Mixed Reactions

Mixed reactions on retail complex

By ERIC WALTER / Messenger Post Staff

(March 30, 2006)

For Crossbow Drive resident Kevin Brown, convenient shopping just isn't worth the asking price. "I don't understand why we want to make another Ridge Road, " said Brown, who works near the Mall at Greece Ridge Center and moved his family to Chili to get away from over-development.

For West Forest Drive resident Kathy Kostarellis, the pros far outweigh the cons. "I think it would be great for Chili, " she said. "I've got four children, and I like the idea of having part-time jobs for them here down the road. "

Those were just a few of the viewpoints expressed last Thursday when officials from the development firm North American Properties hosted a community meeting for Chili Commons, a proposed 52-acre retail complex they hope to build on Paul Road.

NAP Director of Development Jeff Pape laid out details of the project, which would be just east of Wegmans Plaza, then opened things up to a question and answer session. "We're here to listen to you and have you listen to us, " he told the crowd. Many at the meeting voiced concerns over the traffic, crime and flooding problems they believe the project would bring. Others praised the boost in tax revenue and economic development it could generate.

Kostarellis said the project would be a boon for her church, The Father's House, which owns part of the land on which NAP wants to build and plans to use the proceeds of the still-pending sale toward an expansion project.

Pape tried to allay concerns that NAP would seek County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency certification. COMIDA gives businesses tax breaks in exchange for economic development and job creation. NAP has no plans to seek special tax status, he said. He also tentatively proposed putting a zoning restriction on the project to that effect.
Dorothy Borgus, of Stewart Road, believes such a restriction would be unrealistic, however. "I'd like to say, it's not you so much going after COMIDA, " she told Pape. "It's all your tenants. They'd go after COMIDA. " According to town assessor Linda Leach, tax breaks from COMIDA sites in Chili now total 16 million, roughly speaking. That's a school, county, and town tax burden that now falls on the backs of ordinary taxpayers, said Borgus.

NAP specializes in shopping centers housing retailers like Target and Kohls. Though they typically work in the southeastern U.S., a regular client asked them to consider building at the Paul Road site, Pape said. While he could not identify that client, Pape said they have at least one store in Monroe County already.

Preliminary plans for Chili Commons call for 345,000 square feet of retail space, which would include two big-box style outlets; two medium outlets; three out-parcel buildings suitable for banks, restaurants or the like; and two rows of smaller shops.

About 15 acres of the project - mostly wetlands and ponds - would be left undeveloped, aside from walking trails and the like, Pape said. NAP tries to give back to the communities in builds in, and generally provides sponsorship to local schools, he said.

To move forward with Chili Commons, NAP needs the town to rezone the proposed site from mixed use to general business. Chili's Planning Board voted to hold off on making a decision on that matter last December, pending findings from the town's Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update Committee.

If all goes well, Pape hopes to open Chili Commons in spring of 2008.

(The Gates-Chili Post is a wonderful source of information on this project and other local news. - Webmaster)

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