Amherst neighbors seek landmark status for home over owner’s objections

Benderson Development Co. owns the property, which it purchased in 2018 as part of its plan to tear down two nearby commercial buildings to make way for a complex of apartments and restaurants.

Some neighbors, who object to the scale of the project, want the town to declare the home at 22 Chateau Terrace, off Main Street, a local historic landmark. The request is supported by the town’s Historic Preservation Commission but is strongly opposed by Benderson.

“The Town Board would be setting a bad precedent by allowing people who do not own property to seek and obtain landmark designation on property they do not own,” a Benderson attorney wrote last week.

The company has agreed to preserve the home at 22 Chateau but, last month, tore down the garage without first receiving the town’s permission.

The move angered some neighbors of the property, where the mound of wood remained two weeks later.

“The developer willfully went against your historic preservation process,” resident Christina Coyle-Lenz said during a 56-minute public hearing at the Feb. 5 Town Board meeting.

Benderson’s project centers on the former Squire Shop site at 4548-4564 Main St., just east of Harlem Road in Snyder.

The developer plans to demolish the two-story structures at the site and build a three-story, U-shaped complex of 44 apartment units and two ground-floor restaurants.

Some residents say the development is too big and would worsen traffic and parking along Chateau Terrace and Fruehauf Avenue.

They also objected to Benderson’s initial plan to tear down the home at 22 Chateau. In response, Benderson last spring agreed to preserve the home while tearing down its detached garage.