The status of the derelict properties were addressed during a recent meeting of the Chautauqua County Land Bank Corporation’s Acquisition and Disposition Committee, as members discussed the property at 28 University Park in Fredonia and the former Hideaway Bay restaurant on Lake Avenue in Silver Creek.

Gina Paradis, land bank administrative director, said a survey by a surveyor and review by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is in line for the Hideaway Bay property. Once those objectives are complete, Paradis said they should know what the potentials are for development.

“We’ll have a better idea of what we can do with it,” she said. “We’ve had a couple developers contact us and want to be invited to the request for proposal. We told them we don’t know what the restrictions might be on development and what the timeline is.”

In June, the land bank agreed to acquire the run down property after it was originally set for the county tax foreclosure auction. The Chautauqua County Real Property Services website lists the property’s assessment (estimated value) at $355,000.

Paradis said the condition of the property is “horrible” while Jim Caflisch, committee member and county real property tax director, said the building is a candidate for demolition. Paradis said the land bank would demolish the structure if they get enough funds through a grant.

“I think it would be a lot easier to do it that way,” Paradis said.

Caflisch said the property should sell, but it all depends on a developer’s plan and resources to carry it through.

As for the property at University Park, Paradis told committee members the mold is so bad that she won’t have cleanup crews go in until a remediation is done. Estimates to clean up the mold are between $20,000-$30,000, she said. Caflisch said the land bank shouldn’t do the work, but instead send a request for proposal to responsible developers.

The land bank acquired the University Park residence in July after the County Legislature agreed to transfer the foreclosed property.

“We need to have somebody give us a price and what they’re going to do,” Caflisch said. “I don’t think we should take on any of this work ourselves. We can’t take on that expense. We don’t have the resources to do it.”

A proposal made by Women’s Health Group to acquire eight parcels of property on Foote Avenue in Jamestown also was examined by committee members. Paradis said the group would like to obtain the side lots to expand their parking lot and create a buffer zone, but the offer they proposed was low. Committee members agreed to hold off on the offer as Paradis said she’d like to go back and negotiate with them.

“If it’s $250 per lot, that’s probably fair. I don’t think we should give it away for $250 for eight lots,” she said.