City Hall is playing hardball with the owner of the venerable AM&A’s building at 377 Main Street according to today’s News. New Horizons Acquisitions LLC has been given a March 23 deadline to produce redevelopment plans for the hulking downtown complex or face fines in Housing Court over code violations. Judge Henry Nowak gave New Horizons sixty days to appear in court with a long-term plan for the vacant property.
New Horizons purchased the former department store and adjacent warehouses in September 2006 for $2,050,000. The Long-Island based developer promptly announced a $60 million project to convert the properties into a mix of 180 apartments and ground floor retail.
New Horizons performed emergency façade work on the properties last spring when masonry began raining onto sidewalks. Workers secured the former store and warehouse buildings by chipping away loose terra cotta tile and bricks.
Last June the property was advertised for sale and then suddenly pulled off the market by the owners who said the property was listed “in error.” The developer recommitted to completing a residential conversion of the properties last October after pleading guilty to previous code violations but has not submitted a plan for City approval.
City inspectors met New Horizons in court on January 9 and 23 with five of the original sixteen code violations still not corrected. Housing Court Judge Henry Nowak with the City’s blessing gave the owner sixty days to produce a plan for the property. The parties will be back in court February 6 to provide an update to Judge Nowak. New Horizons faces a fine of $1,500 per day for each code violation.
Bon-Ton shuttered the flagship property in March 1995. A series of redevelopment plans, demolition proposals and potential purchasers have come and gone while the City battled former-owner Richard Taylor in housing court over building code violations at the property.
The Buffalo News asks readers, “Is it time to demo the buildings?”