AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — Two projects in the Town of Amherst, Costco and Station 12, have many wondering what the hold-up is.
Connor Walsh is one of many shoppers looking forward to having a Costco in Amherst.
"I'm excited to get a Costco that would be cool because right now we go to Rochester for the closest one," he explained. "I hope they open it up soon. I'm not sure what's delaying it"
Walsh is not the only one wondering what's taking so long.
"I'm kind of doubting it at this point because they're dragging it," said Kelly Attea of Amherst.
I sat down with Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa to find out why the projects are delayed.
Me: Last time we talked about Costco we were guesstimating the end of this year. What do you think now?
Kulpa: Well it's not going to be this year. They decided to change their site plan in June and had to go through a new round of site plan approvals so they're still working on construction drawings and coming in for permitting.
Below you can watch our report from when the planning board approved those changes. We talked to shoppers who were eager for Costco to open.
Kulpa said there's no set timeline or grand opening date but it probably won't be until 2025 or 2026.
"I would think that you're probably looking at the end of 2025 or into 2026 but it's...everybody's just guessing," Kulpa said.
He also said the site is ready for construction, but there's still a lot of work that needs to be done. That includes re-figuring roads near the future Costco.
Another project people are wondering about is Station 12 on Sheridan Drive. The buildings near Whole Foods are still empty. We asked Kulpa what's next for that project.
"That's a good question. I'd like to know the same thing. It's aggravating." Kulpa said.
We checked in on the project earlier this year and at the time Kulpa shared his same frustrations. You can watch our previous report below.
Station 12 was started before he was in office and under old zoning that only permitted retail.
"Had they done a mixed-use building it would be up and running," said Kulpa. "We're waiting for them to announce some tenants and come in for permits."
Kulpa also said high interest rates are stalling many developers.
"You see a number of developers in this are who say we're not starting until we see some break in the interest rate," said Kulpa.
