Previously defeated, Arista Development tries again for warehouse project on Wehrle

Located west of Transit Road, it's one of the last significant parcels in the southeastern part of town. It's also behind existing medical and office buildings on George Karl Boulevard, so Nuchereno says a commercial use fits.

Even the town now says the 22.83-acre property's best use is for warehouses. 

But his neighbors on residential streets to either side have consistently said they don't want it developed, unless it's more residential housing. A senior housing developer proposed an "adult-living" complex on the site just a year ago, but then pulled back. So despite Nuchereno's efforts, the land has languished.

Now he's trying again, this time with a research-and-development component along with warehousing. And he's running into the same opposition.

Nuchereno's Arista Development wants to capitalize on the strong demand for industrial and research space, with a new project to construct seven buildings totaling 310,000 square feet at 2360-2370 Wehrle.

That's behind Dent Neurologic Institute, Atlas Surgery Center and Bennett Rehabilitation Institute, all located around the divided George Karl Boulevard.

Aside from a very narrow frontage on Wehrle between Berkley Road and the United Auto Workers office, the narrow two-step property is entirely landlocked and sandwiched between Main and Wehrle, and between homes on Berkey and Oakwood Drive.

The complex would include two 45,000-square-foot research-and-development warehouses, one on 2 acres and one on 2.9 acres; three 20,000-square-foot warehouses, two each on 1.1-acre lots and one on 1.2 acres; and two 80,000-square-foot facilities, one on 4.5 acres and one on 4.4 acres.

All would be connected with private roads throughout the complex, linking back to George Karl, with additional space in between for more development. The site would also include 340 parking spaces and 10 acres of greenspace.

Nuchereno last month asked the Amherst Planning Board to reclassify the property from "commercial office" to "industrial office" in the town's Comprehensive Plan, in preparation for a rezoning from "office building" to "research development."

But 11 neighbors – mostly from Oakwood – voiced objections, centered around noise, light, trucking and chemical pollution concerns, as well as the vagueness of the proposal.

Philip E. Lewandowski of Oakwood said he and others felt the plan lacked details and could change significantly after rezoning. He said warehouses mean storage, but there was no information about what would be stored.

"They were trying to get board to rezone it so they could do what they want with it," Lewandowski said. "The whole proposal was just very suspect. We don't know what they're going to put in those facilities."

The board tabled the application to give Nuchereno and his attorney, Jeffery Palumbo to meet with the neighbors to discuss "possible alternatives."

"At this point, that is the plan," Palumbo said.

Palumbo said no tenants have been lined up yet. However, he noted in the application that the town has identified a need for industrial and warehouse development "as there exists virtually no research development land available in the town," while there's "a glut of office buildings with high vacancy rates." He also cited the nearby Wehrle Industrial Park and the availability of infrastructure for the proposed site.

This is Nuchereno's latest effort on the site, which was originally zoned as residential. Before Arista acquired the site, it had been targeted for new houses until the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority – which owns and manages the nearby airport – recommended against it. Arista then sought to rezone it to allow light manufacturing, warehouse and distribution but was denied, as neighbors objected to tractor-trailer deliveries at all hours.

Then, two decades ago, he received a rezoning and town approval in February 2002 to develop a 400,000-square-foot office park on the site, overcoming opposition from neighbors to concerns about increased traffic and the effects of blasting during construction on the nearby homes.

In 2016, Nuchereno proposed a pair of medical office buildings for the same site.

A year ago, Cleveland-based Omni Smart Living came in with a proposal to develop a complex of 31 buildings for adult living, spanning a breadth of care from independent living and villas to memory care and assisted living for those who don't want to maintain a home but don't want to leave town.