Ellicott Development may be involved in a major project around the Fort Erie Race Track, but it's still adding much smaller projects to its portfolio.
The company has picked up two gas stations at high-traffic intersections: a closed station at Delaware and Delavan and an operating station at Elmwood and Delavan.
C.E.O. William Paladino says the closed station is likely to re-open as a gas station and store, probably as part of Ellicott Development's growing Trading Company chain. He says there is a lot of auto traffic through the intersection, and there are fewer and fewer gas stations in the city.
Paladino says the Elmwood and Delavan site is a brownfield and will require a lot of remediation to prepare it for another use, like the restaurant likely to go on the site.
"We see Elmwood Village as one of the many areas in the city that are growing," Paladino said. "We think it's an area that, because of the colleges that are around the site and all of the other retail and shopping and services that are on Elmwood Avenue up in that area, we just feel it's a great short-term and long-term investment up in that area."
Paladino says he knows that corner because he lives nearby. He is aware it's a medium- to high-income neighborhood with heavy auto traffic, a lot of foot traffic, and a Metro Bus route on a street which runs right across the city.
There is a public meeting at 8:00 tonight in the Buffalo History Museum to talk about the proposal. It's sponsored by Common Council Member Michael LoCurto and the Elmwood Village Association.
