Like many grocery shoppers, Michele Ricketts dreads long checkout lines.

But lately, she’s been breezing by the cash register at her neighborhood Ralphs even with the usual crowds at the store.

“In the last month, I have noticed it was faster,” said Ricketts, 27, an actress from Los Angeles. “I thought I was dreaming.”

She wasn’t. To shave precious minutes off wait times, Ralphs has been installing technology to measure foot traffic in nearly all of its supermarkets.

Known as QueVision, the system uses hidden infrared cameras with body heat trackers to figure out how many customers are shopping at any given time. Managers use that information to redeploy workers to the cash registers when things get busy.

It’s already paying off. QueVision has trimmed the average time it takes to get to the front of the line to roughly 30 seconds from the national average of four minutes, a Ralphs spokeswoman said.

The checkout system is part of a long-overdue effort by traditional grocery chains to evolve and stay competitive through the use of technology.

The $518 billion grocery store industry hasn’t made a major leap forward since the bar code scanner was introduced in the 1970s. Thin profit margins have kept the shopping experience pretty much the same for decades: squeaky shopping carts, long checkout lines and aggravating scavenger hunts to find products.

“You have an industry that’s been kind of stuck in time,” said Scott Mushkin, a grocery retail analyst at Wolfe Research. “Grocers have to invest. Their business models have been under so much pressure, they’re fighting for their lives.”

Technologies that have recently made their way into supermarkets include digital signs that update prices and locations of products and offer promotions by time of day, such as coffee and granola bar specials for morning commuters. To speed up the checkout process, customers can pay via fingerprint scanners or use smartphone applications to scan bar codes themselves. A self-propelled “smart” shopping cart that can follow customers and lead them to items is being tested.

Grocery chains are finally spending the time and money to modernize because they are nervous about losing out to rivals. Big-box retailers such as Target are beefing up their grocery sections, and Amazon.com has been aggressively rolling out its Amazon Fresh same-day grocery delivery service.

Grocery industry revenue shrank an average of 0.4 percent in each of the past five years, according to research firm IBISWorld. Companies were hit hard by the recession as high unemployment and low disposable income forced consumers to cut back on premium products and rely instead on cheaper generic brands and discounts.

In 2011, British grocery giant Tesco launched its futuristic Homeplus market at a Seoul subway stop. There’s no food in this virtual grocery store, only interactive walls around the station that display photos of fruit, vegetables, milk and other grocery staples. Using their smartphones, commuters can buy these products by photographing QR codes printed on the images and paying through their phones. Tesco delivers the purchases to customers’ homes the same day.

ASDA, another British grocery chain, recently introduced a checkout scanner tunnel. Consumers place their items on a conveyor belt, which whisks them through a 360-degree laser scanner. The tunnel reads the bar codes, which ASDA said is “so fast it can increase the speed of scanning your shopping by up to 300 percent.” (Ralphs parent Kroger is experimenting with similar technology.)

Grocery stores especially want to appeal to younger shoppers, many of whom tend to avoid traditional supermarkets because they consider them as the place their parents shop. One way to woo smartphone-toting millennials is to make grocery shopping more tech-friendly, analysts said.

Midwest supermarket chain Hy-Vee and AT&T, for instance, teamed up to launch a mobile app with a voice-activated product locator.

Last year, Whole Foods loaned one of its shopping carts to Austin, Texas, tech firm Chaotic Moon, which used it to develop the SmarterCart, a grocery cart equipped with a tablet and Microsoft’s Kinect device.

Users can transfer their shopping list and dietary restrictions and preferences from a smartphone to the cart. When a user places an item into the SmarterCart that conflicts with their diet – say, a box of pasta that isn’t gluten-free – the self-propelled cart sends an alert and can lead the shopper to alternative products.

FORT WORTH, Texas – The mobile phone in Dennis Woodside’s hand looks like something Captain America would carry, with a cherry red back, glossy white front and thin rings of metallic blue around the side buttons and camera lens.

“There are 150 million smartphones in the U.S. today, and not one of them is built here,” said Woodside, chief executive of Libertyville, Ill.-based Motorola Mobility.

The patriotically hued device is Motorola’s attempt to change that status quo and venture a comeback in a market in which it is woefully behind. Here, on a former cow pasture turned into a massive industrial park, workers at a 480,000-square-foot facility are snapping the final components into place for the Moto X, the company’s first major new product under Google Inc. ownership and, officials said, the first smartphone assembled in the U.S.

In opting to retrofit a Fort Worth plant, Motorola became the latest big technology company to recognize that China’s low-cost wage advantage was slipping as the Asian giant’s economy heated up, opening the door for a return of some manufacturing to the States. This year, Chinese computer company Lenovo started producing desktops and laptops at an expanded facility in Whitsett, N.C., where it added 115 manufacturing jobs. And Apple is investing $100 million to build a line of Mac products in Texas, CEO Tim Cook told a Senate subcommittee in May.

“Google is a place where we take bets,” Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Tuesday, when Texas Gov. Rick Perry and others gathered for a tour of the facility. “This is a bet we’re taking on America, on Texas, on this incredible work force that’s assembled here. We think this is a safe bet. The reason is, the math works.”

The Fort Worth facility is operated by Flextronics International Ltd., a Singapore-based equipment-maker that signed a manufacturing agreement with Motorola in December. Full production of the Moto X was launched in early August, and the 2,500 employees at the factory are shipping 100,000 phones a week.

When measured against the number of manufacturing workers in China, Taiwan and elsewhere churning out electronic gadgets, the several thousand jobs represented by these tech giants’ recent decisions don’t amount to much. And it will take more than a handful of companies in one sector to reverse years of declines in American manufacturing. But experts say the companies’ moves go beyond patriotic window dressing, instead speaking to larger economic dynamics at work that could gain momentum.

