Buffalo State project clears key hurdle
Student housing to be built on the site of a parking lot
A $50 million project to house students at Buffalo State College cleared a key hurdle Monday when the Erie County Industrial Development Agency took steps that will make it possible to help pay for the construction with tax-exempt bond financing.
Buffalo State, which houses some students in a nearby hotel because of its space crunch, plans to build a pair of four-story dormitories on a campus parking lot at Grant Street and Rockwell Road.
Initial plans called for each floor to have 16 four-bedroom apartments with full kitchens, along with a first-floor common room and laundry facilities.
The Buffalo State project is one of many local proposals that has been delayed by the gridlock in the State Legislature over legislation that would allow non-profit groups to use IDAs to help finance civic projects.
The move by the IDA transferred assets among various entities in a way that will allow the Erie County Industrial Land Development Corp. to issue debt for nonprofit projects.
The move has been in the works since summer but became ensnared in political maneuvering when Democrats in the County Legislature, despite the objections of County Executive Chris Collins, demanded that any nonprofit group seeking the financing pay higher, prevailing wages to their construction workers.
That's not an issue for Buffalo State, because it already is subject to those restrictions because of the involvement of the State Dormitory Authority in the project.
But Philip Ackerman, the IDA's chairman, said other nonprofits could be reluctant to use the county agency because the higher costs of the prevailing wage requirement could more than offset the savings from the lower-cost financing.
Other local IDAs are taking similar steps to take advantage of a back-door solution to break the legislative log jam preventing nonprofit groups from using IDAs to help finance civic projects.
The Amherst IDA took steps in September to revive the largely dormant Amherst Development Corp. as a conduit for nonprofit project financing. It included the prevailing wage requirement on projects valued at $10 million or more.
About $195 million in Erie County projects … including expansions at the University at Buffalo, Women & Children's Hospital and St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute … have been on hold since the legal authority for IDAs to back those types of projects expired at the beginning of 2008. Most of the "civic facilities projects" are for schools, health care and senior citizens housing.
Buffalo State plans to initially seek $30 million in funding, IDA officials said, noting that it is important that the deal close before the end of December in order to take advantage of the federal stimulus program.
Funding for the rest of the project would come next year.
e-mail: drobinson@buffnews.com
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments