The Gateway Center, located at 31 Water St., Jamestown, has been proposed to be renovated into a housing development called the Gateway Lofts. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

Twenty-one housing units in the city of Jamestown will be demolished as part of the development plans for the Gateway Lofts project.

On Tuesday, Steven Ricca, Bond Schoeneck & King attorney who is representing Southern Tier Environments for Living (STEL), presented the housing mitigation plan to the Jamestown Planning Commission.

Ricca said STEL will finance the demolition of 21 housing units in the city over a three-year period at the cost of around $350,000 as part of the mitigation plan. He said STEL is working with city and Chautauqua County Land Bank Corp. officials to determine the housing units that will be demolished. He added the 21 units are being selected to be done on top of what city and land bank officials were already planning to demolish.

“We’re open to do what you want, wherever you want,” Ricca said about the demolition of the 21 housing units.

Ricca said so far 16 units have been targeted in the city. It was also discussed how STEL officials are working with city and Jamestown Renaissance Corp. (JRC) officials to demolish some dilapidated structures along North Main Street as part of the Unite North Main revitalization project.

The Unite North Main revitalization project is a comprehensive, proactive approach the Jamestown community has taken toward redeveloping and revitalizing one of the city’s main corridors. The project was started in October 2015 when the JRC hired Clark Patterson Lee to perform a study on the North Main Street corridor.

Following the presentation, Crystal Surdyk, city development director, said the housing mitigation plan is part of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process. She said anytime there is a housing development project like the proposed Gateway Lofts, which is planning to add a significant amount of new housing units, there is also a mitigation plan. She said STEL is being proactive by working with city and land bank officials on the mitigation plan.

Last month, Ricca discussed proposed changes to the Gateway Lofts development plan, which was previously discussed before the commission in 2018. The new plan included eliminating the jail diversion component that was initially proposed; adding additional and enhanced green space around the building; and adding housing units to the first floor of the building. The changes also included adding 30 more units to the complex, bringing the total number to 110. The developers have also acquired surrounding property to build a playground area for children.

In 2018, STEL, Community Helping Hands, and the Jamestown YWCA first came forward and proposed renovating much of the Gateway Center building in order to develop 79 apartment units on the second, third, and fourth floor of the building. Those units would be used by a variety of tenants, including single parent families recommended by the YWCA, those with disabilities and also those who would be referred from the county jail diversion program.

In October 2018, the commission voted to prevent the project from moving forward based on the project not being fully in line with the city’s Neighborhood Revitalization Plan, along with several other environmental concerns that were raised about the project.

Since October 2018, the project developers have been working with city officials on the newly developed Gateway Lofts plan.