“On a macro level, the situation hasn’t changed,” said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, an industry group representing U.S. manufacturers and the United Steelworkers. “But from a business decision level and a managerial perspective, the equation has changed a bit. We’ll see more results of that in five or 10 years than we will today. There’s a lot of things that could go awry. … But the arc does seem (headed) toward more production in the United States.”

The basic business logic underpinning Asia’s dominance in electronics manufacturing is that American companies can produce goods more cheaply there than they can at home. But that calculation is beginning to change as wages in China continue to rise. Electricity and natural gas costs are also on the upswing.

The Boston Consulting Group projects that by 2015, average manufacturing costs in China will be just 5 percent lower than in the U.S.

“A lot of what I’ve seen is based on real economics and good business, not PR,” said Hal Sirkin, a Chicago-based senior partner at the consulting group who co-authored a 2012 book about the return of the U.S. manufacturing sector. He also sees companies’ supply chains relocating with them over time.

“A fundamental shift is happening faster than we thought,” Sirkin said. “And companies that three years ago would never even have thought about it are not just thinking about it, but building the plants.”

A preliminary analysis of the Moto X by research firm IHS Inc. determined that the company was able to build the device in the U.S. without a significant spike in costs.

The firm estimated labor and other assembly costs for the Moto X at $12, about $3.50 to $4 more than Apple’s iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4, which are produced overseas. But the Moto X’s components are similar to what is found inside those other high-end smartphones, making Motorola’s total cost for its flagship device – $226 – fall between the iPhone 5’s $207 and the Galaxy S4’s $237. The Moto X is available at all major carriers for a subsidized $200 with a two-year contract.

Companies have motivations beside costs for bringing manufacturing closer to home, such as the ability to assert better quality control and protect intellectual property.

The hot housing market has real estate agents scrambling.

At the same time, they are fretting over the future of their industry.

The current sales boom’s impact on how homes are sold and the dominance of the Internet have created challenges for traditional residential sales agents.

“It’s crazy all over the country,” said Jay Thompson with online real estate marketing firm Zillow Inc. “What I hear consistently is a lack of inventory, homes going under contract in days and multiple offers.

“I don’t know if that that’s a healthy market – it’s brutal.”

Thompson spoke last week to real estate agents in Dallas for the Texas Association of Realtors’ annual conference. He said the current pace of the housing market is a sharp turn from the recent housing crash and recession.

“I don’t think it’s sustainable,” Thompson said. “The market will eventually stabilize.”

Both housing sales and prices are up by double digits in major cities across the country.

The shortage of houses for sale in many areas has created a frenzy among buyers and agents, as it’s become a sellers’ market.

Demand for houses is so strong that some agents are bypassing the traditional multiple listing service to market properties on the side.

“Off-MLS marketing is out of control,” said Jeremy Conway, a Michigan-based real estate sales consultant. “That friendly pocket listing has now become an epidemic.”

Conway said that in some metropolitan areas, more than 30 percent of home listings are being withheld from the MLS with the sellers’ permission.

Agents and sellers use this tactic to more tightly control the marketing of the property and fuel buyer interest.

“Not putting your listing in the MLS is now becoming more common in many places,” Conway said. “It’s going to damage our MLS, it’s going to damage our value proposition, and it’s going to have an effect on the marketplace.”

Conway said that consumers are already shifting their initial home-buying focus from familiar agents to huge Web portals including Zillow, Trulia and RealtyTrac.

“At this point in time, the portals appear to be winning the race for the all-important consumer eyeballs,” he said.

“As we move forward, it’s a part of our reality we need to deal with.”

Real estate agents were originally slow to embrace technology and initially resisted the transfer of housing sales information to public websites.

But that’s now changed.

As the economy improves, corporate profits increase, and the job market strengthens, some employers are getting creative to hold on to key employees.

“I can’t tell you how many employers are calling me and saying, ‘We haven’t done anything with pay for at least three to five years. I need to make sure we’re still competitive,’ ” said Nancy Kasmar, manager of compensation and benefits consulting at Washington Employers, a human resources organization with more than 1,000 member businesses.

“They have to start working on the employee value proposition.”

Kasmar said retention requires not only a competitive salary and benefits but also an array of nonfinancial strategies, including career-advancement opportunities, work-life balance and recognition from managers.

At beauty brand Julep, founder and CEO Jane Park said she competes with the likes of Amazon.com Inc. for software engineers and Starbucks Corp. for brand marketers.

She can’t afford the gold-plated benefits of large, publicly traded companies, she said. So instead, she offers a range of perks, from free organic snacks and staff yoga to stock options if and when Julep goes public. She also gave iPad Minis to her entire staff.

The economic recovery also is prompting some employers to step up their efforts to engage employees or risk losing the best ones to other companies.

“We’ve seen a significant uptick in the last 18 to 24 months in organizations talking about employee engagement, leadership development and more effective communication around career pathing,” said Brandon Cherry, who runs the San Francisco office of management consulting firm Hay Group.

A Gallup survey recently found that only 3 of 10 Americans were engaged at work, while 50 percent were “just kind of present” and 20 percent were actively disengaged or miserable.

Gallup noted that workers in still-struggling sectors faced fewer opportunities and may be holding onto their jobs out of necessity rather than choice.

The millennial generation was more engaged than other age groups in the workplace, but they also were the most likely to say they’ll quit in the next year if the job market improves.

As hiring picks up, labor activists are raising concerns that low- and mid-skill workers have seen their living standards eroded amid paltry wage growth.

The Economic Policy Institute of Washington, D.C., recently released a report showing that between 2007 and 2012, real wages declined for all but the top 30 percent of earners nationwide, despite continued productivity growth.

