"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