By JAMES FINK
jfink@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1611

Over the objections of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, directors of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency approved an amended incentive package to help finance the restoration of a key historic structure.

Poloncarz was the lone vote against amending an already-approved inducement package for developers of the 100 S. Elmwood building, a nearly century-old building that was brought back to life by local businessmen Anthony Baynes and Kent Frey. They invested $5.47 million to renovate the vacant, early 1900s building located behind Buffalo City Hall.

The package was approved by a 13-1 count by the directors Jan. 9.

The building is anchored by 26 apartments and will have 10,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor.

The project qualified under the IDA's adaptive reuse policy. With the abatement package, the developers will save $217,000 in sales tax and $50,000 in mortgage recording taxes. The IDA initially approved incentives for the project in November 2010.

Poloncarz said he objected because the building targets upper-income residents.

"I don't believe this is the type of project we should be involved with," he said. "The benefit (tax breaks) are really just to its owners."

Karen Fiala, IDA manager of tax incentive programs, said the initial project was pegged at $3 million but extensive renovations coupled with meeting state historic preservation standards nearly doubled the cost.

"The building was in worse shape than originally thought," she said. "Their construction costs just about doubled."

Poloncarz said he is not comfortable with that explanation.

"It makes me wonder if their business plan was accurate to begin with," he said.

After the meeting, he said he will look at adaptive reuse and residential works on a "project by project situation."

"This is not a low-income tenant project," he said. "There are members of the Buffalo Sabres living there. I'm not going to sit here today and say I'm against all residential projects and they are persona non grata."

Poloncarz praised the IDA, however, for putting together an incentive package to help English Pork Pie Co. remain in Buffalo after considering a move  to Youngstown, Ohio. The company agreed to move into a 37,000-square-foot building at the former Republic Steel property on South Park Avenue.

IDA incentives amount to approximately $7,000 on a $1.2 million project that could serve as an anchor of a future English Village development around the company.

The incentives were unanimously approved.

"This is exactly the type of project we should be doing," Poloncarz said.