Dealing with communication shutdown: 'a long process,' city manager says

By Joanne Beck
Aug 24, 2023, 7:30pm

sam savarino — *File photo of Sam Savarino, president/CEO of Savarino Companies, which he announced he was closing this week, during the groundbreaking of Ellicott Station.*
*Photo by Howard Owens*

Suffice it to say that the name Savarino will be the word of the day for some time to come, as working through the recent company’s closure and what that means for Ellicott Station will be “a long process,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said Thursday.

The Batavian had reached out to Tabelski late Tuesday about any updates on the closure of Savarino Companies and how that may impact the work-in-progress at the Southside apartment complex known as Ellicott Station.

Tabelski responded on Thursday to say that company President Sam Savarino has not been in touch with the city since the publication of the news and that city officials are continuing to work on the situation.

“There’s been no contact from the company,” Tabelski said. “We’re trying to gather as much information as we can. We don’t have answers yet, and we’ll be working on it. And looking to get those answers for everybody in the community, what next steps might be and what that might look like.”

She confirmed that prospective developers have contacted the city expressing interest in the project and that no vendors or subcontractors have called with concerns or complaints at this point.

City officials plan to meet with staff from the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal in September, which has been in the works since the city learned about lower-than-expected income requirements at Ellicott Station.

First promised as market rate, then workforce housing, the apartment complex's application surprised city officials earlier this year with low to very low-income levels, prompting them to reach out to HCR for assistance to see what could be done to raise those income levels to allow for workforce housing tenants.

Apparently, in addition to the apartment complex, on-site work has also included preparation for a brewery, which had been discussed in original plans but had fallen through with the one company, Buffalo-based Resurgence Brewing. Savarino had later said that he still intended to follow through with the plan for a restaurant and/or brewery, whether it be another vendor or his own company.

The developer owns the property at 30-50 Ellicott St. as part of a deal brokered by Batavia Development Corp. in an effort to throw a spark onto an underutilized piece of “brownfield” property that needed a remediation and economic boost.

New York State’s Office of Homes and Community Renewal promised $1.2 million per year for 10 years in low-income housing tax credits -- incentives that were tied to the developer securing an investor or investors to back the project.

He requested approximately $3.6 million in economic incentives, with a $2,105,792 property tax exemption, a $790,512 sales tax exemption, and a $180,792 mortgage tax exemption. The bulk of the incentives are only realized by the developer after the compilation of a project.

Genesee County Economic Development Center CEO Steve Hyde said Wednesday that the agency is working to determine the next steps to be taken and that the agency had already found the company to be in default of its financial agreement.

Savarino was awarded $425,000 of the city’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant money and $5.7 million of HCR’s low-income housing tax credits.

In 2017 and 2018, the city also awarded his company two grants: one from Empire State Development called the Restore New York grant for $500,000 to rehab the old electric building that’s on the site and a $250,000 National Grid grant to enhance the Ellicott Trail on the property area right behind the Savarino campus.

Savarino stated at the start of the project that the estimated construction costs at the time were more than $22.5 million. The total of awarded grants, incentives, and tax credits is about $11.6 million. With the project incomplete, Savarino has not yet realized the full value of those incentives, grants, and tax credits.

The Batavian has reached out to Savarino for further details about the closure and future of Ellicott Station and its 55 previously confirmed tenants; and to HCR for comments about the agency's ongoing role and responsibility in this situation and will provide an update when/if a response is provided.

Previously: