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Wilson Foundation generosity comes at cost for Buffalo, WNY

It has taken less than 10 years for the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation to become a powerhouse charitable organization in Western New York, funding causes from recreation and fitness to early childhood education and economic development.

It has committed $250 million to the Wilson Park project, $100 million to arts and cultural nonprofits, and tens of millions of dollars to other projects and ventures in Western New York, where it hopes to transform life in a community in which Ralph Wilson earned part of his fortune as longtime owner of the Buffalo Bills.

But behind the scenes, the foundation and its staff have also earned a less charitable reputation in their dealings with local beneficiaries and others, including reports of mistreatment of female nonprofit leaders.

City restarts abandonment effort against Buffalo Grand Hotel

City officials have restarted their legal effort to have the Buffalo Grand Hotel declared as abandoned property that the city could take over.

The move comes after a last-ditch effort by owner Harry Stinson to bring in a new partner and new financing fell through at the end of last week, just as it was about to be formally announced

Ryan administration vows to preserve Cobblestone District buildings - Buffalo Business First

• Two historic Buffalo buildings at 110 and 118 South Park Ave. remain at the center of a prolonged legal dispute.
• Property owner Darryl Carr wants to demolish the structures to build a 55-story skyscraper called Unity Tower.
• The City of Buffalo is exploring eminent domain proceedings to preserve the buildings in the Cobblestone District.

Future of Buffalo Riverline Trail Project still uncertain despite funding | wgrz.com

 A long-planned project to transform an old rail corridor into public green space could be on track toward its next phase, with funding secured for initial work.

The proposed greenway along Buffalo’s waterfront now has about $2 million in federal and state funding in place.

“Unfortunately, $2 million doesn't go a long way these days, and we just want to make sure that we find the right place to spend that money to start the River Line construction. So once that decision is made, which I hope is soon, we will start what's called detailed design that we'll bring a consultant on, and they'll do the design of the section that we're going to do,” said Jeffrey Lebsack, executive director of Friends of The Riverline.

But thennnn: Free Riverline tours offer a preview | Wny Life | buffalospree.com

“While we wait for work to start, I invite everyone to join me for a tour to see this inspiring place and experience its incredible potential,” says Friends of the Riverline Executive Director Jeffrey Lebsack. Free guided tours run May through October; register at theriverline.org.

5/14 Memorial Foundation hires construction manager | News 4 Buffalo

Tuesday marked another milestone for the construction of the 5/14 Memorial at Best Street and Jefferson Avenue.

Members of the memorial foundation announced that they have hired a construction manager to oversee the process. Buffalo Construction Consultants will handle quality control, safety and bidding out to subcontractors for the construction of the site.

VisoneCo seeks NCIDA help for North Tonawanda project

After eight years of fruitless efforts by the City of North Tonawanda to turn its former fire-training property on Tonawanda Island into market-rate housing, a Clarence developer is seeking more than $6 million in tax breaks for its plan to fill the waterfront site with 123 apartments, commercial space and a new riverwalk.

Home Leasing moves forward with apartment project at West Seneca mansion - Buffalo Business First

• Home Leasing first proposed a residential project at 2544 Clinton St. in West Seneca in 2024.
• The developer reduced its apartment proposal from 88 units to 75 units.
• The town has approved rezoning and a special use permit for the residential project.

Mt. Olive in Lackawanna struggles with financing for project

Along-planned church-sponsored housing redevelopment project in Lackawanna has struggled to get off the ground because of a lack of financing, despite winning municipal approval twice in five years for its plan to create 50 affordable units.

The project's funding remains far short of the estimated $42 million price tag, and its city approval is about to expire, which would force Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church to start over with municipal reviews.

Regan Development building housing at former Amherst Bowling Center site - Buffalo Business First

• Regan Development Corp. is building 134-unit Amherst Commons Apartments on demolished bowling alley site.
• A Regan Development affiliate purchased the property for $2 million in November.
• The affordable housing project will be funded in part by New York State Homes and Community Renewal tax credits and brownfield cleanup tax credits.

Construction Watch: Adams Street Infill - Buffalo Rising

Buffalo Erie Niagara Land Improvement Corporation (BENLIC) is putting the finishing touches on four single-story and eight two-story homes on the 500 block of Adams Street.  Buccilli Custom Homes built the twelve homes on 23 vacant parcels.

The single-story plan has three bedrooms, 1.5 baths and 1,320 sq.ft. of living space.  The plan also features a full front porch and unfinished basement.

Cherry Creek Dairy project seeks $7M in IDA bonds

The partners behind a proposed new large-scale dairy farm in Chautauqua County are asking the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency to issue $7 million in taxable and tax-exempt bonds to help finance the $25.18 million venture.

Eden farmer Brendan O'Gorman, a partner in Eden Valley Farms, is teaming up with veteran Cherry Creek dairy farmer Nelson Nobles to create Cherry Creek Dairy, with 7,000 dairy cattle, a rotary milking parlor with 120 stalls and the capacity to produce over 500,000 pounds of milk every day. It would be located on 45 acres of a 389-acre property owned by Nobles Farms at 7782 Milestrip Road in Cherry Creek.

The joint venture would include six 105,000-square-foot free-stall barns with 1,050 stalls in each to house the cows, as well as milk cooling and storage facilities in the milking parlor, and feed-storage facilities to hold more than 100,000 tons of feed annually that would be harvested from 8,000 acres of local crop land. And it would include a manure separation and recycling facility, to turn the cows' waste into renewable natural gas for a power-generation system.

Hispanic Heritage Cultural Institute eyes late summer opening date - Buffalo Business First

• The Hispanic Heritage Cultural Institute at 462 Niagara St. is expected to be completed by late summer.
• New York state gave $7 million in 2025 to help the $30 million project finish construction.
• The building will house a theater, museum, art gallery, learning labs and commercial kitchen.

Richardson Olmsted Campus: Building #13 is Re-Imagined by UB Students - Buffalo Rising

Century-old building on Richardson Olmsted Campus is re-imagined as residential and cultural facility by graduate students in UB School of Architecture and Planning 

21 transformational projects approved in WNY | wgrz.com

Governor Kathy Hochul announced Friday that 21 projects across Western New York have been awarded funding.

Governor Hochul says the projects, which are part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and NY Forward, were selected because they have the 'greatest potential' to jumpstart revitalization and create more opportunities for long-term development. 

Embassy Suites Buffalo completes multi-million renovation - Buffalo Business First

• The Embassy Suites Buffalo completed a multimillion-dollar renovation project.
• This follows the 2025 conversion of two floors to 59 luxury short-term stay apartments.
• Hotel rooms now feature Hilton's Connected Room mobile check-in amenity.

Evergreen and CAS to open East Side health center in summer

A new comprehensive healthcare center will be opening this summer at the intersection of Bailey and Kensington avenues, along with a full-size mural on the side of the building that was commissioned as part of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum's Public Art Initiative.

Evergreen Health and its affiliate, Community Access Services, are constructing the 36,000-square-foot facility at 3070 Bailey Ave. to bring medical and community services to an underserved neighborhood while addressing the shortage of doctors, dentists, pharmacies and clinics in the area. The goal, officials say, is to eradicate inequities in healthcare by meeting people where they are and treating chronic conditions.

Big Reveal: 122 Genesee Street - Buffalo Rising

Chris Jacobs plans apartment conversion at former F. Scherer & Sons store - Buffalo Business First

Chris Jacobs’ plans for redeveloping the shuttered and historic Seeger-Scherer Furniture Store at 122-126 Genesee Street will be reviewed by the Preservation Board on Thursday.  The furniture store closed in 2024 and the property was purchased by Jacobs shortly after. The project will include a mix of residential and commercial space though a unit count was not listed in the application. Abstract Architecture is working on the reuse plan.

He envisions a conversion that would turn the 129-year-old furniture store into a mixed-use building with 22 market-rate apartments and two small first-floor commercial spaces.

Aspire of WNY to buy Cheektowaga church site for $815,000

A Western New York nonprofit that supports children and adults with developmental disabilities is planning to buy a church property in Cheektowaga so it can expand its services.

Aspire of Western New York has an agreement in place to purchase the Maryvale Drive Presbyterian Church property at 425 Maryvale Drive for $815,000, according to documents filed in mid-April in State Supreme Court in Erie County. The 4.79-acre property includes 16,859 square feet of building space, records show.

Because the seller, Maryvale Drive Presbyterian Church, is a religious corporation, the sale needs approval from the State Attorney General's Office or the State Supreme Court. The church filed a petition in court April 14 seeking an order allowing the sale to Aspire. The sale agreement was reached Jan. 22.

Daemen University plans $5M construction project in Amherst - Buffalo Business First

A local college will invest $5 million renovating a new home for its physician assistant program. Daemen University is in the planning stages of renovating Daemen Hall, one of its original structures built in 1949.

“This building will mostly be gutted and the rest of it substantially changed, because we’ll end up with a very modern state-of-the-art healthcare education facility,” said Daemen President Gary Olson. “Right now, the PA department is in two different buildings. After this project, they’ll be under one roof and will have much more modern classroom space and other kinds of space.”