Marilyn Watkins, policy director at the Seattle nonprofit Economic Opportunity Institute, sees firsthand the pay gap among workers with different skills. Four years ago, her son graduated college with a computer-science degree and instantly began making more money than she did.

“He’s very employable, with vast amounts of discretionary income,” Watkins said. “But there’s a lot of 20-somethings who still live at home, can’t afford to move out and are working part-time jobs.”

She added that when her nonprofit has internship job openings, it’s inundated with applications from people who graduated from college several years ago.

At WhitePages.com, an online directory-assistance service, staff vacations, free dinners and Fridays off during the summer are just some of the perks it offers its employees to keep them excited about work, said Chief Financial Officer Jason Eglit.

The company also is spending about $2 million to spruce up its downtown Seattle offices, including the addition of a whiskey bar and kegerator (a special sort of refrigerator for draft beer). And to attract new hires, particularly software engineers, it pays its summer interns $40 an hour.

WASHINGTON – Trader Joe’s Co., the closely held grocery store chain, will end health benefits for part-time workers next year, directing them instead to new insurance marketplaces as companies revamp medical coverage to fit the U.S. Affordable Care Act.

Employees with fewer than 30 hours a week will no longer be given health coverage as of Jan. 1, and will receive $500 to help them buy insurance elsewhere, the Monrovia, Calif.,- based company said in a statement.

The move makes Trader Joe’s the latest U.S. employer to cut benefits or reduce hours in response to the 2010 act, which requires companies to offer affordable coverage to full-time workers starting in 2014. Among the others are UPS and IBM.

Trader Joe’s, the owner of about 400 stores, including one set to open Oct. 11 in Amherst, said most of the affected employees will find a better deal on the health-law exchanges, where buyers may be eligible for federal subsidies.

“Depending on income earned outside of Trader Joe’s, we believe that with the $500 from Trader Joe’s and the tax credits available under the ACA, many crew members should be able to obtain health care coverage at very little, if any, net cost,” the company said in its statement.

The health-care law mandates that companies provide coverage for those who work more than 30 hours a week or pay a $2,000-per-person penalty. Some large U.S. employers have pulled back on health benefits citing the law’s expenses and new insurance options.

“This is a move to enhance Trader Joe’s bottom line and what’s unfortunate is they are using some of the loopholes in the Affordable Care Act,” said Tim Schlittner, a spokesman for the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, which represents unionized grocery store employees.

The cutbacks are “a source of increasing frustration for us,” Schlittner said. Trader Joe’s workers aren’t unionized.

Trader Joe’s said more than 77 percent of its employees would see no change to their medical coverage. For those who are affected, it estimated more than 70 percent will pay less for comparable health insurance on the exchanges, according to the statement.

The company cited the example of an employee who worked 25 hours a week and now pays $166.50 per month for insurance through Trader Joe’s plan. On the exchange, she could find “comparable coverage” for $69.59 a month, the company said. That, combined with Trader Joe’s $500 contribution, would translate to a savings for the employee of $1,675 next year, the company said.

Some workers may end up paying more, Trader Joe’s, said because tax credits on the exchange will be based on a buyer’s household income.

AKRON

• 48 Hoag, Janice Bridger; Richard A. Bridger to Lee D. Salmon; Jennifer A. Salmon, $130,000.

• 91 Cedar St., Audrey Taylor; Audrey M. Taylor to Steven D. Drier, $121,500.

ALDEN

• 118 Summer Hill Lane, Jung J. Hong; Chung I. Hong to John J. Ruffino; Carolyn S. Ruffino, $370,000.

• 1461 Sandridge Road, Samuel J. Russo; Mary P. Russo to Richard Tringali, $270,000.

• 11776 Bvoncliff Drive, Virginia Hamann; Daniel Hamann; Richard D. Hamann; Tracey L. Golding; Wendy M. Filkorn to Jeanette M. Smith, $160,000.

AMHERST Highest price: $850,000 Average price: $209,051 Median price: $183,000 Number of Sales: 63

• 5488 Sheridan Drive, Alan Randaccio; Albert V. Randaccio to 5488 Sheridan Drive Llc, $850,000.

• 8 Regents Park, Flory Herman; Steven Herman to Billie Jo Radecke; Michael S. Radecke, $600,000.

• 18 Brownstone Court, Jeanne N. Weppner to Bruce Robert Troen; Suzanne B. Troen, $599,300.

• 83 Dan Troy Drive, Protul Shrikant; Edit Weber-Shrikant to J. Patrick Bohen; Molly E. Bohen, $417,700.

• 12 Haverton Lane, Sunita Manuballa; Saikrishna S. Yendamuri to Harkanwal Sandhu; Gurleen K. Sandhu, $375,200.

• 11 Chapel Woods Court, Renee C. Buscaglia; Joseph A. Buscaglia to Jennifer Boscia-Smith; Arthur C. Smith III, $355,000.

• 40 Haverford Lane, Josephine Pezzino to Jeanne N. Weppner, $310,000.

• 51 Daisy Lane, Debra D. Perry to Jacqueline D. Welsch; Brian M. Welsch, $305,000.

• 18 Sausalito Drive, Grsw Stewart Real Estate to Michelle Callisto; Gino D. Callisto, $286,318.

• 18 Sausalito Drive, Melissa A. Schmidt; Adam G. Schmidt to Grsw Stewart Real Estate, $286,318.

• 115 Wellingwood Drive, Charles C. Ritter; Barbara M. Ritter to Tracy L. Kluge; Michael R. Kluge, $283,000.

• 529 Kings Highway, Raymond A. Hudson; Helen G. Hudson to Courtney T. Maloney; Brian F. Maloney, $275,000.

