pembroke

Notre Dame improved to 11-4 on Monday on Tuesday with a 53-37 win over Pembroke in Girls Basketball.

Sofia Falleti led the way for the Irish with a game-high 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Lucia Fiorentino also contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds.

“This was a big Genesee Region match-up for us tonight," said Coach VInny Falleti. "We knew Pembroke was a good team and could shoot well. Our team did a great job defensively and was able to have the majority of our team contribute offensively as well.”

Photos by Jaden Radam (Notre Dame student)

The first phase of a $16 million apartment complex on Alleghany Road in Pembroke is nearing completion, and reservations for one- and two-bedroom apartments are being accepted.

The anticipated move-in date for new tenants is April 1, said developer Michael Schmidt.

Schmidt owns a parcel at 8900 Alleghany Road that has been approved for four buildings. Each phase, each building, consists of eight one-bedroom units and 16 two-bedroom units for a total of 96 market-rate units at build-out, along with 168 parking spaces and garages.

"We're ready," Schmidt told The Batavian during a tour on Friday of the complex under construction. "We took our first reservation today; somebody who wanted this lower one down here, we just walked past. So we're gonna let people pick (what unit they want)."

The rentals are currently listed on Zillow.

The one-bedroom units are 680 square feet and rent for $1,295 a month. The two-bedroom units are 900 square feet and go for $1,595.

That doesn't include utilities but free wi-fi and basic television service (a QR code on each unit's router allows the tenant to purchase premium services).

When entering the one bedroom, you will be essentially walking into the kitchen, which contains a refrigerator and an island with a stove and dishwasher. The unit will also have a microwave oven.

The bathroom is 3/4 (shower only, no bathtub). 

On entering the two-bedroom, you step into the dining area. Between the kitchen and dining area is a countertop that can seat three or four people.  It will also contain a refrigerator, stove, microwave, and dishwasher.  It will have a full bath.

Both units contain a stacked clothes washer and dryer.

There is central air in all units.

Tenants will have the option to rent a storage closet in the building or a garage.

The floors will be covered with vinyl tile, with carpet in the bedrooms, over a poured gypcrete. The gypcrete provides both fire protection and soundproofing. There are also 12-inch beams between the floors, Schmidt said, providing further soundproofing.  The walls use resilient channels to baffle sounds between units.

"That's going to be really good on sound, super efficient," Schmidt said. "We've got 900 square feet in the two bedrooms and 680 square feet in the one bedroom, so that's a nice size. It's not overly big, but they're super high efficiency, so I think people will be really happy."

Tenants will be allowed to own a small dog or cat.

With cabinets and other fixtures arriving in the next few weeks, it won't be long before the units are finished, and Schmidt said he will furnish two units. For one thing, that will give him demo units for photos and virtual tours, but he also anticipates there will be future tenants who want furnished units, especially to support workers at Darien Lake and WNY STAMP.

Whether Schmidt constructs the other complexes on the parcel will depend on whether the demand he anticipates for apartments on the Route 77 corridor materializes.

The project, on an 8.2-acre lot, which had an initial cost estimate of $15 million, is supported by the Genesee County Economic Development Center with a sales tax exemption on building materials worth $739,200, a property tax abatement of $2 million, and a mortgage tax abatement of $130,000. 

The town has been great to work with, Schmidt said. Stringent but fair.

"I haven't gotten a lot of love from them, and I mean that sincerely," Schmidt said. "I like Jim (James Wolbert, code enforcement officer) but he hasn't been like wink and nod. There's been no 'Hey, we want the project so we're gonna let you slide out of stuff.' He's busted our chops on every single nit."

It isn't that way in other jurisdictions, Schmidt said. For example, even though the garage complexes have no electric and no heat, the walls between fire units must be fire-rated.

"Nobody does that," Schmidt said. "All those units will be fire-rated. There's no electric, no heat, but Jim's in charge. If you want to have a building, the inspector always wins, so what he wants, he gets. He hasn't cut us any breaks but that's okay. You can't be upset with somebody for doing their job."

