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ELLICOTTVILLE – A groundbreaking for the proposed $70 million Bonaventure Square development on the old Castle site in Allegany could be held in early September.
The Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency agreed Tuesday to hold a public hearing on an application from Bonaventure Square LLC for financial incentives for the project that includes a 100-room hotel, 165-bed student housing facility, bookstore, entertainment center, shops and a 200,000-square-foot sportsplex with several multi-purpose fields as well as tennis, basketball, volleyball and hard court uses.
Executive Director Corey Wiktor of the IDA called the project unique and ambitious project. Modeled around a town square, the pedestrian-friendly landscape will be across from St. Bonaventure University on the former site of the Castle Restaurant and Inn and Castle Cinema.
The IDA also approved a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), meaning that the project didn’t pose environmental concerns.
The value of the incentives, has not been established. Bonaventure LLC has asked for a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement, sales tax and mortgage recording tax abatement. The 18-acre site is still owned by St. Bonaventure University, which plans to sell it to the developer.