• 48 Jamstead Court, Brookfield Relocation Inc. to Wassim Khechen, $267,000.

• 48 Jamstead Court, Kara S. Cornett to Brookfield Relocation Inc., $267,000.

• 110 North Cayuga St., Jacqueline R. Hannah to Laurie Brown; David Brown, $262,350.

• 7 Olive Lane, Peter D. Grubea to Margaret Silverstein; Timothy J. Silverstein, $255,000.

• 9 Amsley Court, Daniel Koshansky Jr.; Lisa A. Koshansky to James E. Dickey, $255,000.

• 66 Rubino Court, Marjorie F. Wilkinson; Keith A. Wilkinson to Amherst Outparcel, $250,000.

• 218 Londonderry Lane, Nicholas F. Dipirro; Monica L. Dipirro to Kristen Priore; Gregg M. Gellman, $247,000.

• 14 Londonderry Lane, Young In Yoon; Michael C. Yoon to Samuel J. Abramovich; Miriam J. Abramovich, $243,500.

• 69 Shellridge Drive, Joseph P. Whalen; Angie M. Whalen to Sunrita Sen; Chiradeep Sen, $240,000.

• 299 Berryman Drive, Jacquelyn A. Stroh to Eliza P. Friedman, $239,000.

• 23 Bywater Drive, Soyoung Kim; Joon-Seo Park to Joan M. Sulecki; Michael T. Brash, $232,000.

• 1739 Wehrle Drive, Lynn Kaznowski; Patricia Fermo; Steven Brueckman; Nancy Izydorczak to Amherst Outparcel, $222,000.

• 44 Maynard Drive, Brian M. Welsch; Jacqueline D. Cocco to Lawrence A. Benz; Kimberly A. Benz, $222,000.

• 39 Telfair Drive, Virginia L. Vasko; Gary M. Vasko to Matthew Bossert; Amanda Scarnati, $215,000.

• 61 Willow Lane, Scott R. Wilkinson to Michael J. Odojewski; Alison L. Odojewski, $211,341.

• 109 Tomcyn Drive, Kelly Panaro; Kelly Aman; Philip Gangi; Kelly M. Gangi to Jesse J. Norris; Hanna B. Grol-Prokopczyk, $205,500.

• 222 Audubon Drive, Eliza P. Friedlman to Jayne E. Ferguson, $194,900.

• 712 Klein Road, Jean P. Ritz; Edward D. Ritz to Melody Ritz-Smith; Charles F. Smith; Jean P. Ritz, $187,500.

• 13 Wellington Court, Mary Rose Weckerle; Virginia K. Weckerle; Francis J. Weckerle; Christine M. Weckerle; Wendy A. Daley; Joseph M. Daley to Rachel S. Izsak; Edward M. Izsak, $185,500.

• 320 Cottonwood, Michael J. Michotek to Richard A. Campana; Meghan P. Campana, $183,000.

• 19 Sargent Drive, Peter J. Howell; Jennifer H. Howell to Tamah Demartino, $182,000.

• 53 Willow Green Drive, John K. Fiebelkorn; Christine M. Biebelkorn to Peter J. Schwab; Cassandra L. Schwab, $172,500.

• 79 Fruehauf Ave., Therese Ann Sindoni; Claire Jean Compare to Spencer J. Black; Jessica L. Black, $172,000.

• 496 Shetland Drive, Elaine M. Fischer to Sharrae D. Culm; Kevin R. Culm, $168,000.

• 359 Capen Blvd., Severyn Development Inc. to Joshua David Magier, $165,200.

• 127 Royal Parkway, Elizabeth Wetzler; Elizabeth Vullo to Erin Pollina; Andrew Goetz, $161,500.

• 120 Ridgewood Drive, Shawn E. Milligan; Jana R. Milligan to Mark Majewski, $160,000.

• 210 Marine Drive, Robert Van De Mark to Christine M. Bork, $155,000.

• 1731 Wehrle Drive, Lynn Kaznowski; Patricia Fermo; Steven Brueckman; Nancy Izydorczak to Amherst Outparcel, $150,000.

• 1406 North French Road, Chandraghatgi to John P. Schmidt; Christine E. Hinds, $142,600.

• 194 Wedgewood Drive, Mark Hogan; Kathleen Hogan to Alan D. Steinhart, $142,500.

• 16 Harroga, Gerard J. Puccio to Jeremy Compise, $135,000.

• 503 Maynard Drive, James M. Walczyk to John A. Krull; Erik J. Krull, $133,000.

• 121 Meadow Lea Drive, Holly Minderler to Robin Dawn Barnes, $128,000.

• 229 Glenhaven Drive, Erin Graham; Michael Graham to All Keneiby Properties, $125,000.

• 541 Burroughs Drive, Gregg M. Gellman to Mary C. Boldt, $114,000.

• 30 The Courtyards, Maria M. Gambino to James J. Hettich; Cathlin K. Hettich, $113,000.

• 164 Callodine Ave., Hsin Lin; Kuo-Li Michael Chen to Zhilin Liu, $112,600.

• 95 Lamont Drive, Mary L. McKinley to Jodi Lee Kwarta, $112,500.

• 2 Keph Drive, Albert Plaskin to Joan Wayne, $111,000.

• 189 Bettina Ave., Toni L. Devore to Kimberley Wilson, $106,000.

• Vacant Land/74 Arcadian Drive, Kimberly A. Jerzewski; Christopher J. Jerzewski to Forbes Homes Inc., $92,000.

• 5 Campus Drive North, Melissa A. Coppola to Stephanie T. Roggow, $90,000.

