Sam Savarino

A recent peek at legal filings in Genesee County shows that five contractors have filed mechanics liens against Ellicott Station Commercial LLC, owned by Samuel Savarino, for labor and materials totaling more than $243,000 as of early September of 2023.

Ellicott Station, the four-story, 55-apartment complex at 56 Ellicott St. in downtown Batavia, has been left idling since Savarino shut down his Savarino Companies this past summer. Tenants were chosen, tax credits were promised, and paperwork was signed, yet he walked away from the deal, leaving the unfinished property in limbo. 

One of those liens, filed by Carter Lumber Co. of Pennsylvania for $49,015.79, was later discharged or dropped. The lien was filed for several supplies, including framing lumber, Tyvek house wrap, anchor bolts, Simpson Hangers, and other framing materials that were installed beginning in September 2022, according to lien documents.

As of Sept. 13, the lienor, Carter Lumber Co., “does hereby consent that any notice of pendency/Lis Pendens filed against the private improvement be discharged of record,” a document states. 

Available documents indicate there is a remaining $194,094.10 unpaid to the other contractors, including:

• Truax & Hovey, Limited, of Liverpool,  which filed a lien for $63,000. The unpaid sum was for labor performed on Gypsum Cement underlayment.

• AmBuild Supply, LLC, of Fairport, for $89,746.30. The company provided materials valued at $235,974.89, of which $146,228.59 was paid for, documents state. 

  The remaining unpaid amount was for “labor and materials were performed and furnished for and used, and that the professional services rendered in the improvement of the real property hereinbefore described.” The date when the first time of material was supplied was Aug. 4, 2022, up to the last item being supplied on May 19, 2023, documents state.

• Triton Mechanical, Inc., of Rochester, for $39,118.40. The company provided its first labor or materials on Sept. 20, 2022, up to Aug. 8, 2023, it states in related documents. 

  The contract was for HVAC installation with Savarino Companies LLC, and the lien is against Ellicott Station LLC.

• DV Brown & Associates, Inc. of Tonawanda, for $2,229.40. The company supplied materials that were installed in the building on July 20, 2023, for linen chutes and carts, according to documents.  

Documents also include a signed and notarized copy of Samuel Savarino’s agreement as grantor, to “hold the right to receive such consideration as a trust fund to be applied first for the purpose of paying the costs of the improvement and will apply the same first to the payment of the cost of improvements before using any part of the total of the same for any other purpose.”

That agreement was signed on April 25, 2018. Savarino was grantor of the merged properties of 40 and 56-70 Ellicott St., which he completed with a quitclaim process for a dollar. 

“The intent of this deed is to combine the described parcels into one tax map parcel,” which merged the former utility and Della Penna properties under Savarino’s ownership for what was originally described to be a microbrewery, restaurant, office/retail and market-rate-turned-affordable apartment project on the two commercial lots. 

Due to wide gaps of delay before the project began, Savarino said his intended tenant from Buffalo for the brewery backed out. Savarino Companies would either find a replacement vendor or do it themselves, he said. That did not materialize, along with the anticipated completion of Ellicott Station by the summer and then the end of 2023. 

Since the stalled apartment construction, officials from Genesee County Economic Development Center and the city have hinted that there are developers interested in picking up where Savarino left off, and Steve Hyde, CEO of the EDC, has promised that a good ending is possible.

“And you know, what I could say about Ellicott Station is I've been in the middle of discussions with the developer, general partner, the investors, and state housing. That's all in the sorting-out phase. But what I can say to you is it's likely we'll see a different general partner coming in at some point,” he said during a county meeting in September. “And I think what we'll end up with is a project that will be better than what we currently had or what was previously designed. 

"I think there's some additional willingness by the housing HCR to work with us and be a little more flexible. It may not be perfect, but we'll end up with a better situation than we had," he said. "I can’t say any more than that right now. But at least it's in the sorting out phase, and there's quite a bit of interest.”

Toward the end of November, EDC officials severed their ties with Savarino Companies and asked for more than $1 million of tax benefits back.

The lien documents were obtained by The Batavian through December 2023.

Although the date is a bit late in the construction season, Buffalo developer Sam Savarino nonetheless is relieved that the New York State Office of Homes and Community Renewal finally has scheduled the financial closing for the Ellicott Station project.

Ellicott Station, part of the City of Batavia's $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative program, is the name given for the redevelopment of the former Soccio & Della Penna and Santy’s Tire Sales properties on Ellicott Street.

“On Thursday, the HCR board met and approved the closing date for October 15^th,” Savarino said this morning.

When asked if he was hoping for a summer date, he said yes, but quickly pivoted to a “here’s what comes next” mode.

“We’re making our plans to get going, so the day we close, we’re out there working,” he said. “I’m hoping that we get our remediation done in the fall, which is a big step for us. We’re planning to do that right now.”

The closing with HCR involves filing of the documents pertaining to the low-income housing tax credits and additional subsidies awarded to the project.

Savarino said the state agency is providing $1.2 million per year for 10 years in low-income housing tax credits – incentives that are tied to the developer securing an investor or investors to back the project.

As previously reported, the apartments are geared toward a mixed-use workforce with a $30,000 to $40,000 salary range for tenants.

HCR also has granted subsidies of around $5 million.

“We make what’s called a unified funding application with the state. The state assesses your request and they grant it,” he said. “You’re asking for the low-income housing tax credit (based on a formula) and you’re asking for additional subsidies that the state has to approve to aid those projects because the low-income housing tax credits are not enough. When you get the award, you get both of those.”

Savarino said he would like to get on the site prior to the closing date to start some of the abatement in anticipation of the demolition work, but that is subject to HCR approval.

He also confirmed a July 21^st closing date with the Genesee County Economic Development Center to finalize the tax exemption and Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreements.

The GCEDC Board of Directors approved nearly $3.7 million in benefits for the $22.4 million DRI project, which calls for renovation and construction of more than 72,000 square feet on 3.3 acres in the Brownfield Opportunity Area.

Plans include the development of 55 apartments as well as office, retail and entertainment space, leading to the creation of an estimated 30 full-time equivalent jobs.

Incentives from the industrial development agency include $850,000 in sales tax exemptions, $200,000 in mortgage tax exemptions, and $2,105,952 in property tax exemptions.

Additionally, the project will be receiving an estimated $529,492 in Batavia Pathway to Prosperity PILOT increment financing related to cleanup and site work investments on the targeted brownfield site.

GCEDC Marketing Director Jim Krencik said that the project will generate $6.10 for every $1 of public investment, including DRI funding.

Contacted this morning, Batavia City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr. said, "Understanding the delays with COVID and various other funding delays, I'm glad to see that it's finally going to move forward. I think everybody in the community is glad to see that it finally is going to move forward."

Batavia Development Corp. President Lori Aratari could not be reached for comment.