AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — There is a step forward in the process of transforming the Amherst Boulevard Mall into a redesign.
The Town held a brief public hearing on eminent domain to approve the measure, in order to take over the mall for a short period of time, Monday evening.
The hope is that it will kickstart the efforts to breathe new life into the mall.
7 News' Pheben Kassahun followed up on the next phase of the project that would transform a major hub in Amherst, and finding out what's next in the process.
Amherst Town officials hope this second phase will give them a chance to to their due diligence on what stores are at the mall and what needs to be demolished.
"As a way to circumvent and a way to speed up the process of redevelopment, the Town had the intention of going through an urban renewal process," Town of Amherst supervisor, Brian Kulpa told Kassahun.
This process effectively breaks the leases and then takes the property.
Officials will then sell the property back to the development community at a higher price to do work.
However, Kulpa said what they are seeing is very few organizations coming forward.
"What we've been trying to do is talk to all of the leases about coming in and saying, 'Hey, if you have an interest in being part of the project, come to the table because otherwise, the Town is going to rip everything apart," he added.
The only ones who want to be involved are Benderson Development and Douglas Development.
Kulpa said they know what they want.
It is a blend of housing: affordable through luxury, student through senior and would like to see new food, new retail.
"The mall is a dead animal, so we're going through the steps necessary to put the mall back into good tax standing and good services,"
He said the mall used to be valued at $90 million in assessed value, but that has since dropped tenfold.
According to Commercial Cafe, it is valued at just under $9 million.
This is why the Town officials said it is taking an aggressive approach with this urban renewal kit.
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