• 457 Burroughs Drive, Sharon L. Batzel to Chengjian Tu, $77,000.

• 49 Collins Lane, Natale Building Corp. to Ralph A. Mitchell; Karen S. Mitchell, $75,000.

• 27 Coolbrook Court, Michael W. Heitzenrater to Carolyn A. Klimczak, $71,500.

• 7C The Tradewinds, Andrea Epolito to Joseph C. Kasouf, $68,900.

• U12-44B Foxberry Drive, Carol Fazio to Jeffrey S. Seigler, $67,000.

• 4700 North Bailey Ave., Lucy Meyers to Nis Family Inc., $65,000.

• 95 Greenwich Drive, Nancy A. Federici to Holly L. Minderler, $65,000.

• 1739 Wehrle Drive, Audrey D. Brueckman to Amherst Outparcel, $10,000.

AURORA/EAST AURORA

• 1628 Hubbard Road, Graham W. Warren to Tammy W. Sheehan; John P. Sheehan, $355,000.

• 472 Griggs Place, Andrea O’Connor; Patrick O’Connor to Suzette A. Phillips; Barry G. Phillips, $329,000.

• 233 Porterville Road, Kathleen G. Nurt; John R. Nurt to Richard Robison Jr.; Mary Jean Robison, $276,200.

• 2031 Davis Road, Traci E. Bartello; Pasquale J. Bartello to Christine Walczyk; James M. Walczyk, $165,000.

BOSTON

• 8930 S. Greenbriar Terrace, Jacqueline Dicesare to Sherry L. Pfohl; Mark W. Pfohl, $220,000.

• 6193 Wildwood Drive, Melissa S. Boswell; Troy M. Bigelow to William C. Lickfeld; Tammy L. Lickfeld, $172,000.

• 8867 Greenbrier Terrace, Marlene Guerra to Sunset Custome Homes Inc., $36,000.

• 7680 Zimmerman Road, Floyd R. Schutta Jr.; Floyd R. Schutta to Timothy S. Cook, $15,000.

BUFFALO Highest price: $648,000 Average price: $90,879 Median price: $51,500 Number of Sales: 94

• 11 Middlesex Road, Samret Yaukoolbodi to Sabeth I. Siddique, $648,000.

• 68 Starin Ave., Katarzyna Grabarczyk-Frick to John A. Breckner; Brenda L. Breckner, $379,000.

• 1 Melbourne Court, Patricia C. Sandison; Trevor J. Barr to Marie Hassett; Stephen Hassett, $325,000.

• 450 Linwood Ave., Anna C. Kanaley; Anna M. Carr to John M. Godwin, $310,000.

• 516 Norwood Ave., Glen R. Gerspach to Jiuan Jiuan Chen, $305,000.

• 204 Norwood Ave., Christine Tufan to Gregory F. Richardson, $300,000.

• 365 & 367 Connecticut St., Sonia Dipasquale to Anita Hope Llc, $263,000.

• 849 Delaware Ave., Jayce Wallace to Randall L. Hudson; Margarita L. Dubocovich, $250,000.

• 76 St. James Place, Kinvara Llc to Frank H. Ewing, $231,000.

• 635 South Park Ave., Framing Hope Foundation Inc. to Webster Block, $225,000.

• 127 Ashland Ave., Alexandrea Roesch to Justin D. Trybus, $187,000.

• 108 Shoshone Ave., Michele Saglibene; Michael Amoia to Steve Persad; Nadira Gangadhar Persad, $186,500.

• 817 Tacoma Ave., John Kendall; John F. Kendall to Thomas Engelhardt; Kathleen M. Engelhardt, $185,000.

• 218 Lexington Ave., Van Ness Harwood Jr.; Alden D. Harwood to EV Rental Group, $172,500.

• 149 McKinley Parkway, Joseph A. Gilson to Linda M. Musleh, $167,500.

• 490 Taunton Place, John Kinnan to Matthew A. Parham, $162,150.

• 2830 Main St., Michael Miller to Glynis L. Sanford, $160,000.

• 157 Frontenac Ave., Irene Capizzi to Jordan L. Walbesser, $139,900.

• 510 Tacoma Ave., Monika L. Feinberg; Irving D. Feinberg to Jasmine M. Marcucci, $139,000.

• 797 Amherst St., Scott C. Walters to Thomas J. Krause, $131,000.

• 71 East Morris Ave., Carter A. Mitchell to Jesse Catino, $130,000.

• 79 Ramsdell Ave., Carol Milazzo; Sam Milazzo to John Cook; Eileen Cook, $130,000.

• 151 Densmore St., William C. Lickfeld; Tammy L. Lickfeld to Kelly M. Renkas; Peter J. Renkas Jr., $129,000.

• 17 Florence Ave., Judith Levin Grundy; David J. Grundy to John A. Blair, $123,000.

• 166 Commonwealth Ave., Joan M. King to Timothy M. Welch, $120,000.

• 280 Crestwood Ave., Barbara W. Scofield to Lauren Digiulio, $118,000.

• 606 Amherst, Leslie D. Smith to Benjamin Turcan, $110,000.

• 216 Tauton, Russell J. Sciandra; Marsha K. Sciandra to Jessica M. Demichiel, $109,400.

• 67 Meech Ave., Hiram S. Givens to Triple Crown Properties of WNY, $100,100.

• 1330 Niagara St., Thomas G. Decarlo to Thomas Giles Kavanagh, $95,000.

• 158 Mariemont Ave., Genesis Properties Associates to Rachel A. Maloney; Matthew S. Joyner, $90,000.

• 48 Fuller, Beverly E. Vedella to Joseph Carey; Aprilee Carey, $85,000.

• 99 Columbus, Tracy W. Grant to William J. Lignos, $84,800.

