KENMORE, N.Y. (WKBW) — Community members fighting to save the former Kenmore Presbyterian Church on Delaware Avenue in the Village of Kenmore from demolition have a new development in their favor — the building could be eligible for historic tax credits.
WATCH: Former Kenmore Presbyterian Church building could be eligible for preservation
The New York State Historic Preservation Office has determined that the church building is eligible for the state and national registers of historic places and for tax credits. Preservation Buffalo Niagara is now working on an application to pursue those credits for the building.
Those fighting to preserve the church say the news is significant.
Heidi Brown, who lives near the church, is among those leading the effort to save it. Brown says her great-great-grandfather was a founder of Kenmore, and she sees the building as part of that legacy.
"I want to save my family's legacy, and I want to stand for something, and that building stands for something," Brown said. "And to tear it down would be a tragedy.”
The Rochester-based owners of the property have plans to demolish the building and construct a Shake Shack restaurant. Shake Shack has confirmed to 7 News it has plans to open a location at the site. Brown says the location raises additional concerns beyond the building's historical value.
"This is a bad intersection to begin with, not to mention the historical value of the building," Brown said.
Mayor Patrick Mang tells me the village is still in negotiations with the developer. The site is required to include housing, and the owner is planning a mixed-use development with apartments.
"We're still in negotiations with the developer. We want them to definitely have housing on that piece of property as well, that's where we are still negotiating with them on that point, but we are also still waiting for a traffic study to be done," Mang said.
Mang said the village requested the traffic study two weeks ago and is hoping it begins shortly. He also said he has not yet been contacted by preservation advocates.
The mayor also noted it would be "up to the owners" to apply to the state for those tax credits.
"To be honest with you, I've never been approached by anybody from the preservation board, anybody within Western New York has contacted us concerning that building," Mang said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
