LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — Developers of the Bewley Building in Lockport say plans could be in jeopardy if a vote currently under consideration to prohibit new approvals for multi-family developments passes.
Dozens of neighbors in Lockport attended the city's common council meeting on Wednesday night. Many voiced their opposition to the proposed moratorium that would prohibit approvals on new multi-family developments of 25 or more apartments in some areas of the city for six months.
By a 4-1 vote, the moratorium has been tabled for a later meeting.
I'm told that should the mortarium pass in another meeting, plans to redevelop the Bewley Building are in jeopardy.
"It would probably kill the project," Edgemere Development's VP of Development, Charlie Oster, said. "It's a big building. It's not cheap. Carrying that cost and paying architects, engineers and other folks to keep things moving, you can really only do that for so long."
WATCH: 'Would probably kill the project': Lockport considering moratorium on new multi-family developments
Amid severe vacancy struggles, developers Oster and Jason Sackett of PathStone Development Corp. plan to convert it into mixed-use space with around 100 apartments.
Oster tells me plans have been altered after conversations with the community, shifting to market-rate apartments and commercial space on the ground level.
WATCH: Lockport mayor opposes Bewley Building's mixed-use, affordable housing concept
Oster and Sackett worry that those plans, which have been months in the making, could all be lost if the moratorium passes.
Q: Do you feel [the moratorium is] targeted towards you?
Oster: “It’s hard not to feel that way, but what I’ve read says that’s not the case.”
"It wasn't about one singled-out piece of property. It's about multiple properties we have throughout the city," Lockport Common Council President Rowland O’Malley said.
O’Malley, who was the one vote against tabling the law, says the moratorium's goal is to give them more time to think about all projects, not just the Bewley.
"These are big decisions when you get ready to make a decision for an entire city," O’Malley said. "It's a big decision, and you should make sure you're making the right one for the future of Lockport."
A new vote has not yet been scheduled.
