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What is mixed-income housing? Workforce housing? Low-income housing? Affordable housing? Market-rate housing?

These terms appear frequently in thousands of documents obtained from government agencies by The Batavian for an investigation into how the 55-unit apartment building under construction at Ellicott Station transformed from “luxury” units to apartments eligible for Section 8 rental vouchers.

How did this once promising project go from a complex where all tenants hold down jobs to one where potentially as few as 36 percent of the potential tenants are gainfully employed, and finally, one where the project's actual completion is in doubt?

Suffice it to say that the name Savarino will be the word of the day for some time to come, as working through the recent company’s closure and what that means for Ellicott Station will be “a long process,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said Thursday.

The Batavian had reached out to Tabelski late Tuesday about any updates on the closure of Savarino Companies and how that may impact the work-in-progress at the Southside apartment complex known as Ellicott Station. 

Tabelski responded on Thursday to say that company President Sam Savarino has not been in touch with the city since the publication of the news and that city officials are continuing to work on the situation. 

This is another story exclusive to The Batavian about the Ellicott Station project. To stay on top of the latest news in Genesee County, sign up today for Early Access Pass.