City residents may recall a number of years ago when code enforcement officials tamped down on all things unsightly, from overgrown grass and garbage cans left by the curbside to missing address numbers on homes and other property maintenance issues gone awry.

No one is exempt from this policy, and Sam Savarino of Savarino Companies has apparently made the unkempt list for his parcels at 40 Ellicott St. that have apparently been abandoned by the now-defunct Buffalo-based company.

The developer of the stalled Ellicott Station apartment complex received a list of code violations in September, City Manager Rachael Tabelski says.

While a few prospective tenants of the stalled Ellicott Station strategize their next move, folks at Genesee County Economic Development Center apparently believe they are making headway.

A few of the tenants chosen for the Southside apartment complex are considering possible legal action against Savarino Companies for pulling out of the project that has left them dangling with the hope that they might still have a new home come 2024. As one tenant said, it’s about “what Savarino did to all of us, ‘cause it’s not fair to us.”

Meanwhile, Steve Hyde, CEO of the county’s economic center, gave a brief yet vaguely optimistic statement this week that his agency has been working with Sam Savarino and the state Office of Housing and Community Renewal to get Ellicott Station back on track.

Just before 5 p.m. on Thursday, a worker with A-Verdi Storage Containers removed an apparent mobile unit that seemed to have served as the on-site office of Savarino Companies at the Ellicott Station construction site.

The Savarino sign that had been on the unit was removed, and a metal desk and storage cabinet sat on the ground outside of it.

The driver confirmed he was removing the unit from the site and was later seen hauling it west on Ellicott Street.

The Batavian continues to provide Genesee County residents with the most comprehensive coverage of the Ellicott Station project. You can support our community-minded reporting by joining Early Access Pass.

The state Office of Homes and Community Renewal has and will be involved with the Batavia-based Ellicott Station project, which has been thrown into some doubt recently after developer Sam Savarino announced he was shutting down his development firm, Savarino Companies.

An agency spokesperson responded to The Batavian’s request for comment, given that HCR initially awarded Savarino $1.2 million per year of low-income housing tax credits for 10 years based on his ability to secure investors, and more recently awarded Savarino $5.7 million in low-income housing tax credits for the downtown apartment project.

"HCR has been actively monitoring the progress of the construction of Ellicott Station and will continue to do so as we work to ensure completion of this critical project and deliver 55 affordable homes to Batavia,” the spokesperson said Friday.