HANOVER - Seneca Nation of Indians leaders, acting on a retail feasibility study completed this summer, are considering the next phase of plans that could lead to a 400,000-square-foot outlet mall on a 108-acre site just off Exit 58 of the state Thruway in Hanover
If the project continues forward, it's expected to create an estimated 250 construction jobs and 750 full- and part-time retail jobs when fully built.
The retail feasibility study was announced Thursday by Robert Odawi Porter, nation president; Richard Nephew, council chairman; and County Executive Greg Edwards.
"This is the sort of major retail project, especially in an area that lacks such a centerpiece, that my administration and Council Chairman Nephew have worked hard to bring forward," Porter said. "This is a clear example of how the Nation seeks to diversify its economy beyond tobacco, gasoline and gaming in ways that benefit the entire region and especially the Seneca people."
The 108-acre site, owned by the Seneca Gaming Corp. and locally known as the "bean field," is in Hanover. It's at Exit 58 of the New York State Thruway, close to the nation's sovereign Cattaraugus Territory.
"This will be a major source of jobs in the Irving area, plus an attraction that will take visitors off I-90 onto routes 5 and 20, helping the existing businesses both here and on the Cattaraugus Territory," Edwards said. "I also thank our Industrial Development Agency and Department of Planning and Economic Development for their direct work with the Department of Planning at the Seneca Nation."