COMIDA considers deal for mall project

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No tax-incentive approval from the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency, no plan to redevelop 1 million square feet of space at The Marketplace Mall, at least not right away.

That’s not a veiled threat, said Dennis Wilmot, senior vice president of leasing and development at mall owner Wilmorite Inc.

“That’s the reality of it,” said Wilmot, who did not speak during the public hearing on the project Monday in which several residents and government officials railed at the proposed financing of the project.

The COMIDA board today is scheduled to vote on the developer’s $30.3 million project that would include redeveloping the BonTon store at the mall and former DSW and theater building adjacent to the main mall building.

The company would pay $2.5 million over a 25-year period as part of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, which works out to a fixed 1 percent tax increase a year. Over the last 10 years, the overall tax increase on the property shows a 0.18 percent increase, Wilmot said.

“The PILOT is an integral part of the financing for the project,” Wilmot said.

COMIDA officials estimate the project will provide a $6.3 million economic and state benefit as well as 175 to 200 new full-time jobs.

Ordinarily, industrial development agencies are not allowed to approve breaks for retail operations, although exceptions exist. COMIDA board members are able to vote on a retail project because the project is considered, at least by the board and the developer, to be a tourism destination spot.

The project would bring in a “regional draw anchor” and tenants that are not in the market, Wilmot said. Citing a study, 38 percent of the people who would visit would come from outside the five-county region.

“Our goal is to get more people to the commercial corridor of Henrietta,” Wilmot said. “The way to do that … we’ve got to create a signature retailer or regional draw tenant.”

BonTon is closing its store in February. Pending the approval of the COMIDA board, work could begin soon and some stores could open by the next holiday season, Wilmot said.

The project has received the site plan approval of the Henrietta Planning Board.

Rush-Henrietta School Superintendent Ken Graham said he has nothing against the developer or the project, which conceptually would provide a “tremendous benefit” to the town of Henrietta and which has received site plan approval of the town Planning Board.

The school district is one of the taxing jurisdictions significantly affected by the proposed financing agreement, said Graham, who also questioned the length of the proposed agreement and fixing in a tax increase over that time, particularly for a retail operation.

“As soon as we begin to give tax breaks or tax incentives to one member of the retail sector, it creates a cascading effect and creates an unfair advantage to others,” Graham said.

Some do support the plan, including one resident who wanted to see new stores at the mall.

Bill Kearns, vice president and general manager at Macy’s store, said the development is necessary to help the mall compete favorably with Eastview Mall and the Mall at Greece Ridge, also owned by Wilmorite.

A quick decision is necessary, he said, to avoid “glaring examples of projects not dealt with in timely fashion.”