Previously:

• Town planners give go-ahead to travel center and apartments proposed for Pembroke
• Shadow of Ellicott Station throws shade on apartment plan for Pembroke, developer promises no low-income housing
• Developer explains why he's seeking GCEDC assistance on 96-unit apartment complex in Pembroke
• Pembroke supervisor sees the need for 96-unit apartment complex, but zoning code should be reviewed
• Pembroke supervisor sees need to 'pump the brakes' on apartment development, modify zoning code

Local business legend Tony Kutter passed away on Wednesday at his home in Pembroke, surrounded by his family.

He was 91.

Kutter and his brother inherited their father's business, Kutter's Cheese, in the 1950s, when they were in their twenties and turned it into a business with an international reputation.

In 1995, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Kutter traveled to Russia as part of a trade exchange program to help aspiring Russian entrepreneurs learn how to start cheesemaking businesses.

Kutter himself learned the business from his father, Leo, who learned the trade in Germany after fighting for the Kaiser in World War I and, on the advice of a boss, moved to America, settling in the then-thriving city of Buffalo but dreaming of starting his own cheese-making business.

By the time the Kutter sold the family business to Yancy's Fancy in 1998, Kutter's had worldwide retail reach.

"I've always been adamant about promoting wine and cheese," Kutter told The Batavian in 2010 when Kutter's Cheese was named Agriculture Business of the Year. "We also supply a lot of wineries with cheese for wine tasting."

As part of the exchange program, Kutter made 31 to Russia and Ukraine over 13 years.

In 2015, Kutter published a book about his experiences in Russia, "Cheese in the Time of Glasnost and Perestroika."

Anthony William Kutter was born March 4, 1933, in Cowlesville, to Leo and Flora Kottman Kutter.

He graduated from Corfu High School in 1951. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Korea for two years.

For his full obituary, click here.

Elba beat Pembroke on Tuesday in Girls Basketball 66-33.

For the Lancers, Sydney Reilly scored 23 points, and Lydia Ross scored 19.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Alexander hit nine three-point shots on the way to a 61-51 win over Pembroke in Boys Basketball on Friday.

Trojans stats:

Dragons stats:

• Josh vonKramer, 16 points
• Jayden Bridge, 14 points
• Nolan Peterson, 11 points
• Caleb Felski, seven assists

Press Release:

The Intermediate School Student Council hosted their annual December Drive to help collect food donations for the Corfu Food Pantry. 

Currently, the Pantry is helping 50 families in our Corfu/Pembroke communities. In total, the Intermediate School students and staff collected 1,889 items!

On December 20, students and staff braved the elements to deliver donations. It took the entire 6th grade, entire 5th grade, and two 4th grade classrooms to deliver all of the food!

The Intermediate School Student Council also held a friendly competition to see which classroom in each grade collected the most food. The winners are:

• 3rd: Mrs. Amuso
• 4th: Mrs. Fenik
• 5th: Ms. Stoldt
• 6th: Mr. Brown

Submitted photos.

In Boys Basketball on Saturday, Byron-Bergen beat Pembroke by just two points on Saturday, 45-43.

Cody Carlson scored 18 points for the Bees. Noah Clare scored 11, and Cole Diquattro scored eight.

For the Dragons, Jayden Bridge scored 20 points.

Photos by Jennifer Diquattro.

Press release:

Pembroke Dragons' Senior Outside Hitter Reagan Schneider (#14) is a three-time Genesee Region Volleyball All-Star and has been named Genesee Region Volleyball Player of the Year for 2024. 

Schneider also broke Pembroke's record for the number of kills in a single season—breaking her own record that she set in 2023. 

Congratulations to one of the Genesee Region's premier athletes on such a stellar season.

Submitted photos.

The Pembroke Dragons defeated the Frewsburg Bears on Saturday to secure another shot at a West Regional title in 8-Man Football.

The final score, 50-19.

The Dragos is now 11-0 on the season and will face Frankfort-Schuyler out of Section III for the West Regional Championship on Friday, Nov. 29th, at Vestal High School.

Caleb Felski ran for 428 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also tossed a touchdown pass. Also scoring, Vijay Dhanda and Caleb Kimmel. Defensively the Dragons were led by Madden Perry who had a team high 11 tackles. Hayden Williams and Felski each had two interceptions a piece. 

Photos by Matthew Steinberg.