Tax breaks approved for new offices in Amherst

The Amherst Industrial Development Agency approved more than $326,000 in tax breaks Friday for a$3 million office building that McGuire Development Co. plans to build on the site of the former Newman Center on Main Street.

McGuire plans to start construction next month on a 15,000-squarefoot office building, located on 1.5 acres at 6325 Main St., between the new YMCA and Erie Community Colleges Amherst campus.

Accounting firm Szymkowiak & Associates, which is currently in offices at 333 International Drive in Amherst, plans to move into the new

building, occupying just under half of its space, said James Dentinger, McGuires president. The other half of the building has not been leased yet.

Its a nice little project, Dentinger said. Were excited about it.

IDA officials noted that the project, even with the tax breaks, will result in a big increase in the tax revenue generated by the site, which had been tax-exempt when it was owned by the Diocese of Buffalo.

The parcel, which generated just $547 in tax revenue when it was owned by the diocese, is expected to yield nearly $158,000 in tax revenue during the seven years covered by the tax abatement.

It takes a site that was tax exempt and, even with the abatement, puts it back on the tax rolls, said James J. Allen, the agencys executive director.

Szymkowiak, which gets about 70 percent of its business from international clients, had considered relocating most or all of its operations to Mississippi, where one of its major clients has available space, IDA officials said.

The accounting firm, which has 18 full-time and two part-time employees, is expected to add three full-time jobs and one part-time job, the agency said.

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Tax breaks approved for new offices in Amherst