In just six months, revamp efforts will begin on the Boulevard Mall.
However, the initial bidders — Nick Sinatra and RMS Investment Corporation — won’t be a part of it.
"I believe they were doing it with several other investors and ultimately, at the closing, Douglas Jemal and his development company is now the official owner of the Boulevard Mall," said A.J. Baynes, the president and CEO of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce.
Jemal bought the mall for $24 million and the ground lease of the nearby Wegman's for $6 million.
Jemal told Spectrum News he has plans to turn the 64-acre property into a residential and retail development called “Boulevard Place.”
"Deals of this size in our market are few and far between," said Amherst Director of Strategic Planning, Maggie Hamilton Winship.
Winship says the deal compliments one of the fastest growing towns in Western New York.
"We're the fourth largest town in New York state, West of the Hudson," added Winship. "We have been adding like 33 people annually to the town and we are totally built out. There's not enough green space to develop and we don't want to develop."
Town officials anticipate projects like Boulevard Place and the expansion of the NFTA Rail Line will help Amherst be competitive in business and transportation.
“Creating a community there with its proximity to the university, it all goes to the attraction of the region with the renaissance that's taking place in downtown Buffalo and the new jobs that are being created there, with the Medical Campus, 43 North. It’s just all positive things for Western New York,” said Baynes.
There is no set timeline on when the project will be finalized.