up a meeting between NRP and Jeremiah during which Jeremiah asked to be responsible for minority hiring on the NRP project, and to set up a mentoring program supporting future minority developers.
NRP in late 2007 entered into a contract with Belmont Shelters of Buffalo to serve as its local development partner on the project. Given concerns expressed by Stenhouse and the city during the March 2009 meeting, NRP agreed to also establish a minority component. NRP issued a Request for Proposals, asking those interested to submit their plans for involving minorities in the project. Jeremiah Partnership was invited to submit a proposal and did. Several others also submitted proposals.
The one selected came from University at Buffalo’s Professor Henry Taylor, working with UB’s Center for Urban Studies, in conjunction with J. W. Pitts Planning and Development Co., owned by former Common Council President James W. Pitts. The proposal was superior and less costly than the Jeremiah proposal. Stenhouse was involved with a rent-to-own project that Belmont Shelters Corp. developed on the East Side three years ago. It involved 29 scattered homes using the same financial mechanism that NRP is using. It’s partly because of that that he opposes further scattered site housing. It’s preferable to do targeted development in neighborhoods where there has already been development. And home ownership is preferable to lease-to-own homes." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study for this project in 2008.
The Buffalo News
July 2009
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Termini Seeks to Redevelop Long-Vacant AM&A's Store
"Downtown developer Rocco Termini plans to spend $80 million to $100 million on redeveloping the former AM&A department store downtown, possibly in as little as a year, but said he’ll need government help to do it. Termini, who has started converting three former AM&A warehouse buildings into apartments and office space, told the directors of Buffalo Place Wednesday that he has begun discussions with various planners and designers to help on the project.
As part of his plan, he applied for and obtained from the State Historic Preservation Office a designation of the AM&A buildings as a historic district. That prevents the historic portions from being torn down, while making the entire project eligible for historic tax credits. He said the AM&A’s project, the Statler Towers and the 500 block of Main Street should be priorities for redevelopment efforts downtown. But he acknowledged the challenge posed by the AM&A’s store, which has been the biggest hurdle in any redevelopment effort for the long vacant but highly visible cluster of buildings.
Termini, through his Signature Development Buffalo LLC firm, started work a month ago on his $11 million effort to turn three of the four former AM&A warehouse buildings at 369 Washington Street into 65,000 square feet of residential and commercial space. The five-story buildings were full of debris and asbestos, but workers have mostly taken out the trash in the last four weeks and are finishing up asbestos removal. Construction work will begin in one to two weeks, he said. The architect on the project is Carmina Wood Morris PC.
Termini is planning to convert the buildings into 48 apartments, a collections office and a surface parking lot. Plans call for 36 one-bedroom apartments and 12 with two bedrooms. The first floor will be 15,000 square feet of office space, which will be occupied by P&B Acquisitions, which owns the Philips & Burns debt collection agency. The fourth building, a three-story addition on East Eagle Street built in 1965, will be torn down and converted into 26 parking spaces.
Termini said he hopes to open the project by next March or April, and to be fully occupied on the first day. Already, he said, there are 15 people on the waiting list for apartments. The one-bedroom apartments will be priced at $795 a month, while the two-bedrooms will go for $995 a month.
The cluster of AM&A buildings date back to 1886, when the J. N. Adam & Co. Department Store opened as a dry-goods store before expanding later into a broader department store. The buildings later became the flagship store of Adam, Meldrum & Anderson Co., a family-owned chain of department stores based in Buffalo that was sold in 1994 to Bon- Ton Stores.
A year later, the department store closed, reopening for only a few months in 1998 as an upscale women’s department store and restaurant before closing again. It has been vacant since early 1999, and has become an eyesore downtown, deteriorating over the years and threatened with demolition.
Various plans emerged and the buildings were even acquired by out-of-town developer New Horizons Acquisitions LLC in September 2006 for $2.05 million, with the intention of converting them into apartments and ground-floor retail. But none of the concepts progressed until Termini bought the warehouses. He is now negotiating with New Horizons to buy the store as well. Termini is already a veteran of converting vacant downtown spaces into loft apartments, having developed the IS Lofts, Ellicott Lofts, Ellicott Commons, Oak School, Webb Lofts and Oak Street Apartments." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal for this project in 2008.
The Buffalo News
June 2009
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Loft Project Under Way at AM&A's Warehouse
"Work has started on downtown Buffalo's newest residential-based project. Developer Rocco Termini has crews working on interior demolition efforts, as well as asbestos removal, in the former Adam Meldrum & Anderson Co. Inc. warehouse on Washington Street. The century-old building is being renovated into a mixed-use complex, anchored by 48 market-rate apartments. P&B Acquisitions, a local debt collections agency, is leased all 15,000 square feet of the building's office space. With the move, P&B hopes to add 50 employees to its 120-person workforce.
