By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – National Fuel is getting closer to moving its headquarters out of downtown Buffalo and into Amherst.
Wednesday National Fuel and Tops Markets announced that a lease deal was finalized.
National Fuel plans to move its corporate headquarters to a Tops building on Main Street.
National Fuel spokeswoman Julie Coppola Cox said the contract with Tops depends on a number of contingencies, including approval of economic development packages from the Amherst and Erie County Industrial Development Agencies.
"Something that has been happening simultaneously to the real estate portion of this process," said Coppola Cox.
"But now we will be focusing on that in a much more intensive way, and look forward to wrapping up that set of negotiations and that part of the process."
Last week National Fuel was criticized for requesting a $15 million dollar package of sales tax breaks.
It has since scaled back, but is still requesting $4.5 million dollars in tax relief.
Terms of the contract with Tops are not being disclosed.