TOWN OF AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — A motion to move forward with a multi-million dollar redevelopment project in the Town of Amherst.
The Town's planning board members have approved a rezoning proposal for the Boulevard Mall.
Members voted four to two to allow the new development to be between two and ten stories at Thursday night's meeting.
In December, a court ruled in favor of the Town of Amherst in its eminent domain case involving longtime tenant JCPenney and the aging Boulevard Mall property.
That ruling moved Amherst a step closer to taking over the 60-acre property.
Douglas Development purchased the majority of the mall's property in 2019, with plans to transform the once bustling shopping destination into a town center featuring retail, restaurant and residential opportunities.
7 News' Pheben Kassahun was able to speak with board member John Davis who voted yes and said families now have something to look forward to.
"I think the Boulevard Mall now is an old, obsolete building. I think it needs to be revamped. I think an upgraded or redeveloped mall would be good for the town. It would bring in new revenue and I'm excited about it," said Davis.
The two board members who voted no were not able to speak with 7 News Thursday.
The topic has been met with resistance from town residents stating the cost is too much to bear for residents.
In a planning board meeting on January 18, Amherst resident Geri DiCosmo shared she condoned the idea of the project because she was not happy about there being "no public hearing" in the planning board about this.
"I am very concerned about this. I want to know besides the streamline of this, who benefits from this? Certainly not the people and who pays for it, the people. So, I really think you should consider it. I would consider it if it were my home and I would come up with what's probably going to be a very costly situation," DiCosmo shared in the planning board meeting in January.
In December 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the Town of Amherst had been awarded $31 million for infrastructure work for the Boulevard Mall.
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