• 17 Indian Church Road, Jeanne L. May to Priscilla Lugo, $82,000.

• 42 Como Ave., Franklin Pomerhn Jr. to Melinda E. Hanzlian; Eric J. Hanzlian, $82,000.

• 55 Northrup Place West, Vincent A. Tortora; Sarah A. Tortora to 55 Northrup Llc, $79,000.

• 2019 & 2021 Bailey Ave., Ikra Shah to Saving Grace Ministries Inc, $75,000.

• 624 East Eagle St., Camilla Hobbs to Olivia R. Cox, $75,000.

• 66 Clayton Ave., David Edward Marciszewski; Joanne Marie Weller; Diane Marie Robinson to Brent Miller, $72,500.

• 2074 Seneca St., Christopher M. Courtney to New York Solutions Group, $70,000.

• 156 Doat, Property Octo 11 Llc to Horizon Trust Company; Dawes Suzanne, $66,500.

• 117 Longnecker St., Irene M. Breier; John P. Breier Jr. to Heather K. Hunter; Stevenson H. Hunter III, $65,000.

• 149 Sheffield Ave., Michael C. McKeon to Ashleigh Lamendola; Christopher Lamendola, $60,000.

• 2325 Bailey, Glebova Realty Group to John Hutchins, $55,000.

• Vacant Land/70 Rachel Vincent, Dato Development to Xinyue Liu-Chen; Frank Chen, $55,000.

• 47 Race St., Amy K. Corgliano to Joel Echevarria, $53,000.

• 126 Lisbon Ave., Esther Mae Pezzino; Esther F. Pezzino to Raymond Peters; Anthony Peters, $50,000.

• 58 Crystal Ave., Mohamed N. Fadhel to Kathryn A. Gordon, $50,000.

• 34 Hayden St., Matthew Aaron Perry to Kevin G. Balys, $47,000.

• 93 Proctor Ave., Sammie E. Davis to Leon Butler; Karen R. Butler, $47,000.

• 70 Lockwood Ave., Daryl J. Gensler to 545 Willett Avenue Inc., $46,000.

• 98 Peace St., Sharron Brown to Mohammad Muhibbur Rahman; Sofwana Khatun, $45,000.

• 999 Tonawanda St., Greenwood Pro Management to Meshi Corp., $45,000.

• 253 Shirley Ave., David W. Mordue; Andrew C. Lotempio to Bank of America, $44,209.

• 94 Edgewood, Mary Anne Marchione to BDKNY Inc, $42,000.

• 558 Amherst, Susan P. Dugarm to Darren Wiewiorski, $40,500.

• 93 Baynes St., Salvatore Cappellino to Jessie Zuefle, $40,000.

• 850 & 854 Prospect Ave., Maria Montes; Raphael Montes to Joe Wilson; Matthew Klafehn, $38,000.

• 274 Riverside Ave., Seamus Hennessy; Mary Hennessy to Lior Tahor, $36,000.

• 2077 Niagara St., George R. Biggie Jr. to BNYP Properties, $35,000.

• 246 Massachusetts Ave., Michelle Giomundo to Mui Ly; Du Nguyen, $32,000.

• 1005 Lafayette Ave., Charles Madison to Brandon 1 Llc, $30,000.

• 612 Grant St., Susan Cackowoski to James Toolen Llc, $30,000.

• 79 Ludington St., Michael J. Nowak to 5360 Murphy Road Inc., $30,000.

• 30 Ridgewood, Robert M. Barrett; Margaret M. Barrett to Nora K. Dublino; Daniel J. Dublino Jr., $28,500.

• 8 Laird Ave., Sherman R. Brown; Marion E. Brown to James T. Doyle, $28,222.

• 145 Hudson St., Joseph Gott to SNDMH Llc, $28,000.

• 44 Nineteenth St., Marissa Pastor to Joseph R. Galvin, $26,667.

• 461 Massachusetts Ave., Marissa Pastor to Joseph R. Galvin, $26,667.

• 41 Nineteenth St., Marissa Pastore; Marissa Pastor; Virgil Page to Joseph R. Galvin, $26,666.

• 326 Hewitt Ave., Chandrakanthi Dissanayake to Morzina Begum; Mohammad S. Rahman, $25,000.

• 44 Lewis, Lorraine Gajewski to Thomas Williams, $23,000.

• 275 Riley, Community Action Organization of Erie County Inc. to Venita Abdur-Rahman, $22,500.

• 42 Gorski St., Medius Holdings to Ajay Prince, $21,000.

• 480 7th St., Guo Ping Lu to Da Mei Inc., $20,000.

• 81 Thompson St., Emanuela Calderon; Henik Calderon to ABS Enterprise, $20,000.

• 92 Whitney Place, Yung Kong Inc. to Da Mei Inc., $20,000.

• 25 Tennessee St., Kimberlee J. Lenker; Chris A. Lenker to Michael P. Moch, $18,000.

• 14 Roehrer, Earlie Ashley to 14 Roehrer Avenue Llc, $15,000.

• 377 Herkimer St., Dennis P. Ives to Westside Ministries Inc., $14,000.

• 77 East Parade St., Arlethia Daniels to Shervis Andrews, $14,000.

• 228 Leroy Ave., Pooling & Servicing Agreement; Deutsche Bank to Fahema Sultana Hoque; Abdul H. Talukder, $12,602.

• 38 Gladstone St., Michael A. Hans to Donald E. Swider; Susana C. Ogario, $10,000.

• 59 Imson, Abdulahi Oshokhai to Premier Investment Properties, $10,000.

• 108 Victoria, Ishtiaq Ahmed to Delara Begum, $8,000.

