CIC to seek retail building proposals

Members of the Community Improvement Corporation, also known as CIC, hope vision and collaboration merge into a building with a great fit for downtown Amherst.

A small green space near a city parking lot is the subject of brainstorming sessions by community leaders.

Daniel R. Cwalina, president and CEO of LorMet Community Federal Credit Union, also is president of CIC.

“It’s going to be a very unique asset to the city,” Cwalina said.

“The Amherst CIC will seek requests for

development proposals for vacant property on the corner of Church and Tenney Avenue,” Cwalina indicated in a later email. “This is a unique opportunity to bring a positive, multi use structure in the heart of downtown Amherst.”

The property will only be sold to a developer who submits plans that enhance and add value to the area, he said.

At a committee meeting July 28 at Main Street Amherst, 255 Park Ave., members said an option is three buildings with retail on the first floor and upscale living spaces upstairs.

But other creative ideas will be entertained, they said.

“I think we should get rolling on this,” said Amherst City Council President John Dietrich.

Everything done by the CIC must be approved by City Council, Dietrich said earlier.

Architect Jim Yorks listed costs of splitting the area into three lots, and Amherst Treasurer Richard Ramsey said the Council set aside money to pay for those expenses.

Two members, Cwalina and Teresa Gilles, executive director of Main Street Amherst, will hone wording

on documents such as a request for proposal and a request for qualification.

Then the group will meet again quickly to take next steps.

If a design/build developer were to submit a proposal, then accompanying documents would prove qualifications and financial backing, Yorks said.

Also, hopefully, the developer already would have interested tenants identified so the building does not sit empty.

Cwalina said a purpose is attracting tenants that provide the right retail and the right draw of visitors to downtown.

“When we negotiated the building across the street, we had a guy who wanted to put an art studio in there,” Dietrich said. “We chose what we wanted. We looked at the business that was going to go in there.”

The building was anchored by an ambulance company with two other businesses.

Now, Arabica occupies the front space.

The new space needs to be retail, Gilles said.

“Are we sure retail needs to go in there?” Ramsey asked. “I don’t come to Amherst to shop. What if I come to Amherst to be entertained. We might get some other fantastic idea that’s not retail.”

Mayor Mark Costilow said he hopes they can avoid

ending up with a building with three vacancy signs in the windows.

“If I were going to put up a building, I would want somebody lined up before I build it,” Dietrich said. “I don’t want to make that investment without having it planned out.

“I’m going to have people lined up before I put this building in.”

Ramsey provided two scenarios: “’Here’s my building, it’s all going to be empty.’ ‘Here’s my building, it’s already full.’ You know where we’re going.”

Gilles said she plans to provide a color photograph of the space for the request for proposal packages.

Yorks added the group should not assume other people know where the property is located.

An ideal time for construction would be in spring 2018, Yorks said, but allowing for design time could push it back into summer or fall.

The group hoped to move quickly to advertise for requests for proposals.

“The Amherst CIC Board has no obligation to sell the property if the proposals are not an ideal complement to the community,” Cwalina wrote in the email. “The project is a testament to forward thinking and collaboration, and an affirmation of the strong leadership within the community.”