West Seneca, N.Y. (WBEN) - After three decades of sitting vacant in the Town of West Seneca, development plans are finally underway for the site of the former Seneca Mall.
Back in late December, local developer Benchmark Streamline LLC purchased the site through two separate transactions for a combined roughly $22 million. The sale includes about 48 acres, a large chunk of the former mall site.
The developer has recently submitted an application to the town for re-zoning and a special permit at the site.
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West Seneca Town Supervisor Gary Dickson is excited to have a developer that not only purchased the property, but has the capacity and the will to do something with it.
"We've seen their plans, they're initially going to go before the planning board on April 10. So we're quite excited, and we're definitely optimistic that the long vacancy of 30 years will finally end," said Dickson in an interview with WBEN.
Dickson is particularly pleased this matter is now behind him after making the sale and future development of this site his No. 1 priority when taking office.
"I talked about it when I first ran for office in 2019, and I've been working on it ever since, along with the owners, along with our chamber of commerce and other people in town. It's been a top priority," Dickson said.
Dickson is familiar with the work of Benchmark Streamline LLC, and feels they are well known in the area of development over the years.
"They have the wherewithal and the contacts to make something happen," he said. "I talk with them fairly frequently, and their architect talks with our buildings, people frequently. I think, finally, we have an owner with the will and the ability to develop it."
According to Buffalo Business First, plans for the former Seneca Mall site include a discount club, a fueling facility and more.
While Dickson gave no indication of what kind of businesses are planned for the site, he says the developers are listening to what the town may prefer or want for the site.
"At the end of the day, it's entirely their money, and it's their obligation to make something that they think is going to be profitable for them. I think when they succeed, we'll be succeeding," Dickson said. "The town is not contributing any money to this. This is solely their money. I don't know if they'll be getting help from the state, but as far as the town goes, it's a major win."
Dickson adds the developers have already been doing some environmental work for the site, getting it ready for future development.
"It used to be a mall, so there's no problem building large retail spaces on it," he said. "They definitely want to work on the roads around it, they have a 600-page traffic study that they've submitted to us. The sewers appear to have the capacity, so that's good. And the town's main task right now is to get them through the permitting process as efficiently as possible, while still maintaining the rights of the residents. So the the April 10 planning board [meeting] will be the first step in that process.
"It's a wonderful location, right near the 90, in the middle of the county. Everybody's always thought this was a great place to develop, and it's a shame it took this long, but we're glad it's finally happening."