• 22 Gibson St., Karen Sharrif to Rafiqul Monshe, $8,000.

• 701 Best St., Jonathan Clark to Saira Anjum, $8,000.

• 147 Leroy Ave., Jennifer Thielbahr to Syed T. Haider, $7,000.

• 157 Geary St., Lawrence J. Klein; Darlene K. Klein to Robert J. Kendall, $7,000.

• 54 Shepard, Kathy Zogaria; Donald J. Zogaria to JMS Property Holdings, $7,000.

• 909 Northland Ave., William J. Stoudemire to Eric Goodson, $7,000.

• 119 Newfield, Greenwood Pro Management to Meshi Corp., $6,000.

• 143 Box St., Chase-Buffalo Properties to Bodrul Mohammed Haider, $5,000.

• 332 Walden, Geraldine Daniels; Curtis Daniels to Christopher Wilson, $5,000.

CHEEKTOWAGA Highest price: $253,200 Average price: $99,552 Median price: $86,000 Number of Sales: 20

• 36 Park Place, Timothy W. Loftus; Maureen L. Loftus to Sara M. Dayton; Andy W. Dayton, $253,200.

• 11 Lou Drive, Claudio Giangreco-Marotta to Lori A. Cedro, $150,000.

• 50 Armond Lane, Mary A. Shimskey; James J. Shimskey to John Berner; Ellen Berner, $150,000.

• 157 Castlewood Drive, Christine Marchese; Don J. Marchese to Stephanie L. Sawicki, $143,000.

• 172 Vern Lane, Elaine G. Taylor to Melissa Craig; Brandon Craig, $130,000.

• 286 North Pleasant Parkway, Michael J. Falkner; Lynette B. Falkner to Kevin D. Coia, $98,000.

• 80 Rogers Drive, Anthony P. Guadagna; Anthony F. Fuadagna to Brunilda Cordero; Oscar Cordero, $97,000.

• 98 Surfside Parkway, Fay M. Loynes to Patricia L. Logan, $92,000.

• 59 Norman Drive, Tonya N. Summers; Christopher T. Summers; Craig M. Cwick to Fannie Mae, $90,635.

• 48 Wheaton Drive, Carolyn A. Klimczak to Tamara D. Williams, $87,000.

• 83 North Siene Drive, Richard P. Miller; Kathleen V. Miller to Lina Capital, $85,000.

• 368 Wagner Ave., Michael P. Naughton Jr. to Michael John Manning, $84,500.

• 43 Pairelm Lane, Teresa Aksenczyk; Wieslaw Aksenczyk to Irena Mychajliw; Jean Mychajliw, $84,000.

• 194 Santin Drive, Kenneth Tocha; Gary Tocha; Roy Tocha; Glenn Tocha to Chrissy Lombardo; Roy Lombardo Jr., $76,000.

• 170 George Urban Blvd., Sandra Caffrey; Joanne Hammond; Bernard H. Bartkowiak to Cathy L. Palmer, $75,000.

• 22 Melcourt Drive West, William Arthur O’Connor; Betty Ann O’Connor to Emily Pfenier, $72,000.

• 145 Heather Road, Julie A. Wolkiewicz to Michael D. Giacobello; Raymond J. Eckert, $70,000.

• 33 Glidden, Bernard Malecki to Sharon F. Reino; Michael J. Reino, $70,000.

• 147 Ledyard Ave., Charles B. Mendola; Bertha A. Mendola to Marc Beebe, $48,000.

• 3433 Harlem Road, Patricia Bronzino; Dominic Bronzino to Tonya Y. Bickham-Chavers, $35,700.

CLARENCE Highest price: $1,256,200 Average price: $363,176 Median price: $352,000 Number of Sales: 24

• 5130 Rockledge Drive, H. Dudley Hart to Susan M. Schulz Living Trust, $1,256,200.

• 6005 Corine Lane, Siew Lan Poh; Daniel T. Obrien to Sirva Relocation Credit, $512,500.

• 6005 Corinne Lane, Sirva Relocation Credit to Matthew Gilmour McClure; Lindsay Judette McClure, $512,500.

• 8320 Greiner Road, Concetta M. Cimato to Shannon De Jong; Jurriaan L. De Jong, $462,500.

• 9072 Winding Creek Lane, Avnish Patel; Nutan Patel to Tammy A. Nicholson; Stephen W. Nicholson, $439,900.

• 8321 Main St., Lynn Liaros; Demetrios T. Liaros to 8321 Main Street Associates, $420,000.

• 7701 Northfield Road, Stephanie R. Jarnagin; Jason R. Jarnagin to Justin M. Phipps; Andrea E. Phipps, $400,000.

• 4624 Brentwood Drive, Shawn C. Darlington to Ryan M. Glaser; Esther J. Glaser, $380,000.

• 6162 Bridlewood Drive South, Joshua Mancini; Angela R. Mancini to Kathryn Whiting; Benjamin Whiting, $380,000.

• 5858 Forest Creek Drive, Richard Archambeault; Joyce Archambeault to Vicki L. Mangan; Patrick D. Mangan, $375,900.

• 5871 Monaghan Lane, Ryan Homes of New York; Nvr Inc. to Keith R. Gaume; Anne S. Gaume, $375,725.

• 5557 Privet Drive, Hollows Condominium Development Inc. to Joseph F. Kapsiak; Diane M. Kapsiak, $359,000.

• 5475 Via Del Sole, Stephanie Bernhard to Miyoung Yoon; Yehwan Kim, $345,000.

• 5775 Shimerville Road, Laurie Brown; David Brown to William Ente; Lisa J. Ente, $345,000.

• 5558 Marthas Vineyard, Judith A. Caveny to Hyungseon Oh; Youjin Wang, $335,100.

