LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Bewley Building houses several businesses, and soon, it could house 100 affordable apartments. However, Mayor John Lombardi III said he doesn’t support that idea.
For nearly a century, it has stood on Market Street in Downtown Lockport. Recently, it has fallen on hard times. Building owner Castello Bewley, LLC, told me that when it bought the building in 2019, vacancy rates were 10%. Now, as a result of the pandemic, they told me they’re on track to be 55% vacant by the end of this year.
Building developers Joshua Fraass with PathStone Development Corporation and Charlie Oster with Edgemere Development, Inc. told me the building needs to change to a mixed-use concept, filling a need for downtown Lockport housing they found in a market study.
“Its current use is no longer tenable,” Oster said. “Completely rehabilitate the project, preserve all of its historic character, and give it a new, sustainable use that will put it on solid ground for the next 30 to 50 years.”
“The building was facing some vacancy challenges,” Fraass said. “Having people live in the downtown area, really, is what makes downtown areas vibrant, and that’s something Lockport has been lacking.”
The mixed-use, affordable housing project would cost $66 million.
The owner, Matt Martin, told me, “If its primary use does not change, the Bewley building will continue to decline.”
“As a born and raised Lockportian, I care deeply about the community and as a stakeholder, I have many reasons to ensure that the next owner of the Bewley Building does right for Lockport and takes great care of this one of a kind building. Additionally, as a developer who wants to help revitalize Lockport, I have a vested interest to ensure that this project at the Bewley Building only adds to that revitalization that all of us in the community would like to see happen. I have 3 current projects in Lockport of which I have invested a significant amount of resources and these projects will only be successful with a thriving Lockport Downtown. If I was not comfortable with the project at Bewley Building, we would not have agreed to move forward. I would urge everyone that has concerns (and understandably so) to please review the materials or attend the meeting on Aug 27th.
Meantime, Mayor Lombardi told me this is not the answer.
“While we value the importance of affordable housing in our community, this project, as it stands, will not move forward with the city’s support,” Lombardi said. “This is not about opposing housing. This is about ensuring that any development in our historic downtown fits the vision that our residents and businesses have worked so hard to build.”
WATCH: Lockport mayor opposes Bewley Building's mixed-use, affordable housing concept
Lombardi pointed out the proposed layout shrinks the commercial space to about 5,000 square feet and turns current shops into "residential common space."
"We don’t want to see that go," Lombardi said. "We are calling on PathStone to go back to the drawing board."
Several residents also agreed with that sentiment, more than 100 signing a petition on change.org
The project will be proposed to the city council at Wednesday’s 5:30 p.m. board meeting. Both the developers and the mayor encourage residents to attend.
You can read Martin's full statement to 7 News here:
You can read the full proposal summary here:
