$1,375,000 Apartment Complex Sells in Amherst

The back story behind the sale of an Amherst apartment complex is less about its price and more about its future.

The 12-unit apartment complex at 30 Linwood Ave. sold for $1.375 million, according to documents filed May 24 in the Erie County Clerk's office. The deal works out to $114,583 per unit or 25% more than the regional per unit average of $91,701, based on CBRE Upstate New York data.

Home of My Own WNY Inc. bought the complex, acquiring it from the estate of Lawrence Colucci.

But, the real story is Home of My Own WNY’s plans for the 65-year-old complex, located just off of the southern Village of Williamsville boundary.

Ellen Pachioli, a Home of My Own WNY representative, said the plans are to renovate the apartments with an eye towards making them accessible to adults with developmental disabilities. That would keep the units in the “affordable” range.

This could be the region’s first - and New York State’s - first such renovated apartment complex that will cater to development disabilities adults.

“It is a model we’ve seen elsewhere in the country,” Pachioli said. “We have every reason to believe this will work.”

Pachioli said the Linwood Avenue apartment complex was targeted because it sits on a Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority bus line and is near the Main Street spine of Williamsville, which is loaded with stores and restaurants.

“It fits into our walkability model,” Pachioli said.

The privately financed project came from what Pachioli described as “some very generous donors.”

To complete the renovations, Lamparelli Construction has been retained as the general contractor.

The complex, which went on the market in late December, attracted a lot of interest, said Stephen Hunt, Hunt Commercial Real Estate broker, who handled the deal.

“We had 10 offers and could have another 30, but our clients really liked and supported what Home of My Own wanted to do there,” Hunt said.

Pachioli said if the Linwood Avenue project proves successful, her group may look to take on similar projects in the Buffalo Niagara region.

“That’s our hope,” Pachioli said.

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