It's been nearly four years since Dave Vascianne purchased the former armory property on State Street in the City of Batavia and according to his consultant, David Carr said it's been a slow but deliberate process to decide what to build on the land.
The decision, on the back of the property, a senior housing complex.
On the front, using the existing buildings? Vascianne and Carr want to hear from the community.
To that end, they've been working with a group of RIT students to develop a range of possible uses for the buildings and those ideas will be presented to the community from noon to 2 p.m. at City Centre on Saturday, Feb. 29.
"We want to get as much input from the community as possible," Carr said. "Whatever it is, we want to fit with the senior housing and make sure everything fits together. Everything has to be social together because otherwise, it won't work, which is why we want to get input from everybody."
DaVas Enterprises, LLC purchased the parcel Aug. 1, 2016, from the New York State Police for $235,000.
At the time, Vascianne said, he wasn't sure what he would do with the property but he's a developer. It was too good a value to pass up. It's a nice piece of land and the existing buildings are architecturally interesting and in good shape.
He settled on senior housing to anchor the development because of the residential zoning of the area but he hasn't decided yet what to do with the front part of the property.
Carr said the project is being privately financed though there are tax credits available for the senior housing and they may seek out other assistance.
Photo: File photo from 2015
