West Main Street property to be listed for sale

Holding on to the West Main Street property has been a struggle for the Lancaster Community Development Corporation.

The property, which sits on West Main Street between Central Avenue, Pleasant Avenue and North Aurora Street in the Village of Lancaster, has had trouble attracting developers and tenants alike as the property has been in need of several renovations.

There are currently six tenants in the building, including a Save-A-Lot grocery store.

Trustee Russell Sugg announced at Monday’s Village Board meeting in his community development report that pending an appraisal from MT Bank, the property would be listed for sale.

Sugg said he has been pushing for the property to be put up for sale for the past 10 years and has been vocal about it since he ran for office four years ago.

Jim Allein, president of the Community Development Corporation, along with Matt Walter, secretary for the corporation and a Lancaster town councilman, don’t want the property to be sold but rather developed.

Walter said in the meeting, as the three men discussed the potential sale, that they have received offers for the purchase of the property but have turned them down.

A developer wanted to turn the property into an apartment complex for seniors. However, the CDC and the board are looking to sell the property to a developer who wants to create an attraction that would be a focal point of the villages’s Main Street business district.

The property still has eight vacancies that the CDC would like to see filled.

“If we get more tenants, then we won’t have to sell the property,” said Allein.

There is currently no timetable for the appraisal to be finished or for the official listing of the property.

The board also is awaiting full funding approval to begin the bidding process for the West Main Street streetscape project.

The project will make West Main Street’s streetscape look consistent with Central Avenue, including new light fixtures, stamped concrete sidewalks and red brick to match the adjacent avenue.

William Cansdale, the superintendent of public works, said that if the funding is completely approved, the board could begin the bidding process by Feb. 22.

The board recently accepted $200,000 from a combination of Erie County and the Lancaster Industrial Development Agency. The project is set to begin as soon as the bidding ends.

The next Village Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at the Lancaster Municipal Building, 5423 Broadway.