The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency granted nearly $3.65 million in property tax exemptions to two projects this week, one to redevelop the former Carborundum building on Hyde Park Boulevard and the other to build new housing on Porter Road.
Middleport-based Hellner Development Company received $1.65 million for turning the Carborundum facility into new manufacturing and warehouse space. The $2.14 million project plans to create 10 new jobs with a salary range of $40,000 to $80,000.
CEO Rollin Heller had previously said he had conversations with potential site tenants, though he did not say who they were. They had gotten interest in all kinds of businesses, mostly in warehousing.
Site renovations would take two years to complete.
The other roughly $2 million in incentives is for the West Seneca-based Peter Certo Corporation to build 22 new market-rate apartments at 5700 and 5710 Porter Rd. in the Town of Niagara. The $7.13 million development would construct two new buildings, each with 11 units.
The tentatively named Porter Gardens was touted to provide new local housing for workers, including for the new Amazon fulfillment center on Lockport Road, which Vice-President Chris Lofstrand said they were looking to take advantage of.
The two properties both have single-family homes that would need demolishing, with construction lasting for 40 months from the first quarter of 2027. This development would create one new manager job with a $60,000 salary.
This project received some criticism from neighbors during a public hearing for it late last July, with residents complaining about increased traffic and that developers were getting tax breaks.
“I didn’t plan for 22 families, 22 people, possibly 100 people, living next door to me, 20 feet from my bedroom window,” said Jessica Hughes, who lives next door to the potential development at 5720 Porter Rd. “Put it on the market; maybe a family will move in. Build somewhere else.”
“We don’t want to be squeezed out by apartments, because that’s what’s going to happen,” said Valerie Balbo, who lives at 5820 Porter Rd. “They’re going to start down there and they’ll go at this end. They’re going to squeeze us out.”