Tonawanda Island looks to be next in North Tonawanda’s development spree, as VisoneCo plans the island’s first residential complex.
The “Bridge Street Landing” project at 78 Bridge St. would be a three-story, 100,430 square-foot mixed-use development with 73 market-rate apartment units, seven vacation rental/residence hotel units, and a commercial space along the waterfront. The apartments will be mainly one- and two-bedroom units with a few three-bedroom and studio units.
The North Tonawanda City Council approved an agreement to sell the land it owned there for $389,000 at its meeting earlier this month, having named VisoneCo its preferred developer in January. It was chosen over proposals from Savarino Development and Nostra Development.
The project will cost $21.9 million to complete and not see its first tenants until the summer of 2028.
“We’re really excited for it,” said Director of Community Development Laura Wilson. “Tonawanda Island is ripe for development. Redeveloping this will be the catalyst to vitalize the island in the future.”
The 3.3-acre parcel is the only city-owned parcel on the island, having previously been a training site for firefighters, lumber storage and boat storage. The city’s vision for high-density mixed-use development on the island was laid out in its Request for Proposals, the Brownfield Opportunity Program, and its master plan.
Currently, Tonawanda Island has no residential developments. It does have the Shores Waterfront Restaurant, boat launches, warehouses, and manufacturing spaces.
“To help activate the island and increase vibrancy, you need people to live there,” Wilson said. She felt developments in the city’s downtown core have come along well enough and developments need to connect it to the waterfront.
The Clarence-based VisoneCo has already completed several residential projects in the city, including the 88-unit 600 River Road Apartments, the mixed-use, nine-unit 622 River Road development, the 108-unit 624 River Road Apartments, and site work for the Herschel Carrousel Museum’s expansion.
VisoneCo Chief Operating Officer Tom Celik told Buffalo Business First that strong interest in their completed properties led them to look for other opportunities in the city.
North Tonawanda has looked to redevelop the site since 2019, Wilson saying they went through three RFP processes over the years.
After the first RFP did not get the interest it wanted, the city named Pennrose its preferred developer in the second RFP in 2020 with a 70-unit affordable housing project. Although it was also to get state brownfield tax credits for this, it was unable to get funding from the state Department of Homes and Community Renewal for low-income housing, causing it to fall apart.
As part of the city’s $10 million awarded through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, $750,000 will go towards making the riverside frontage of this site a public benefit area, which it would coordinate the design for. It would be open to everyone, not just Bridge Street residents, offering a unique view inward toward the city.
As the city attorneys finish up this closing deal, the next step for VisoneCo is to apply for state aid through the Brownfield Cleanup Program. Reportedly, no funding from the state HCR would be sought.
Depending on how well that goes, construction on Bridge Street Landing would start in June 2026 and receive its certificate of occupancy in June 2028.