Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - Some of the same demographics came together to help Amherst land the region's first Dick's House of Sports and Costco and with their impending arrival, the area's retailing landscape will be elevated.
Dick's House of Sports, the newest retail venture from sporting goods behemoth Dick's Sporting Goods, is due to open on March 4 along Ridge Lea Road - and serve as an anchor for Benderson Development's expansion of its Boulevard shopping complex.
Costco is slated to open by late summer.
Taken together, they represent a major retailing investment at a time when the graveyard full of well-known local and national retailers continues to grow.
"It's not going to hurt us," said Mike Clark, CBRE Upstate New York retailing specialist. "It will help us."
Combined, Dick's and Costco represent nearly 300,000-square-feet in new retail development at a cost of almost $40 million, according to documents filed in the Town of Amherst.
"Call it another step forward," Clark said.
Dick's is no stranger to the Buffalo Niagara market, having first entered the area in the late 1980s. Among its locations are an anchor store at the Walden Galleria and the Eastgate Plaza in Clarence.
Dick's has brought some of its affiliated stores like Golf Galaxy to the region.
Plans filed with the Town of Amherst indicates the Corapolis, Pa.-based Dick's built a two-story. 119,115-square-foot House of Sports store that includes a fenced in, 18,516-square-foot outdoor playing field.
According to its public filings, Dick's has 16 House of Sports locations with 15 due to open this year and a development game plan that could see as many as 100 House of Sports locations across its retailing footprint.
Location was big factor for Dick's, Clark said.
"Being right by the 290 is like having a huge billboard for them," Clark said.
Another swing factor was the growing amateur sports market in the region ranging from youth through collegiate athletes and a concerted effort by Visit Buffalo to bring in more amateur sporting events.
"Buffalo is really a mecca for amateur sports," Clark said. "This is a great addition for the market.: