Two projects aimed at renovating older buildings into residential-based new developments received incentive packages deemed critical to the plan.
The Erie County Industrial Development Agency’s directors approved the projects, which collectively total nearly $7 million in private-sector investment, and will bring properties along Delaware Avenue and in the Elmwood Village area respectively back to life.


ECIDA directors, Monday morning, approved a package that will provide $210,000 in sales and mortgage-recording tax breaks to 1040 Delaware LLC, a local investment group that purchased the long-vacant Niagara Lutheran Home on Delaware Avenue. The company said it intends to renovate the building into a 49-unit apartment complex with 2,000-square-feet of commercial office space. The entire project carries a $4 million development price tag.


1040 Delaware LLC principals include Paul Kolkmeyer, former First Niagara Financial Group president, and prominent Buffalo attorney Anthony Colucci Jr.


Also approved were $430,000 in property, sales and mortgage breaks for FJF Development/Utica Street Condominiums LLC for their plans to renovate a series of properties along Utica Street, just off of Elmwood Avenue, into 16 apartments and ground floor retail space. The project originally was going to be all condominiums but the current economy prompted the change to apartments, said Michael Ferdman, one of the project’s partners.
FJF Development will be investing $2.7 million in the project.


Both the Utica Street and Delaware Avenue projects qualify under the ECIDA’s year-old adaptive re-use program that targets redeveloping older, vacant structures.


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