AMHERST, N.Y. (WBEN) - Some of the Boulevard Mall could become extra housing for students at the University at Buffalo.
In an interview with WBEN, Town of Amherst Supervisor Brian Kulpa noted that the Amherst mall sits between the north and south campus and said the NFTA's light rail expansion is something that developers are eyeing.
The Boulevard Mall went on sale on Monday. The starting bid was $6 million but it has increased to $9 million as of Wednesday morning. Highlights of the building include its redevelopment potential, well-educated and strong demographics, and its proximity to more than 34,000 vehicles daily along Niagara Falls Boulevard.
Sinatra & Company is among the interested parties from Western New York that inquired about the 961,800 square foot site.
"I think we're going to have a good amount of bidders on this thing," he said. "My feeling is that people are bullish on the town and the opportunity zone is going to help developers have some confidence in the asset. Ultimately, the town is doing everything we can in terms of zoning, in terms of seeker, to make way for a development agency to come through, reinvest in that site, and return that asset to value."
Eastern Hills Mall is undergoing its own development into a mixed-use building. Kulpa said he expects the Boulevard Mall will be more intense than the Eastern Hills Mall.
"It's not a two-to-three story adventure," Kulpa said. "We think it's four-to-five stories in a lot of places."
