West Seneca, N.Y. (WBEN) - For about 30 years now, the plot of land that used to be the Seneca Mall in West Seneca has sat vacant with little-to-no activity on site, other than the Tops Friendly Market that is still open at 355 Orchard Park Road.
After a great deal of controversy surrounding the 55-acre site over several years, the property has finally been listed for sale by owner Pyramid Brokerage Co.
According to Buffalo Business First , the site is listed for all 55 acres of the property, but doesn’t list a price. Any interested parties are able to contact an agent for pricing details.
West Seneca Town Supervisor Gary Dickson is pleased to finally see something potentially coming together with the site that sits right off the New York State Thruway and Route 219.
"We're certainly happy that finally there might be some movement, that we might be able to get it in the hands of a developer that actually has the desire or the wherewithal to develop it. We'll just have to see," said Dickson in an interview with WBEN. "A month or two ago, there was a lot of press on the issue, and one of the things that we said openly was to the current owners, if you don't want to develop it, then just sell it to somebody who does."
Anybody who has interest in purchasing the site first has to execute a Pyramid Brokerage nondisclosure agreement (NDA). Then groups will get access to the information on the property, including lease and due diligence items.
After reviewing the documents, interested parties can contact the associate real estate broker with Pyramid Brokerage.
Offers must be submitted by email by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 31. The offers will soon be reviewed after, and qualified potential buyers will be contacted within the following week.
Dickson admits it's a bit of an odd process for the sale of a site such as this, which is why he's cautiously optimistic that the land can be sold. He says what should first stand out about the attractiveness of the site is its location.
"West Seneca is practically in the center of the county, we're adjacent to Buffalo, it's right off the I-90. It's got excellent access, an excellent location. It just takes the right kind of developer to want to make something of it," Dickson explained.
As for why the site has sat for so long without any action, it's a question Dickson has even tried to have answered himself.
"I can't get into the head of the owners, but it does seem odd that they would just sit on it for, coming up on, 30 years. I mean, that's half the life of the owners," he said. "We're optimistic, but we've been optimistic before. That's why we're cautious."
For a while now, Dickson has received several calls and had many different conversations with residents about interest in getting the site developed. He adds everyone seems to have their own idea of what they want to see.
"Whether it's a sports venue, a mixed use or residential [space], or a park. There's all sorts of ideas. The key thing is what's the idea of the person that actually owns it, and has the money to develop it?" Dickson said.
Dickson is in a similar boat to many residents of West Seneca, as he, too, hopes to see a mixed use of that site. That is if there is a prospective buyer with the right mindset to develop the property.
"It's big enough that it can fit all of the above. It could fit some sports venues, it could fit some residential, it could fit some commercial. Including the Tops, it's about 50-55 acres of space that's available, so you can fit an awful lot of things there," Dickson noted. "You can't fit the Buffalo Bill stadium, but pretty much anything smaller than that would fit."
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