The group of real estate investors that was planning four townhome buildings with 28 units off Wehrle Drive in Amherst in late 2023 is now back again for another attempt but with a change, after the group's earlier effort faced some resistance from town officials.
Instead of four identical buildings with seven units each, Kimil Construction President John Militello and his partners for the South Linden Townhomes are now proposing two buildings - one with 16 units, and one with 12. The units could either be sold or leased, with the possibility of a homeowners' association if they are sold. There would also be an acre of open space.
The project would be located on South Linden Street, which is now a "paper" street that doesn't exist except on a municipal map, after it was effectively cut off years ago from North Linden Street by the Thruway. But the 2.4-acre site that the group already owns - which extends toward the dead-end of McIntyre Road near the George F. Lamm American Legion Post - would be accessible from a new private road that would be constructed off Wehrle.
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Militello and his partners in South Linden LLC are asking the town to rezone the properties at 46, 54, 60, 68, 74 and 84 South Linden from single-family residential to multifamily residential.
In their application, project attorney Jeffery Palumbo suggested that the site "provides a transition from single-family homes" to the American Legion Post, and argues that the existing single-family zoning "is not conducive to the area given the immediately adjacent" highway. The project would benefit the surrounding properties by adding "new upscale housing" aimed at empty-nesters or young professionals, and would also diversify the options available.
Palumbo noted that the Town Board already determined that the proposed use "is consistent with the comprehensive plan," after the town previously amended that plan to allow for the earlier version of the project. The developers hope to be able to start this summer, with completion by spring 2026 after one phase of work, although Amherst Principal Planner Scott A. Marshall noted that it's still only a concept and would need site plan approval.
Meanwhile, Robert A. Savarino's RAS Companies has begun work on his planned new Park Gardens residential project at 4774 and 4780 Sheridan Drive, across from Park Country Club, and is now seeking to subdivide the 5-acre property for the 22 townhomes he plans to construct. That's the former wooded site of Gleason Nursery, which Savarino acquired from the former owners, and is clearing and then cleaning up before starting construction.
Plans by Carmina Wood Design call for 11 two-story attached townhome buildings on either side of a new private street called Juniper Court, each with two units aimed at seniors and empty-nesters, and attached two-car garages. The units would be sold as condominiums, based on requirements under the state Brownfield Cleanup Program that the property was entered into last October.
Residents of adjacent streets like Jordan Road and Fleetwood Terrace had objected to the $12 million project, saying it's inconsistent with their century-old neighborhood of small, single-family detached homes on large lots, and would ruin its character by destroying the heavy concentration of big trees that residents treasure. They said there's no need for higher-priced condo-style housing, and also worried about environmental contamination of the nursery site.
But Savarino won town approval to rezone the property in February 2024, and then obtained site plan approval in June 2024.
Reach Jonathan D. Epstein at (716) 849-4478 or [email protected].
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