BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Common Council is expected to soon consider some additional tax breaks for the developer of the former Millard Fillmore Hospital site at Gates Circle.
T.M. Montante says this will be “critical” in its efforts to get their stalled $150 million development moving again.
"This is something that is necessary in terms of creating a viable financial framework so that we can advance construction projects at this site," said the company's Director of Development Byron DeLuke, during an interview with 2 on Your Side Thursday.
Starting Off With a Bang
After acquiring the site in 2013, Montante cleared most of it in the fall of 2015 by imploding the former hospital building, in anticipation of the creation of Lancaster Square at Gates Circle, described on the company’s web site as “a vibrant, mixed-use, urban place featuring neighborhood retail, modern residential units, and commercial office space.”
The first component was Canterbury Woods Senior Apartments, built by the Episcopal Church Home and Affiliates on land it purchased from Montante and which opened in 2017.
More development was set to follow, but the site today is marked by uncompleted streets, falling chain-linked fences, and construction debris punctuated by a giant pile of rubble, much to the consternation of Canterbury Woods residents like Barbara Maynor.
“Mount Montante”
From the terrace of her 5th-floor apartment, Maynor told WGRZ-TV that the unsightly view now greeting her and her husband was not at all what they imagined when they moved in.
“We knew that it would be a construction site, but we thought that would be for just a year or two,” said Maynor. “But it’s getting to be a very long time with no real action.”
The rubble pile has come to be called “Mount Montante” by residents.
In November, Canterbury Woods filed a $500,000 lawsuit against Montante, claiming its ability to attract tenants is being impacted by the presence of the pile of debris almost three stories high, and lack of progress on the rest of the site.
Fits and Starts
The development has faced several fits and starts, according to company officials, which they insist weren’t necessarily their fault.
In a 2017 interview company president, Christian Campos acknowledged their efforts first hit a snag when the historic tax credits they were counting on to renovate the remaining structures on the site, including the original homeopathic hospital near Linwood Avenue fell through.
They were denied the credits when officials determined the structures had been damaged too much by the implosion.
Back then, Campos vowed they'd push on with construction with a six-story apartment building on the opposite side of the site, which was called 1299 Delaware.
“We’re looking to start construction as soon as possible, and we imagine that will be in the next couple of months," Campos told Channel 2 in October of 2017.
But problems piled up again.
Last year some officers of Morgan Communities, the Rochester based developer Montante had partnered with for this phase of the project, were indicted on federal fraud charges,
“That really was an unfortunate surprise,” said DeLuke, who added that it created a “significant challenge in advancing the project with other financing partners.”
“At this stage, Morgan has agreed to fully exit the partnership and we will be re-acquiring full ownership of the site.”
But that set back, and the loss of Morgan’s investment, caused Montante to ask for an extension from the city on that phase of the project.
Seeking Help
Montante has moved for the city to designate the site an Urban Development Action Area, due to its derelict condition, to provide Montante with additional tax breaks in hopes of getting things going here.
However, it’s not a common source of funding.
According to Buffalo Business First, the last time a development site in the city was designated as an Urban Development Action Area was in the 1980s when the downtown Theater District was built out.
Saying the previous loss of the historic tax credits “created a hole in our financing stack”, DeLuke says the incentive package the company would be eligible for under the designation “would help put in place the financing we need to move projects forward.”
The incentives would be in addition to the millions of dollars Montante has already received in loans and grants from Erie County’s Industrial Development Agency and the State of New York, plus tax credits associated with brownfield cleanup.
“We are very grateful for the public support we have received,” said DeLuke, who noted the company has also spent $16 million on the site already.
Surmounting Mt. Montante
DeLuke had encouraging news to share about the debris pile.
“Initially the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said we couldn’t move the pile off the site, other than to a brownfield site because our site is a brownfield,” explained DeLuke. “But this past fall after working with the DEC, they agreed to soften their stance and allow us to move that to other sites.”
DeLuke says they hope to begin doing so as soon as possible if they can find someone to use the material, perhaps as fill for another project.
“Over the past couple of months, we have been aggressively looking for an off-taker for the clean material. We’ve not found one yet, but it is our intent to find one, and we’re hopeful that when the construction season picks up we’ll be able to find someone to take it either this spring or summer. “
The lawsuit filed over the debris pile remains, however, after a judge last week refused to dismiss it as Montante had sought through its legal team.
Meanwhile, Maynor says residents are split on Montante’s bid to receive additional help from taxpayers to continue development of the site, although they are eager to see work resume.
“We don’t know why he took on this project if he needed tax breaks to complete it,” she said. “On the other hand, if it's going to move things along and the city is very careful about how they administer this, it could work out."