A related article...
ECC South property presents potential opportunity for developers, but will they bite?:
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/b...f1ad22ce1.html
"As one door closes, another opens.
With SUNY Erie Community College looking to move out of its underused South Campus next door to the new $1.7 billion Buffalo Bills stadium in favor of a smaller site in the area, there may be an opportunity for developers to bring a major attraction, retail and housing or multifloor hotel to the area.
If there is interest, that is.
The college’s properties – if they were put up for sale – would join a number of properties just a stone’s throw away from where the new stadium is being built on Abbott Road in Orchard Park that are already on sale or could be in the near future, enticing developers to start a project at or around the stadium as it opens in 2026.
The ECC property is by far the biggest – 102 acres in all – potentially giving developers the chance to do something even more significant.
But there are still questions about whether that type of development will happen. There has been very little trickle-down development around the stadium since the Bills came to Orchard Park from Buffalo five decades ago.
Local developers, nonetheless, say the ECC campus is prime for redevelopment into a “town center,” which combines housing with shopping and recreational attractions that could make the stadium and surrounding area more of a year-round experience.
It could also open the door to creating a Bills-themed tourist attraction like Titletown, which was built next to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, or a tailgate village. Green Bay, the only market smaller than Buffalo in the NFL, is an example of what could be done around a stadium, where developers stepped up, in coordination with the Packers, to build mixed-use projects around Lambeau Field.
“I would think there’s a good possibility of that happening,” said William Paladino, CEO of Ellicott Development Co., one of the region’s largest private real estate developers. “I could see somebody looking at doing that, if not the Bills themselves.”
But, even as ECC could become available, some of the roadblocks remain in place that have been in the way of development since the team played its first game in Orchard Park.
Zoning laws for areas around the stadium can be unfriendly to potential developers. One provision cited as holding back development prohibits buildings taller than 2.5 stories, which limits potential hotel projects.
Local politicians continue to grapple with how – and if – it is prudent to make zoning changes, and whether they will make a noticeable difference.
Most of the remaining ECC South Campus is in the bordering Town of Hamburg and zoned for residential use, so it would likely require a new zoning district that accommodates economic development, including ancillary uses to the stadium.
Then there is the question of demand. Without a stadium that hosts much more than about 10 to 12 NFL games and a few summer concerts each year, there may continue to be little interest from developers to make a big investment in an area without an entertainment district or some ancillary development.
The Bills decided against building a domed stadium, which would have likely cost another $400 million dollars or so, but also would have made the stadium more accessible for events year-round.
“You’ve got your anchor tenant, but what’s the supporting entertainment that’s going to bring people there beyond game days?” said John Cimperman, a longtime marketing executive and owner of 42North Brewing Co.
“That’s critical, because you can’t fill up hotel rooms and deal with the ebbs and flows of staffing without some consistent foot traffic,” he said. “You need to create the critical mass of people there on a Tuesday night in February.”
ECC campus sale inevitable
The future of the ECC campus, situated between Southwestern Boulevard and Big Tree Road, has been in limbo for years as enrollment continues to dip. But once the new stadium deal was agreed to in 2022, it seemed only a matter of time until the campus gave way to another purpose.
Owned by the college, the South Campus consists of eight buildings on what was formerly 161 acres of grounds. Only three of those 1970s-era buildings are currently being used. The county already transferred about 59 acres of former athletic fields to the state for the Bills stadium project.
The school’s board of trustees put out a request for proposals for a new location in December, and hopes to make a move sometime before or during the 2024-2025 school year.
ECC Board Chair Jeffrey Stone has said the college, for years, has been discussing ways to consolidate its three-campus footprint, and stressed that the potential move has nothing to do with the stadium being constructed next door.
Erie County Legislator John Mills, whose 11th district includes the new stadium, said ECC South has not received the maintenance or attention that the college’s other campuses have, and would be expensive to renovate at a time when enrollment has dwindled. He said ECC would be wise to sell the property and lease other space in the Southtowns to continue serving that area as it grows.
After ECC finds a new home, its current property would need to be declared and approved as surplus property by the school’s board. That would allow the county to auction the land to the highest bidder, with proceeds of the sale going to the college, according to a spokesperson for Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
Like Orchard Park, which received a $100,000 grant last year to study development around the stadium, Hamburg has also pondered zoning changes by creating a stadium impact area that would include the “seven corners” at McKinley Parkway in Hamburg up Southwestern Boulevard toward Highmark Stadium.
That area currently is mostly a mixture of light industrial and heavy industrial zoning, and includes some residential property. Commercial uses in the area are limited.
Hamburg officials have acknowledged the importance of the ECC property as an economic driver, saying in the town’s comprehensive plan that the “area should not just be a parking lot but an important destination.”
However, Joshua Rogers, the town’s planning consultant from the Wendel architectural firm, said “nothing has come up (of late) about the area around the stadium from a Town of Hamburg perspective.”
Plenty of opportunities
Ciminelli suggested a private developer might be interested in building a planned-unit development, with a mix of single- and multifamily housing, townhouses and even senior living, as well as scaled retail and restaurants. Others have said the property would be ideal for a museum, amphitheater, recreational complex or small arena.
“That’s what other communities do when they do these types of stadium projects,” Ciminelli said.
But what may be needed the most in the area is a multifloor hotel.
In Orchard Park, there is not a single hotel in the village, and only three one-floor motels in the town – all on Southwestern Boulevard. Most efforts over the years to build a large hotel in the municipality have been thwarted by officials wanting the area to remain quaint.
Between the ECC property and other space that could become available on Southwestern Boulevard close to the stadium – the former Twin Oak Motel, which was demolished in 2021, and La Galleria banquet center, which is closed but not yet up for sale – there’s plenty of room for a hotel, said Don Lorentz, executive director of the Orchard Park Chamber of Commerce.
That could be a specialty hotel, such as a a Great Wolf Lodge, which is not only a resort, but also a water park, featuring restaurants, arcades, spas and children’s activities.
However, getting financing for a hotel next to a stadium that would only be guaranteed to be in high demand a handful of times a year could be a challenge, Ciminelli said.
Developers are interested
There is interest from several developers in properties around the stadium, Lorentz said, but they have told him that there first needs to be changes in local zoning laws.
For Orchard Park’s part, the Town Board has been discussing changes that would expand commercial uses in the area. As of now, much of the property around the stadium in Orchard Park is zoned for residential use, except for a commercial strip at Abbott Road and Southwestern Boulevard.
“I’ve been very clear in saying that if we don’t do this sooner, rather than later, we could lose some great opportunities,” Lorentz said. “I’m hoping there’s going to be some action on it. It’s critical for us and the whole Southtowns to do something to make a difference, rather than what we’ve done for the last 50 years.”
Multiple property owners around the stadium have also said they have received inquiries from developers interested in buying their land, but nothing has come of it yet. There are several properties around the stadium also for sale as owners try to take advantage of elevated property values.
Among them, the properties at 3958 and 3964 Southwestern, which total 1.2 acres, are on sale for $2.5 million, while six parcels, anchored by the popular game day and event lot Yellow Brick Parking at 5265 Big Tree Road, totaling 5.6 acres, are listed for $3.5 million. The extensive ECC property would be expected to bring in an even bigger haul.
The Bills have said they do not want to be in the development game. The team is hoping that people more experienced in those areas will eventually develop land around the stadium – most noted right now for parking lots and tailgate space. It may take one developer stepping up with a project in the area to get the development community moving.
“The positives are that we’ll have a state-of-the-art stadium, we’ve got the tailgating and our team is staying for the next generation, but what we don’t have yet is a catalyst for ancillary development,” Cimperman said."