Thursday News Brief

$8.5 Million Dollar Hotel Renovation Proposed in Batavia

The Genesee County Economic Development Center will consider a major hotel project today.
Developers want to invest eight and a half million dollars into the water park hotel on Park Road, next to Target in Batavia.
The plan would split the property into two hotels… a ninety-nine unit Holiday Inn, and a sixty-eight unit Candlewood Suites, while also upgrading the existing water park.
Officials say the project would create fifteen new full-time jobs, keep twenty more, and generate nearly ten million dollars in local payroll and tax revenues. The developers are asking for tax exemptions through a ten-year PILOT agreement.
Also on the agenda, two community solar projects in Pembroke. Together they total more than twenty million dollars, and would provide new revenue to the town, county, and Akron schools.
The GCEDC board meets this afternoon at four o’clock at the MedTech Center in Batavia.

Carrs Reborn Apartments Bring Modern Living to Downtown Batavia

Mike Pettinella with Video News Service reports, more millennials and older Gen Xers are seeking market-rate housing near downtown Batavia, and the newly renovated former C.L. Carr Company building could be the answer. Entrepreneurs Ken Mistler and Pete Zeliff, with state grant assistance, have developed 14 modern apartments on the upper floors, including two fully accessible units.
Rents range from $2,100 for one-bedroom to $2,500 for two-bedroom apartments, all featuring full bathrooms, central air, elevator access, and in-unit washers and dryers. The first floor offers 8,400 square feet of retail and office space. City officials say the project is a milestone in Batavia’s downtown revitalization. More at carrsreborn.com.

VA Expands Western New York National Cemetery in Corfu

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has acquired nearly 93 acres of land in Corfu to expand the Western New York National Cemetery. The VA says the new property, purchased from the Schmigel family for $537,000, will ensure the cemetery can provide burial options in the area for the next century.
The newly acquired land sits on Indian Falls Road, directly adjacent to the cemetery’s eastern boundary. Since opening in 2020, the Western New York National Cemetery has served the region’s veteran community, with nearly 3,000 veterans and eligible family members already interred.
With more than 129,000 veterans living within a 75-mile radius of Corfu, the expansion is seen as a critical step to continue offering dignified final resting places for those who served. Officials say the addition of this land reflects the VA’s ongoing commitment to honoring veterans and their families for generations to come.

Westside Ghost Stories at Holland Land Office Museum

HLOM presents Westside Ghost Stories with Connie Boyd at 7 p.m. at the Holland Land Office Museum in Batavia. Hear spooky and sinister tales from the Westside, including stories of murder, ghosts, body-snatching hangings, and abandoned cemeteries.
This presentation is perfect for anyone who can’t join the guided Ghost Walks. Tickets are $5, or $3 for museum members. To attend, call the museum at 585-343-4727.

Genesee County High School Soccer Results

In boys’ action Wednesday, Le Roy/Caledonia-Mumford rolled past Dansville, 5 to 1. Pavilion/York fell to Letchworth/Warsaw, 2 to 1.
On the girls’ side, Notre Dame defeated Oakfield-Alabama/Elba, 6 to 2. For O-A-E, Lydia Ross had 21 saves in goal, while Alahna Chatt scored twice. Ava Buczek and Melissa Garcia each added an assist.