|
Benderson faces criticism on vacancies: Opponents of Amherst project say developer has not found tenants for many retail sites
(Buffalo News, The (NY) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 3--Benderson Development is a major force in Amherst. Owner of more than 40 commercial properties and eight parcels of yet-to-be-developed land, the company always has been a big political and economic player.
But some residents are asking why the company is not doing more to fill its vacancies.
Critics are citing the vacancies in opposing Benderson's latest proposal, a $44 million mixed-use development on 32 acres formerly occupied by the Buffalo Shooting Club on Maple Road.
Displaying photos of vacant Benderson retail properties, they ask whether Benderson should get the green light to build a new complex when so many storefronts remain empty.
Recently released portfolio information, provided by Benderson, puts the company's actual Amherst retail vacancy rate at 12 percent.
"I think it's pretty typical of northeastern, second tier markets," said Michael Clark, director of retail services for C.B. Richard Ellis-Buffalo, the real estate services company that conducts the only retail market analysis for Western New York.
Benderson owns 29 retail parcels in Amherst -- more parcels than any other developer. The company also owns eight office buildings, three hotels and a Delta Sonic car wash complex in the town.
The properties generate $2.7 million in total tax revenue a year.
Benderson Vice President Eric Re-coon said Benderson's vacancy rate is lower than the national average. But he could provide no verifiable figures to support this claim.
The most recently published data from the International Council of Shopping Centers -- an authority on retail statistics -- put the national retail vacancy rate at 6 percent to 7 percent. But its data does not include single-tenant properties.
C.B. Richard Ellis' latest retail market analysis puts the overall retail vacancy rate for the Amherst area at 6 percent to 9 percent, excluding malls.
That study, however, excludes all retail properties of less than 50,000 square feet. In Amherst, Benderson has only five retail properties that exceed that threshold.
Critics have noted that the former Vix Drugstore plaza at Maple and North Forest roads, a Benderson property near the former shooting club, has been a vacant eyesore for years.
Benderson recently rolled out plans for a Rite Aid drugstore on that site. Part of the Vix building would be converted into offices.
With Benderson's properties drawing criticism, Council Member Guy Marlette asked the developer to detail the company's retail holdings and vacancies in Amherst.
"Their vacancy rate was much lower than I anticipated," he said.
The bulk of vacant retail properties in Amherst are located along Sheridan Drive between Niagara Falls Boulevard and Sweet Home Road.
A Benderson analysis done last year showed this stretch alone accounts for roughly 480,000 square feet of vacant retail space.
Benderson owns no unleased retail buildings on Sheridan Drive. It owns the vacant parcel on the northeast corner of Sheridan and Bailey, but the town has approved plans for a Wal-Mart store on the site.
Benderson representatives also point out that the proposed Maple Road development, called Amherst Town Centre, would bring in more than $1 million in school and town tax revenue.
Opponents, however, say the project simply would entice retailers to move from other locations in Amherst.
That won't solve the town's bigger vacancy problems, say representatives of the Fairways Boulevard Group, which consists of owners of homes in Maple Road subdivisions near the gun club property.
But Recoon says Amherst Town Centre will be a unique "lifestyle center," a mixed-use development that would attract new retail chains to Western New York rather than lure businesses from other parts of Amherst.
It would combine retail outlets with upper-story office and residential spaces, as well as public gathering places, according to Benderson. A townhouse development would anchor the western end of the project, while a hotel would anchor the northeast end.
Judy Ferraro, an organizer with the Fairways Group, said the developer can't guarantee that Amherst Town Centre's tenants would all be new.
"We already have retail," she said. "We already have restaurants. We already have grocery stores. How different can it be?"
She added that while Benderson does pay taxes on its properties, the company isn't a charity.
"Quite frankly, they're making a great deal of money off the Town of Amherst," she said. "They do give back, granted, but it's just a portion of what they have made off the town. It is small in comparison."
The Town Board was scheduled to vote today on Benderson's rezoning request for the project. But because of a recently completed independent traffic study and its impact on Benderson's design plans, the board now is expected to delay its decision to April 7.
stan@buffnews.com
To see more of The Buffalo News, N.Y., or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.buffalonews.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Buffalo News, N.Y.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO East, January 20-22, 2010. Miami, FL.
