By Kevin Ostrowski
WILLIAMSVILLE — A vacant former Rite Aid on Evans Street could become a Catholic Health medical hub. First, though, the developer is asking the Town of Amherst Industrial Development Agency for a property tax break, and the public gets a say on Nov. 5.
Sheridev, LLC, a Florida company whose application lists Benderson Development’s University Park headquarters as its address, wants to renovate the vacant buildings at 462 and 480 Evans St. into what the paperwork calls the Catholic Health Northtowns Hub. It would be a multispecialty medical office focused on cardiac, primary care and vascular services.
The agency’s public hearing notice puts the total cost at up to $28.5 million. The project would renovate a 30,838-square-foot building at 480 Evans and a 1,786-square-foot building at 462 Evans, both in the Williamsville Central School District. The developer is asking for a real property tax exemption only. It is not seeking sales tax or mortgage tax breaks.
What the application says
The application was filled out by Craig Harris, Catholic Health’s vice president of development. Benderson’s Stephen C. Scalione is listed as the authorized signer. The summary describes the site as “a former and currently vacant Rite Aid and BAC for Women,” a reference to the Buffalo Athletic Club for Women, and says the work is meant to “support the community’s growing need for cardiac, primary care and vascular health services.”
The case for public help is spelled out plainly. “Without public assistance, revenues generated at the Northtowns Hub would be insufficient to offset the facility’s operating costs,” the application says.
It also ties the project to the health system’s finances. “In order to stabilize our corporate finances, investments such as the proposed Catholic Health Northtowns Hub are crucial for enhancing case mix, market share, and referral volume,” it says. “The viability of all these indicators is essential for the survival of Catholic Health as an ongoing concern.”
If the abatement is denied, the application warns, “Catholic Health will have difficulty affording the expected level of rent and operating costs to be incurred at 462 & 480 Evans Street.” That line shows how the deal works: the tax break would go to the landlord’s project, and Catholic Health, a nonprofit, would be the tenant paying rent.
The numbers
The application’s budget shows $15 million for renovation, $6 million for furniture, fixtures and equipment, $2.4 million in soft costs, and $5.1 million in other costs. That last figure includes a $2.2 million contingency, $864,750 for escalation and a $270,111 building permit fee. The whole $28.5 million is listed as equity, with no bank loans or public grants.
Some of the figures don’t match. The project summary puts the investment at “$26 million.” The narrative section says “Catholic Health will invest $20 million worth of renovations.” The square footage also appears as 32,644, 32,664 and 32,624 in different places. The notice’s $28.5 million cap matches the budget table.
The parcel pays $87,826.20 a year in property taxes now, according to the application. The land is assessed at $2.275 million and the buildings at $1.55 million. The application says the structure is 54 years old, the site is zoned Neighborhood Business, no rezoning is needed and the town has already made its environmental review determination.
Agency staff will calculate how big the abatement would be. That estimate was not in the documents posted online as of early Saturday.
Jobs and timing
Catholic Health projects 57 jobs retained at the site (36 full-time and 21 part-time) and 33 new jobs within two years of completion (28 full-time and 5 part-time). It puts annual payroll at the site at about $12.3 million. The narrative separately describes “85.83 full-time equivalent employees (including 11.88 full-time equivalent physicians).”
“It is critical that the region has adequate practice space to attract and retain the physicians educated in the region,” the application says.
The schedule calls for construction to start April 1, 2027, finish Feb. 1, 2028, and open March 1, 2028.
The application lists sites the system considered and rejected, including 205 Park Club Lane, 6120 Main St., 6700 Transit Road and land on Wehrle Drive near Youngs Road. The reasons it gives include “rental cost, construction cost, size of site, presence of utilities.”
It also notes that NFTA Route 49 stops at Sheridan Drive and Hopkins Road/Evans Street, and that “Fully 76% of our patient population resides in Erie County.”
Questions for the hearing
Neighbors may want answers to a few things the documents leave open. How long would the abatement last? Which practices would move in? Would the 57 “retained” jobs come from Catholic Health’s existing offices at 1360 North Forest Road and 825 Wehrle Drive, which the application lists as its current address? And what happens to those offices?
The Buffalo Chronicle is seeking comment from Catholic Health and Benderson Development on those questions and will update this story with their answers.
The hearing is at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the agency’s offices, 4287 Main St. The IDA board’s next scheduled meeting is Nov. 20. Written comments can go to Executive Director David S. Mingoia at the agency’s Main Street address, according to the notice.
Image: Catholic Health’s headquarters building at 144 Genesee St., Buffalo. Photo by Andre Carrotflower / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).
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