What's happening this week in Buffalo Niagara business

What to know about the week ahead

MVAH Partners of Cincinnati and Belmont Housing Resources for Western New York – the developers behind the proposed $50.6 million Main Street Lofts project – are asking the Buffalo Planning Board on Monday for another 180 days to finalize their plan to combine several properties for the venture, to be located on a 2.1-acre site bounded by Main Street, Masten Avenue and East Balcom Street.

The project, which includes 1681-1689, 1703 and 1707 Main St., would include a five-story building with 140 affordable one- and two-bedroom apartments and two smaller two-story buildings with seven three-bedroom townhouses. The city gave its initial approval for lot consolidation a year ago, but the developers are still working to obtain other approvals and certifications, according to their attorney.

Preferred Parking Service of Charlotte, N.C., wants to create a new 167-space paid surface public parking lot at 179 Louisiana St. in the Old First Ward, on 1.3 acres of vacant and unused land owned by railroad operator CSX Corp., at the corner of Louisiana and Republic streets near Ohio Street and the Buffalo River. The companies are seeking use and area variances from the Buffalo Zoning Board of Appeals and a coastal-consistency determination from the Buffalo Planning Board.

Buffalo-based Savarino Companies is also seeking "waterfront consistency review" from the Planning Board on Monday for its $15 million construction project at 1 and 18 Howell St. in North Buffalo, on the banks of the Scajaquada Creek. The firm is proposing to redevelop a derelict and fire-damaged former industrial property by demolishing the two-story structure at 1 Howell and replacing it with a four-story apartment building.

The 60,535-square-foot building would include 55 one-bedroom apartments and 11-two-bedroom units on four floors, above a level of 43 semi-submerged parking spaces. There's also 11 surface parking spaces, but Savarino also agreed to buy a vacant city-owned lot across the street at 18 Howell - initially to provide another 33 parking spaces, but now it will include seven attached townhomes with attached garages, plus 13 more parking spaces.

Meanwhile, in the Town of Aurora, Randy Gill of Tonawanda – through his WNY West Falls – wants to renovate the West Falls Corner Market at 1045 Davis Road, on a property which he bought from Marc Capretto. It will include a beer cave, cooler, freezers, a deli counter, raised front patios and gas pumps. Plans by Robert F. Kasprzak of K1 Architecture in Buffalo call for a facade of manufactured stone veneer, vinyl siding, stucco and repainted concrete block. The Town of Aurora Planning Board will review the proposal on Feb. 1.

In the Town of Hamburg, developers Hamburg Retail and 3800 Hoover Road, respectively, are seeking town Planning Board "sketch plan" guidance on Feb. 1 on proposals to construct a nine-unit apartment project at 4100 St. Francis Drive and at 3800 Hoover Road.

The panel will also review a special-use permit application by Hutton ST 21 for a car wash facility at 5363 Southwestern Blvd., while holding a public hearing on David Manko's request for site plan approval for Phase 4 of his Mission Hills development on the east side of Camp Road. Manko is also proposing a subdivision on the west side of Parker Road, south of Big Tree Road.

Further north, Quattro Development is proposing to construct Take 5 Auto Repair on land owned by Hospitality Syracuse at 5687 Transit Road in the Town of Lockport. The developer is seeking a special-use permit, multiple zoning variances, architectural review and site plan approval from the town Planning Board. Lockport officials on Feb. 7 and Feb. 21 will  also review a plan by Doug Hammond for a 10-lot cluster development of single-family homes on Tonawanda Creek Road.

Financial Institutions, the parent of Five Star Bank, is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Monday.

Moog Inc. will hold its annual meeting, in a virtual format, on Tuesday. The Elma-based manufacturer is preparing for a change at CEO, as John Scannell retires and Patrick Roche is promoted to the job from chief operating officer. Scannell will serve as Moog's nonexecutive chairman.

Niagara University will welcome White House correspondent April Ryan as the featured speaker for its annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy on Wednesday. The presentation takes place at 5 p.m. on in the Russell J. Salvatore Dining Commons on the Niagara University campus. The event is free and open to the public. Ryan is a political analyst for CNN and the Washington, D.C., bureau chief for TheGrio.

World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara will host its 2023 Economic Outlook 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday at Jazzboline, 5010 Main St. in Amherst. The guest speakers are Marc Chandler, chief economist for Bannockburn Global Forex, and Tom Kucharski, president and CEO of Invest Buffalo Niagara. The cost is $40 for WTCBN members and $50 for nonmembers, and includes breakfast.

Evans Bank is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Thursday.

84 Lumber, a Pennsylvania-based building supply company, will hold a hiring event Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2286 Military Road in Tonawanda. It's looking to fill eight openings at its East Amherst and Tonawanda locations, including manager trainees, truck drivers, truck driver helpers and yard workers.

SUNY Fredonia students who served on medical brigades in Honduras the first week of January will describe their experience for the public Friday at an informal program at 3 p.m. in the Science Center’s Kelly Family Auditorium, Room 105.

THE LATEST

Catch up on the latest news from the Buffalo Niagara economy:

Two state Legislators are criticizing tax breaks granted to a pair of fast-food restaurant projects in Niagara Falls.

A new solar farm is in the works for Amherst.

The Bethune Lofts condo conversion project in Buffalo has begun.

A new townhouse development is in the works for Springville

A top Buffalo Sabres executive has departed after the hiring of a new chief operating officer.

A Buffalo laboratory won approval from the state to perform cannabis testing.

22nd Century Group is buying a cannabis business in the United Kingdom.

Tesla provided the latest update on its solar energy business and its Buffalo factory.

Hilbert College is buying a small, career-focused college with campuses in West Virginia and Ohio.

Norstar Development is selling its small downtown headquarters building.

Want to buy an elementary school? The City of Tonawanda school district is selling two of them.

Amherst snack maker Mister Snacks is being acquired by a Pennsylvania company that is shutting down its local operations.

TopSeedz and Linita Design are each in line for $750,000 in low-interest loans from an affiliate of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.

If it wasn't bad enough that a suspicious fire caused extensive damage to the former Buffalo Grand Hotel more than a year ago, now water damage caused during the blizzard is making things worse.

Evergreen Health is planning to expand in East Buffalo.

The Village of Lancaster is getting $4.5 million in state funds for downtown revitalization efforts.

The details are starting to come out about a new Buffalo Bills stadium deal.

ICYMI

Five reads from Buffalo Next:

1. Niagara University grows food marketing program with 'who’s who' of industry leaders: Western New York has some 1,200 companies involved in food manufacturing, distribution, retailing and/or warehousing, putting it in the top five markets for the industry nationally, according to Niagara’s Food Marketing Center of Excellence.

2. Why Buffalo Niagara's labor shortage is still the biggest factor behind sluggish hiring: The Labor Department reported the region added 1,800 jobs during December – a tepid increase that, if it continued, would mean it will be another 14 months before the region regains all its lost jobs.

3. How a Buffalo nurse built lasting bonds with Tops employees after mass shooting: Trinetta Alston, a licensed practical nurse with Community Health Center of Buffalo, has been working with Tops employees since May 16, just two days after the mass shooting at the Jefferson Avenue store.

4. Damar Hamlin's Chasing M's Foundation isn't so little anymore. With donations flowing in since the Buffalo Bills safety suffered cardiac arrest during a Jan. 2 game, the foundation now needs to make fundamental changes to manage and distribute its assets and to ensure the proper oversight, experts said.

5. For looted stores, a costly recovery: Stores looted during the December blizzard have been scrambling to reopen. But the process is involved and insurance doesn't always cover the costs.

The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region’s economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.

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