By Kevin Ostrowski
AMHERST — More than 500 children are on the waiting list for The Summit Center’s special education programs. The Amherst-based nonprofit now has a building it hopes will make that list shorter, and a fundraising gap it still has to close.
The Summit Center paid $3.75 million for the 55,000-square-foot building at 2420 Sweet Home Road in the Sweet Home Commerce Park, WBEN reported. The seller was Sweet Home Commerce Park Associates LLC, an affiliate of Ciminelli Real Estate Co. Buffalo Business First first reported the deal in October.
The building is set to become the Summit Academy Early Education Center. According to WGRZ, the plan calls for 20 preschool classrooms, four early elementary classrooms and indoor and outdoor play areas, and would raise the school’s capacity to more than 650 students.
A long runway
Don’t expect a ribbon-cutting soon. Summit Center CEO Lisa Foti told WGRZ the work will stretch over several years.
“The plan will take place over 5 to 7 years, but we are super excited because these preschoolers, they grow up and they need to have space in our school-age program as well,” Foti said. “So it’s part of a larger expansion across Summit Academy.”
The building is one piece of a bigger plan. WBEN reported that the nonprofit, which serves more than 1,200 children and adults with autism and developmental disabilities each year, is planning a $12.75 million expansion that adds 27 new classrooms across its campuses.
The Summit Center told WGRZ it still needs to raise nearly $3.5 million to finish the project.
Why preschool, and why now
The project has been in the works since at least February, when the Summit Center announced a $1 million grant from Foundation 214 to start the early education center, the Amherst Bee reported. Foundation 214 was established by philanthropist Sal Alfiero, founder of Mark IV Industries, and focuses on children, veterans and the elderly.
At the time, Foti tied the need to rising autism diagnoses and the waiting list.
“With the prevalence of autism now at 1 in 31 children and a waitlist of more than 500 students, it is critical that we expand our physical footprint to address the growing need for special education services,” Foti said then. “We are beyond thrilled that Foundation 214 shares our vision of supporting more children and families in Western New York.”
Chris Alfiero, Foundation 214’s CEO, said, “This gift is about far more than funding; it is a reflection of our belief in communities, in potential, and in the power of intentional generosity to drive lasting, meaningful change.”
The Bee reported that the Summit Center’s existing preschool classrooms at Summit Academy Stahl, 150 Stahl Road in Getzville, would move to the new center, and that the rooms left behind would be used for students with special needs who are 5 and older. That is the point Foti made to WGRZ this week: preschoolers grow up, and the school-age program needs room for them too.
What families will want to know
For parents on the waiting list, the numbers tell part of the story. More than 500 children are waiting. The finished center would bring total capacity to more than 650 students, but the full plan runs five to seven years and depends on closing a fundraising gap of nearly $3.5 million.
Several questions are still open in the public reporting so far:
When will the first classrooms at 2420 Sweet Home Road open, and how many children could the first phase serve? How do the 24 classrooms planned for the Sweet Home Road building fit within the 27 new classrooms WBEN described across all campuses? And will converting a commerce park building to a school need any town permits or site plan review?
WBEN reported that Summit will renovate the building before the first students arrive. No renovation schedule has been published.
What comes next
The Buffalo Chronicle is seeking comment from the Summit Center on the renovation schedule, the first-phase opening and the fundraising campaign, and will update this story with any response.
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