Kloc’s Grove short-term rental proposal not approved by town board | News 4 Buffalo

A major project at Kloc’s Grove in West Seneca has been discussed for months now, and on Monday night the town board voted not to approve the proposal — even while debating some modifications.

A property known for hosting weddings and other events, Kloc’s Grove was looking to add 40 short-term rental units. The units would have been able to accommodate dozens of guests, including those in attendance for weddings as well as outside visitors.

But not all residents are on board — and they’ve been making that known for a while. Their concerns were all about privacy, noise levels, and added strains on the town’s sewage and electrical systems. Others disagreed — and both sides spoke out at the board meeting.

“We weren’t against them improving their wedding venue,” one speaker said. “We haven’t been from Day One. We’re still saying the same thing. They say, ‘This is about our wedding guests. This is about the town.’ This is about one thing — this is about them making money, and doing what they want to do. What wedding venues have 40-plus rooms on site? I don’t really know of any.”

Harry Stinson's new revival plan for Buffalo Grand hotel | WBEN

Fate of Buffalo Grand up for review as city deadline hits

Canadian developer Harry Stinson says he has landed a new financial partner and with the cash flow infusion, he hopes to re-open the long shuttered Buffalo Grand hotel later this year.

Stinson confirmed his new partner is former Buffalo resident Perry Davis, who now resides in Tampa and has extensive interests in the real estate, hospitality and entertainment fields.

Stinson and Davis will be in Buffalo Friday afternoon (May 1) to further discuss their plans for the 486-room downtown hotel.

The new deal comes on the 90th day of a 90 day deadline Mayor Sean Ryan gave to Stinson to provide a development plan, including the financial outlay, for the Buffalo Grand, or the city was going to court to gain control of the property, issue an RFP and find a new hotel developer for the property.

Reviving the hotel and its 486-rooms is a top economic priority for Visit Buffalo and the Ryan administration as it could bolster's the city's chances of landing more conventions and special events.

East Aurora's Twin Elms to become boutique glamping resort - Buffalo Business First

Carner Development Group has begun redeveloping East Aurora’s Twin Elms Estate into a glamping retreat with a campground lodge and upscale treehouses.

The project at the 81-acre property at 1196 Main St. will include the repurposing of an existing 1876 farmhouse into a glamping retreat main lodge, as well as the addition of four treehouses and a half-dozen one-bedroom cottages, pending final approvals.

City of Buffalo showcases new affordable homes | News 4 Buffalo

Leaders with the city of Buffalo and Erie County on Monday unveiled the first of many affordable homes that will be up for sale.

On Monday, officials showed off two homes on Miami Street. The homes were built using money from the American Rescue Plan, and leaders say the goal is to increase owner-occupied homes in the city of Buffalo.

The homes will be sold through a lottery to people who qualify. To qualify, a household cannot make more than roughly $81,000; a three-bedroom home will be sold for $205,000, and a two-bedroom home will cost $175,000.

A total of 47 affordable homes in the city will be for sale by the end of the year. Open houses begin on May 2.

Battery storage is next frontier for energy developers, but WNY towns express caution - Buffalo Business First

Battery energy storage systems are the next frontier in the state's push toward green energy — but many Western New York communities have recently started putting these types of projects under increased scrutiny.

Battery storage is seen as a potential solution as the state seeks to phase out "peaker plants," or fossil-fuel burning power plants that are only active during times of high demand. Renewable energy sources are dependent on sun and wind to generate power; they can't be ramped up when demand is higher.

There's been a move to build more battery storage over the last few years, but it's really ramped up since last summer. The One Big Beautiful Bill passed by the federal government in 2025 guts many federal financial incentives for solar and wind projects, but battery storage remained largely untouched. 

This means green energy developers, particularly those working on solar projects, are increasingly adding on battery aspects to make the projects pencil out...

Meanwhile, a series of high-profile fires involving large battery storage facilities have brought new scrutiny to these projects. In 2025, a fire at a large battery storage facility in California required the temporary evacuation of 1,200 residents.

In 2024, another facility, also in California, had a fire and continued to experience flare-ups for a week after the initial incident...

Numerous local communities over the last few months have adopted or are considering code updates to regulate battery storage systems.

An update being considered by Amherst is typical of those that have been introduced in other local communities. It requires storage system operators to get a permit from the town, limits large-scale projects to General Industrial or Research and Development zones and requires developers to submit a decommissioning plan for when the system has finished its use.

Eldred has helped several municipalities draft laws for battery energy storage. He said these can help communities ensure that the facility is as safe as possible and that first responders have an emergency plan in case of a fire.