Termini has been securing financing and approvals for the $11 million project for nearly two years. That includes incentives offered by the Erie County Industrial Development Agency through its adaptive re-use program and New York State Housing Tax Credits.
Dubbed the AM&A's Lofts after the building's former tenant, the eight-story structure has been vacant for nearly 15 years. It was closed when the Bon-Ton Stores Inc., which acquired the AM&A's chain in 1993, closed the flagship Buffalo department store and the warehouse. The store and warehouse are connected via a tunnel that cuts underneath Washington Street. AM&A's Lofts will have 36 one-bedroom units and a dozen two-bedroom units. Monthly rents will range from $795 to $1,050.
It's the latest in a series of residential-fueled downtown projects that Termini has completed in recent years, including developments along Ellicott, Oak and Pearl Streets. Termini said he remains interested in buying and renovating the AM&A's flagship store, but only if he can secure tax credits and incentives from New York State." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal for this project in 2008.
Buffalo Business First
June 2009
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Omni Housing Development and The Wesley Community Continue $18 Million Rehab of the Embury Apartments
"Saratoga Springs, New York: Mayor Scott Johnson and NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen along with a representative of governor David Paterson and state legislators joined Duncan Barrett, COO, Omni Housing Development LLC and Brian Nealon, CEO of The Wesley Community in sledge hammering a wall to continue the $18 million rehabilitation of Embury Apartments on April 7. Embury Apartments, Inc., the non-profit group who has been the owner and property manager of the site since originally constructed on the campus of The Wesley Community over 35 years ago, along with current co-developer Omni Housing Development LLC anticipates completion of the project by summer 2010. After the "Wall Demolition Ceremony", officials toured existing, gutted and rehabilitated units to see the buildings' transformation.
Embury's twin, 14-story towers helped to redefine housing opportunities for area seniors when they were completed in 1972. Originally conceived by the founders of the Saratoga Retirement Center, the forerunner to the modern-day Wesley Community, The Embury towers offered subsidized, independent living for active seniors aged 62 and older. One year later, the towers were joined by the addition of the Wesley Nursing Home to provide Embury residents easy access to health care services and social activities.
Today, the apartment towers and its residents are part of the broader Wesley Community, a 36-acre not-for-profit agency, which serves the needs of the elderly, active seniors, adults and pediatrics. Residency is for those seniors with incomes restricted and regulated under the NYS Mitchell Lama Programs well as HUD's Sec. 236 Interest Reduction and Rent Supplement Programs.
Although the apartment complex has been well maintained and managed, its original design and age have resulted in escalating utility and maintenance costs, which now exceed the restricted and regulated rent revenue. Embury's two towers, which are connected by a community building, require rehabilitation and regulatory restructuring. The renovation will enable Embury to operate cost effectively and allow rents to remain affordable. Residents of the current 208 apartments will be relocated within the complex as a few floors at a time are rehabilitated.
At the conclusion of the work the total number of units will be reduced to 192 with as many as 16 two-bedroom units available for the first time, replacing 32 studio dwellings. Each apartment will feature Energy Star appliances.
The rehabilitation will address fire safety, environmental hazards, energy conservation, dated and obsolete systems and standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, including converting several units to better serve the handicapped. To remedy these conditions, the revitalization will include: removal of the asbestos flooring, replacement of all windows and insulation of the inside of all exterior walls and installation of handrails as well as ADA compliant bathrooms in the public areas. CK Dennis Architects will be providing design, architecture and engineering services for the project. Omni Housing Development will lead development and construction management and MLS construction Services, LLC is the general contractor. Embury Apartments, Inc. will provide property management services.
Financing for the $18 million rehabilitation project is provided by the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, Embury Apartments, Inc., Community Preservation Corp., M&T Bank, Hudson Housing Capital and grants from the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and market study for this project in 2007.
Capital Region/Hudson Valley Real Estate Journal
May 2009
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Former YWCA Housing Upgraded For Senior Living
"A former YMCA women's residence in Buffalo is now home to local seniors. E Square Capital has completed its conversion of the stately, circa-1926 complex to 63 studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments for seniors. E Square, whose residential portfolio includes the Holling Press Apartments in downtown Buffalo and is doing another senior housing project at 937 Broadway, began welcoming tenants at the former "Y" this month. Empty since 2005, the five-story, 100,000 square foot structure, with its distinctive brick and pillared facade, began life as a women-only residence for short-term local tenants and visitors. Located at 245 North Street, the Georgian-style building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was most recently used by the New York State Health Department to house women with mental health problems. E Square President Eran Epstein said his $9 million project returns the historic site to productive use." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a real estate appraisal of this property in May 2006.
