Photo by Howard Owens.
The state Office of Homes and Community Renewal has and will be involved with the Batavia-based Ellicott Station project, which has been thrown into some doubt recently after developer Sam Savarino announced he was shutting down his development firm, Savarino Companies.
An agency spokesperson responded to The Batavian’s request for comment, given that HCR initially awarded Savarino $1.2 million per year of low-income housing tax credits for 10 years based on his ability to secure investors, and more recently awarded Savarino $5.7 million in low-income housing tax credits for the downtown apartment project.
"HCR has been actively monitoring the progress of the construction of Ellicott Station and will continue to do so as we work to ensure completion of this critical project and deliver 55 affordable homes to Batavia,” the spokesperson said Friday.
The Batavian had asked HCR about its role in the Ellicott Station project, the requirements of receiving the tax credits and if they could be transferred to another developer if Savarino walked off the job.
The agency further added that:
- No tax credit funds are disbursed until a project is 100 percent completed.
- As with any HCR-financed affordable housing development, a new sponsor will be required to implement the terms of affordability in the existing regulatory agreement.
It is unclear as to whether the apartment complex will remain in the current very low to low-income level, as per application guidelines on the Ellicott Station website, as city officials have been discussing the possibility of getting those levels raised to include workforce income levels.
City Manager Rachael Tabelski said Thursday that city officials will be meeting with HCR to further discuss the current situation of Savarino’s company closing and the apartment complex’s income levels and future at a meeting in September.
Savarino has not responded to requests for further comment since issuing a statement regarding the closing on Tuesday. As is posted on the company website, Savarino Companies, LLC, a full-service construction firm located in Buffalo, New York, will be winding down and ceasing operations.
"The primary factors governing the firm’s decision are ongoing and increasing costs related to a project the company’s surety was forced to complete at Alfred State College, a recent termination of work and the company’s inability to obtain surety bonding or acceptance of alternative performance guarantees for $110 million of 2023 work which the company would otherwise have had underway at this time," the site states. "Without that work, it would not be possible for the company to operate profitably.
"Savarino Properties, LLC, which is an independent company and provides property management services throughout Western New York, will not be impacted."
As of late Thursday afternoon, no one from Savarino Companies had reached out to the city about the fate of Ellicott Station, though there has been some apparent work activity noted at the 50 Ellicott St. site.
