Home > About BNE > Press Room > 2011 Archive > February > Larkin District Plan Gets $1.8 Million Tax Break

Larkin District Plan Gets $1.8 Million Tax Break

IDA approves deal for two developers to build debt collector’s headquarters

By David Robinson

February 15, 2011

 Developers Howard Zemsky and Doug Swift are getting more than $1.8 million in tax breaks for their $8.4 million project to build a new headquarters building for debt collector Capital Management Services in the Larkin District.

The Erie County Industrial Development Agency approved the tax breaks Monday, less than two weeks after the developers disclosed their plans for a 57,000-square-foot building at 111 Hydraulic St. at the site of the former Good Door Store car repair business.

“The transformation of the Larkin District continues,” said Karen Fiala, the IDA’s assistant treasurer.

Capital Management, a national collection agency, plans to shift its headquarters and main operations center from the Larkin at Exchange Building to the new building, located across the street.

“This project will greatly assist in further stabilizing the neighborhood,” said Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown.

A rendering of the new building shows that it will have art deco architecture, with tan masonry on the exterior with cast stone accents and dark brown framing.

The developers hope to begin work on the building next month. Construction is expected to take about nine months.

More than $2 million of the project’s overall cost will cover acquisition costs and expenses associated with the cleanup of waste material and sandblast-

ing sand that were improperly disposed of by the auto repair business, Fiala said. The original building on the site, which has been vacant for about six years, already has been demolished.

Even with the tax breaks, the project will generate about $388,000 in tax revenue for Erie County and the City of Buffalo during the period covered by the tax abatements, IDA officials said.

Capital Management during the next two years does not expect to add any workers to its current staff, which now includes 561 full-time and 44 part-time employees.

The IDA, through its Regional Development Corp. affiliate, also approved a $950,000 loan to Buffalo Filter, which is building a $7.8 million factory at 5900 Genesee St. in Lancaster that will allow the company to consolidate operations from two leased sites in Amherst. The loan will be used by the medical device manufacturer to purchase equipment for the new facility.

Buffalo Filter expects to add 19 jobs to its 65-person work force as a result of the $5.4 million project, which previously was granted tax breaks by the Lancaster IDA.

Buffalo Filter makes biohazard “smart filters” that enhance users’ safety. The company’s filters clear the air in laser-surgery operating rooms, where smoke that can carry viruses and other hazards may pose threats.

The project allows Buffalo Filter to consolidate leased facilities at 595 Commerce Drive and 155 Pineview Drive, both in Amherst, which total about 28,000 square feet, into a single plant nearly twice as large.

The Erie County IDA also approved a $92,500 grant for the Buffalo Southern Railroad, which is owned by Erie County and overseen by the IDA. The grant will help fund $817,000 in upgrades and maintenance work on 22 miles of track bed, including the replacement of crossties and switch timbers.

The county-owned portion of the former Erie Lackawanna Railroad line runs for 32 miles from Buffalo to Gowanda.

drobinson@buffnews.com