SANBORN, NY-- The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency unanimously approved $700,000 in tax breaks for the Summit Mall property in Niagara Falls.
The move doesn't sit well with some.
"For malls to get tax breaks once is bad enough, but twice is really not good economic development practice," said Sam McGovern, the co-director of the Partnership for the Public Good.
The former owner of the mall got $2 million in tax breaks, part of a deal that ended in 2011. And the former owner went bankrupt. As for the mall -- it flopped. For years, the Summit Mall has remained mostly vacant, and has grown into an eyesore. Still, the Niagara County IDA believes the mall has potential.
"We think this is a good project for the community, good project for Niagara County," said Henry Sloma, the chairman of the IDA.
The developer, Zoran Cocov, from Toronto, said he plans to spend $17 million to restore the mall, which has been mostly empty since 2009.
"He wants to create something different, there appears to be traffic in the area, the airport has brought new activity, new shoppers so he's confident that he can generate the business," Sloma said.
REPORTER: Do you, or your company, have the financial resources to make the Summit Mall an attraction?
COCOV: "If I don't have the finances myself, I know where to get it, so yes."
But before going on a spending spree, Cocov is recruiting tenants to fill the mall. He says at least 20 stores need to sign leases for the mall to survive and attract tourists from across the border. Some of the possible mall venues include a movie theater, boutiques and a wine tasting outlet.
As for jobs, reporter Charlotte Keith from our partners at Investigative Post has been looking into this.
"The developer has promised to create 34 jobs, kind of in the administration, but most of those are pretty low wage jobs housekeepers at 9 dollars an hour, security guards at 12 dollars an hour," Keith said.
Under state law, IDA's can't approve tax breaks for retail projects, but there are exemptions to the rule. The plan was considered as a tourist destination, which is one of the exceptions. The board and the developer believe that tourists will likely travel to the mall, if it is redeveloped.
