Amherst, N.y. (WBEN) - With a projected June opening for the region's first Costco location, local leaders think its success could open the doors for luring other high profile retailers into the Buffalo-Niagara area.
Costco's debut, coupled with the opening of the region's first Dick's House of Sports, may provide enough fodder for national chains that have bypassed the Buffalo Niagara area, give the local landscape a second, more detailed look.
"It gives us a track record," said A.J. Baynes, Amherst Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.
Costco and Dick's House of Sports will neighbor each other along Ridge Lea Road in Amherst and, jointly, serve as a western expansion of Benderson Development's The Boulevard shopping complex.
Between the development costs of Costco, Dick's House of Sports and Benderson's new regional headquarters - also slated for Ridge Lea Road - nearly $70 million in private sector investment is being made in a stretch of Amherst that, until recently, was almost a development after thought.
"I hope there will be a (development) ripple effect," said Amherst Supervisor Shawn Lavin.
The success of Costco and Dick's House of Sports - along with other retailers and restaurants Benderson has brought to the Boulevard - may go a long way towards helping the town solve two retail-anchored development headaches --The Station Twelve plaza and the Boulevard Mall campus.
Station Twelve - the former Northtown Plaza - has sat in a development pause since the early Covid-19 days. In recent months, WS Development has re-started work at the Sheridan Drive complex and has announced a dozen retailers will be moving into the plaza.
Benderson hopes to gain full control of the Boulevard Mall site from developer Douglas Jemal and undertake a complete change over for the aging and largely vacant mall.
"What goes on at the Boulevard could help Benderson with the (Boulevard) mall," Lavin said.
Costco has been one of the most sought after retailers - not only by shoppers but also by developers - because it is such a retailing magnet.
Besides the Amherst site, Costco is rumored to be one of the anchors of the proposed redeveloped Seneca Mall in West Seneca.
"Is Costco a development magnet? Yes," Baynes said.
Wholesale, deep discount retailers Sam's Club and BJ's have operated in the region going back to the late 1980s. Both report healthy sales per square foot numbers, according to local retailing insiders.
Costco, however, may top both BJ's and Sam's Club, when it opens this summer.
"People will go there and those numbers will help," Baynes said.