Rochester Business Journal
December 12, 2008
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A.D. Price Housing Complex Rehab Widens
"One of Buffalo's oldest public housing campuses is headed into a second round of redevelopment. The Buffalo Planning Board today will hear a proposal to demolish five building at the A.D. Price complex at 390 Jefferson Ave. to make way for a new $15 million senior housing building. A preliminary timetable calls for the new, three-story senior complex to be under construction next summer with a fall 2010 completion date. The 95-unit structure will have 83, one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom apartments reserved for low-income seniors. The new senior apartment building will be constructed incorporating "green" building practices to increase energy efficiencies and reduce waste. In addition to city approvals, the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority project is awaiting word on state and federal funding applications." M. Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and market study for this project in 2007.
The Buffalo News
October 2008
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Apartment Complex Goes To School
"Mark Chason isn't hanging onto the past. The Cheektowaga-based developer is edging closer to finalizing the sale of 144 apartment buildings to WNY Student Housing, a limited liability corporation established by Villa Maria College that will provide off-campus housing to area college students. Formerly known as Kensington Village and located on the Buffalo-Cheektowaga border, the 50-acre site now called Collegiate Village has been part of Chason's family real estate portfolio since 1950, when his grandfather bough the then-undeveloped field at auction. About 30 new or transfer students plan to live at Collegiate Village this fall. " Gerald T. Schmitt and Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. appraised this property in early 2008.
Business First
August 2008
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Housing Project Hinges on Assortment of Approvals
"If the public-sector stars line up just right, work could begin soon on the conversion of a vacant Buffalo bowling alley into a $36 million housing project. Developer John Giardino of Centerstone Development LLC said he is working with state, local and federal offices to obtain necessary approvals to move tenants of the Lyndon B. Johnson Apartments to a new, low-rise housing complex on Amherst Street. The site is the abandoned Amherst Bowling Alley. The apartments are owned by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority. The property located at the corner of Main Street and Humboldt Parkway, likely will be sold to neighboring Medaille College for $3.5 million, which is the appraised value. " Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. is currently working on a market study for this development.
Buffalo Business First
July 2008
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Buffalo Builders 'Drum' Up Business
"The population of Fort Drum is booming, and two Buffalo-area developers are helping fill a need for more off-post housing. Clover Construction Management of Amherst and Norstar Development USA of Buffalo have a total of four projects either built or planned in the Watertown area that add up to more than 1,100 apartment and townhome units. Clover has the largest single project of the four: a $70 million, 648-unit project called Eagle Ridge Townhomes. Clover is in the midst of building the first phase, consisting of 218 units, and has opened 20 so far. Norstar last year opened the 91-unit Starwood Apartments and has two other projects in the works. Starwood is about 90 percent occupied. The surge in off-post housing has been fueled by a rising number of troops assigned to Fort Drum, home of the Army's 10th Mountain Division. A study commissioned a few years ago determined that following the addition of third brigade to Fort Drum, there was a need for 2,000 units of additional off-base housing beyond new quarters built on the base. Of the 2,000-unit need identified by the study, about 1,800 to 1,900 units have either been built or are in production." In 2006, Scott Allen and David Carlon of GAR Associates, Inc., completed a market study of the Fort Drum project. In 2005, Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed an appraisal and a market study of the Starwood Apartments.
The Buffalo News
January 2008
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Building Blocks: Omni Affordable Housing Group Does Well By Doing Good
"Eight years ago, Omni Development Co. Inc. sensed a need for affordable housing and went about trying to fill it. The Albany-based commercial real estate developer, one of the largest in the region, had plenty of experience building, designing and managing big buildings for a variety of clients. But it recognized the demographics of the region were changing in a way that would demand more low-cost housing for senior citizens. "Providing good, affordable senior housing is both good public policy and good economic policy," Omni President and Chief Operating Officer I. David Swawite once told local chamber of commerce officials. Omni hired an expert in the field, J. Duncan Barrett, to carry out the mission. Barrett spent 20 years in charge of Taconic Capital Corp., a firm that managed, built and acted as compliance officer for several housing projects in the region that serve low-income senior citizens, the homeless and others. Those include the 44-unit Caldwell Apartments in Troy, the 28-unit Civill Senior Housing in Coeymans and the 140-unit Dudley Park Apartments in Albany. Omni is currently redeveloping 206 more units, including 52 in Albany's South End, a neighborhood that has suffered for years from violent crime and neglect. Omni has an interest in improving the neighborhood because it's near the company's commercial investments downtown. On a personal level, the South End is close to Barrett's heart because it reminds him of sections of Troy where he worked in the early 1970s. Under the $12 million plan, a rundown, 60-unit apartment building at Morton Avenue and Eagle Street will be converted into 42 units. And, a 10-unit apartment complex will be built on a vacant parcel three blocks away. The housing will be available to people who earn less than $27,840 for a single person and $39,780 for a family of four, which is less than 60 percent of the median household income in the region." In 2007, Scott Allen of GAR Associates, Inc. completed a market study for Albany's South End project.
The Business Review
November 2007
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