29-03-2025
Owner of former ENH seeks zoning change for senior condos, restaurant and stop-and-go grocery
The owner of the now-closed Eastern Niagara Hospital property asked the Common Council Wednesday for a zoning change that would allow his business to renovate 521 East Ave. into senior condominiums, with a ground-floor restaurant and stop-and-go grocery.
Shraga Gold of Rockland County said his business Kids First needed the site's zoning changed from Mixed Use Neighborhood, which has a height limit, to Mixed Use Downtown, which accommodates the building's five stories. Gold said he is seeking funding to renovate the building, and financial institutions would be discouraged because the building is not in zoning compliance.
Gold asked for the zoning change for 521 East Ave. just ahead of the council's scheduled vote on adopting an updated City of Lockport Comprehensive Plan and revised zoning code. The council unanimously approved both without additional changes, effectively denying Gold's request.
Rogers Avenue resident Lorna Martinez is enthusiastic about the possibility of senior housing with a restaurant at the former hospital.
'That would be wonderful!' Martinez said, adding that the ENH cafeteria was known for good food and neighbors were drawn there just to dine.
Connor Cuzzacrea, who trains every day at Ultimate Physique fitness center next door, said a mini grocery in the neighborhood would be convenient. He said he usually purchases a protein drink somewhere each day after he leaves.
Kids First, which has a location at 100 Corporate Parkway, Buffalo and others downstate, purchased the hospital property in November 2024. Gold said he has spent months doing market research and learning about the surrounding community.
While Kids First's website states it provides speech therapy and applied behavior analysis to children, Gold did not mention incorporating health services into the East Avenue site.
'Our vision has changed,' he said. 'We want to make it more residential.'
Earlier this month, Mayor John Lombardi III said zoning code changes were proposed primarily to correct inaccuracies about the types of development already present in various city neighborhoods.
'One of the good things that came out of this plan is it brought to light things that needed to be addressed,' Lombardi told the Union Sun & Journal earlier this month. 'There were a lot of projects being held up.'
On Thursday, Deputy City Attorney Anthony Serianni agreed that because of the former hospital's height, it does not comply with its new zoning designation. He acknowledged that while the purpose of the recent revisions of the zoning code was to correct such inconsistencies, 521 East Ave. remains out of compliance with the amended code.
Serianni said Mixed Use Downtown zoning is strictly for the defined downtown area, and would not be used elsewhere.
'Assuming that the property is used as a medical facility, it can continue as legal, non-conforming, being grandfathered in,' Serianni said.
For other uses of the building, Gold would need to go through the variance process with the city Zoning Board of Appeals, he said.
'Then it just depends on the quality of his application,' Serianni said. 'There's definitely some elements in his favor for receiving a use variance. But it depends on his proposal and project.'
