Hamburg, N.Y. (WBEN) - A recent attempt to sell McKinley Mall to Benderson Development fell through. Now with a stadium being built nearby, there are concerns about the mall and properties nearby.
"I'm very concerned about the about that sale falling through," says Hamburg Supervisor Randy Hoak. He says Benderson had some interesting plans for the property, But ultimately they weren't able to make the deal work. "My concerns, of course, are further devalue in depreciation of the property, a reduction in business revenue, sales, tax revenue, revenue for the community, as well as just the the optics, the aesthetics of that property, there's a great deal of potential," Hoak says the mall is a gateway to the town, and will be very close to the new Bills stadium. "My hope is that this new stadium will bring additional tourism and attraction to our community, and the making them all property is very well situated to take advantage of that," says Hoak.
Hoak admits retail is not the same as it was in the 1980s and 1990s. "I do believe that there's certainly capacity for more retail businesses in the McKinley mall property. But developers are going to have to get creative and the business community is going to have to get creative to see what else we can make work on that property," says Hoak. He also notes infrastructure could be another issue. "The mall has an infrastructure, parking lot, ring road, sewer, electric water, that set up for the operation of a mall, to pivot to a non-retail use may require infrastructure investment into the property by a developer," notes Hoak.
Peter Hunt of Hunt Real Estate says generally speaking, something like this is common in retail property sale attempts. "What happens now is that there's an extended due diligence period, largely because financing is more expensive," explains Hunt. "The lenders are very careful about where they're putting their money these days, and certainly the buyers are more than interested in making sure that they understand the extent of any issues, short and long term relative to tendencies, for example, that will dramatically affect or immediately affect the value of the property." Hunt says potential buyers then do their due diligence. "My guess is, without knowing what happened is that through that due diligence process and/or the financing process, things just didn't line up," says Hunt.
Hunt says any property of that size in that location is an excellent property. "Any property like that is going to significantly impact the community around it, or the progress towards development or redevelopment, that property will affect everything around it," says Hunt. With stadium construction nearby, he says owners of the property are trying to maximize the value of those properties, but it's kind of a tenuous situation. "A lot of it depends on how many actual events are being held in the new stadium, and the extent to which people are drawn to that whole neighborhood, that whole part of our community on a more regular basis right now," says Hunt. He says there's limited use of the stadium. "As a result, there's limited spillover effect in terms of hotels, restaurants, shopping, etc. I think it's everybody's hope as that new facility is completed, there'll be enormous amount of activity generated on a more regular basis. If that happens, then the value of all the properties that we think they're going up now, the value will be substantiated," adds Hunt.
Was there interest from the Seneca Nation? Hoak says he has not heard any so far. "I think that the Seneca Nation has some impressive holdings throughout our community. They certainly have been able to marshal innovation and build projects that serve not only the nation, but the surrounding communities very well," says Hoak. His hope ultimately is to have any business come in with the capital to have the vision for a project that would serve the community well.