The new Buffalo Bills stadium is opening in a year, and the list of properties for sale around it continues to expand.
But time is running short for any development to occur by the time the $2.2 billion stadium in Orchard Park is set to open for the 2026 NFL season.
Property around the stadium, most of which has been on sale for longer than a year, remains on the market, and more is coming.
4270 Abbott Road for sale
The 1.1-acre commercial property at 4270 Abbott Road, which abuts the south parking lot of the new Buffalo Bills stadium, went on sale earlier this month. Mike Petro/Buffalo News
Around a dozen properties are now for sale in close vicinity to the stadium, including one that just hit the market for $1.6 million on the corner of Abbott and Big Tree roads.
Only one has sold, and that was bought by the Buffalo Bills.
But the clock is starting to wind down for any developer – none have come forward yet – that hopes to launch a project and have it up and running by the time the stadium hosts its first event, likely next July, and then a preseason game in August 2026.
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It is a matter of timing. A developer would need to buy a property – a process that likely would take a couple of months to close. Then they would need to go through the municipal approval process, which can take months, even before starting construction, which also would add several more months to the process.
While local officials remain hopeful that the new stadium will eventually bring development, the lack of activity around the facility is a sign that developers are taking a cautious approach about the potential for the area around the new stadium.
Michael Kearns, the Metro Roberts agent listing the 1.1-acre commercial property that includes a former salon – now used as office space – and apartment at 4270 Abbott Road, believes the area eventually will go through a transformation, but it is difficult to pinpoint when that could occur.
Development projects across the region and nationwide have slowed because of higher interest rates, rising construction costs and overall economic uncertainty that has made it harder to get financing or to design them in a way that will be profitable.
“I think Orchard Park zoning changes should help a little bit, but with the kind of uncertainties from the national perspective with the economy, it’s really kind of tough to say, at this point,” Kearns said.
4270 Abbott Road for sale3
The 1.1-acre commercial property at 4270 Abbott Road, which abuts the south parking lot of the new Buffalo Bills stadium, went on sale earlier this month. Mike Petro/Buffalo News
Development around new Bills stadium part of plan all along
For a while, the Buffalo Bills said it was premature to answer questions about the potential for future development surrounding the Orchard Park stadium now under construction. But, as it turns out, stadium development was being considered all along.
There are plenty of sellers, hoping to fetch top dollar for their land. But so far, there have been no buyers, other than the Bills, which purchased the Mud Lot, an 8-acre parcel at 5330 Big Tree Road, for parking in 2023 for $2 million – half of its initial asking price.
From the start, there have been questions about whether enough buyers will bite on the available properties to turn the surrounding area into an active area with enough residents, businesses and hotels that new development doesn’t hinge on approximately 10 NFL games and a handful of concerts at the open-air stadium.
The new stadium also is expected to host other community events and athletic competitions, as well as conferences and seminars inside of the facility, but whether that will be enough to make it sustainable for noteworthy development remains up in the air.
With the current Highmark Stadium in place for half a century, the area surrounding the stadium still is synonymous mostly for the tailgating that goes on before football games and concerts in parking lots and at residential properties. But there has been little other development.
Officials are hoping that recent zoning changes will help change that. Those zoning changes are focused on areas that include properties on or near Southwestern Boulevard neighboring the stadium, across from the Quaker Crossing plaza, and around Milestrip Road to Sterling Plaza. The Town of Hamburg is also working on zoning changes in the area bordering the stadium.
“We have some interest in and around the stadium, (but) nothing secure,” said Orchard Park Councilman Joe Liberti, who spearheaded the rezoning efforts around the stadium.
He believes a development project or two could get off the ground before the stadium is completed.
“That is the goal,” Liberti said.
But the property that is currently for sale isn’t cheap.
In October 2023, Mark Lester put up for sale his six-parcel, 5.6-acre property that includes his 1,300-square-foot home and popular tailgate spot Yellow Brick Parking Lot at 5265 Big Tree Road, across from the field house side of the current stadium. It is listed at $3.5 million and has been for sale almost two years.
That listing started a trend of properties that went on sale around the stadium, priced high, with property owners looking to take advantage of opportunities around the stadium.
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Among those, Joelle Janish, the owner of Kettles bar, put up for sale her 4 acres of land, plus the building and business, on the corner of Abbott and Webster roads – just a short walk from the stadium. The property at 3719 Abbott Road was listed for $2.2 million.
Additionally, two properties totaling 1.2 acres on 3958 and 3964 Southwestern across the street from the new stadium went on the market for $2.5 million.
The SUNY Erie Community College South Campus, just a stone’s throw away from where the stadium is being constructed, is one of a number of properties that will soon likely hit the market, as well.
Some believe that the 102-acre campus in Hamburg holds the most potential for future development, including bringing a badly needed multistory hotel to the area or potentially an attraction like Titletown in Green Bay, where developers stepped up, in coordination with the Packers, to build mixed-use projects next to Lambeau Field.
Kearns said 4270 Abbott Road could attract developers because it is on the corner of a busy intersection and is zoned for commercial use while abutting the new stadium’s south parking lot. It is across the street from the Big Tree Inn and Danny’s South.
Old Bills stadium, new Buffalo Bills stadium (copy)
Orchard Park officials adopted new zoning rules for the area around the stadium that they hope will spur development. The lack of activity so far is a sign that developers are taking a cautious approach. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
With all the buzz around the stadium and team, Kearns said the woman who owns the property thought it was a prime time to get it on the market. To facilitate the sale, the property owner created 4270 Abbott Road LLC, which is connected to the Orchard Park address of the late Daniel DeMarco, who owned the Big Tree Inn, and his wife, Nancy.
The existing 2,280-square-foot building on the property is now being used as office space on the first floor, with a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor. There is also a detached garage.
The first floor was used for a salon space for around 20 years, most recently as the former Shi Salon Spa. It changed operators a few times. The most recent salon closed around three years ago.
Orchard Park officials adopted new zoning rules for the area around the stadium in October that they hope will spur development once the stadium is completed. Town officials say they want to encourage stores, restaurants, green space, walkability, wider sidewalks and places to live and stay within the developments they hope will occur around the stadium.
The town will now allow for hotels up to four floors, but it will likely be in only one of the rezoned areas a few miles from the stadium. As part of a townwide study now underway on the stadium area, officials will be suggesting the town reimpose a height limit of 35 feet, or about two-and-a-half stories, on buildings near the new stadium at Abbott and Big Tree roads to the Hamburg border − much of which is made up of residential neighborhoods.
Hamburg has also been pondering zoning changes to the stadium area that would include the “seven corners” at McKinley Parkway up Southwestern Boulevard toward Highmark Stadium and is using a $126,000 grant for the zoning study.
That area currently is mostly a mix of light industrial and heavy industrial zoning and includes some residential property. Commercial uses in the area from the stadium to McKinley Parkway, as of now, are limited.
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