• 5542 Privet Drive, Hollows Condominium Development Inc. to Nicholas F. Dipirro; Monica L. Dipirro, $319,000.

• 25 Ainsley Court, Marilyn Boxhorn; Joseph Boxhorn; Beverly Garland to Roger Little; Grace Little, $265,000.

• 6145 Gott Creek Trail, Carol A. Loos to Paul John Terhaar; Grace A. Terhaar, $255,000.

• 9520 Clarence Center Road, Todd P. MacVittie; Bridget M. MacVittie to Michael J. Fiess; Jeanette K. Fiess, $223,000.

• 4275 Circle Court, Jerome L. Neuner; Barbara A. Neuner to Carolyn A. Randle; Joseph S. Kosinski, $174,900.

• 4600 Shimerville Road, Jennifer L. Grosso to Tyler G. Muto; Jesslyn A. Holbrook, $171,000.

• 6790 Strickler Road, Steven J. Dorner; Kelly B. Dorner to Michael D. Christner; Brittany F. Bakal, $165,000.

• 4845 Kraus Road, Household Finance Realty Corporation of New York to Charles B. Nadler Jr., $164,000.

• 9416 Kristina Circle, Essex Homes of WNY Inc. to Linda B. Tompkins; Leonard M. Tompkins, $80,000.

COLDEN

• 8205 Boston Colden Road, Doris M. Tilli to Jeffrey Durett, $115,000.

COLLINS

• 2962 Route 39, Joshua Wolniewicz; Kayla Wolniewicz to Richard C. Kramer; Naomi B. Kramer, $82,666.

• 14681 Bagdad Road, Peter Fisher; Linda Fisher to Rose Solari; Charles Solari, $50,125.

CONCORD

• 45 Elk St., Charles Brothwell to Sharon E. Bilz, $135,000.

• 27 Woodstock Road, Carol A. Wimmer to William J. Diggins, $124,900.

• 20 Cattaraugus St., Gertrude E. Seguin to Jeanne L. May, $116,000.

• 77 Tarn Trail, Eileen F. Smith to Cheryl Spencer; Maurice Spencer, $70,000.

• 118 Pearl St., Rodney A. O’Dell; Lois J. O’Dell to Justin A. Kraft, $10,000.

EDEN

• 4220 Schreiber Drive, Heidi S. Screiber to Karen L. Schmitz, $70,000.

ELMA Highest price: $344,622 Average price: $207,642 Median price: $226,950 Number of Sales: 10

• 21 Lakeside Circle, Marrano/Marc Equity Corporation to Jan Komanski; David A. Komanski, $344,622.

• 161 Stolle Road, Marcia L. Hotwes to Cheryl E. Newton, $280,000.

• 111 Tiffany Lane, Gregg E. Bajdas; Diane V. Bajdas to Lee Christopher Kotlarz; Candace L. Kotlarz, $273,000.

• 80 Terrace Lane, Robert Dyl; Diane A. Dyl to Holly A. Shelly; Christopher T. Shelly, $264,900.

• 20 Lakeside Circle, Ellen A. White; Alexander D. White to Jeanna A. Wozniak, $258,900.

• 52 Bridle Lane, Sharon Gustavel to Trevor J. Jelowski; Courtney M. Jelowski, $195,000.

• 6320 Seneca St., Michael Mure to Todd R. Huber, $170,000.

• 3330 Bowen Road, Eleanore Turski; Peter Turski to Michelle Walker; Robert J. Walker, $160,000.

• 920 Bullis Road, Wilbert J. Stier; Linda R. Konrad to 2J2M Llc, $70,000.

• 1351 Girdle Road, Robert L. Daley to Daniel Sharp, $60,000.

EVANS Highest price: $150,000 Average price: $108,939 Median price: $105,500 Number of Sales: 10

• 724 Lake St., Dale O. Henry to Rosemary Brosch-Grieser; John R. Grieser, $150,000.

• 1426 Darlington Drive, Thomas J. Wilson to Steven F. Saxbury; Kimberly M. Saxbury, $138,000.

• 17 Joyce Lane, Laurie E. Rodler to Lisa A. Schiedel, $117,000.

• 245 Garfield Ave., April L. Perna to Patricia L. Csizmar; John S. Csizmar, $115,000.

• 7578 Depot St., Dorothy F. Kelm to Mark G. Edwards, $106,000.

• 9145 Lake Shore Road, Paul Mann to Ronald Earl Smith II; Jill Marie Smith, $105,000.

• 6816 Wayne Drive, Olivia Schwarzott; Ryan J. Schwarzott to Jason Helmer; Amy K. Helmer, $97,960.

• 6634 Schuyler Road, Mark Armenia; Tina Rutkowski Armenia to Jason Gardner, $90,000.

• 6778 Erie Road, Phillip A. Schaper; Richard A. Schaper Jr. to Gregory Phillies, $89,929.

• 1439 Independence Drive, Christian E. Rich to April L. Perna, $80,500.

GRAND ISLAND Highest price: $375,000 Average price: $174,754 Median price: $159,028 Number of Sales: 10

• 3727 East River Road, Glenn Bailey; Glenn G. Bailey to Josette Dickinson; John F. Dickinson, $375,000.

• 364 Whitehave Road, Christopher Wilkinson; Kelly A. Wilkinson to Terence P. Doyle; Catherine A. Diaz, $340,000.

• 40 Sawmill Run, Joel A. Fininzio to William L. Preston; Jacquelyn A. Preston, $229,500.

• 1554 Allenton Place, Kathleen Reid; Kathleen C. Reid to Lisa M. Fagan, $224,900.

• 2340 Grand Island Blvd., CNL APF Partners to CafeUSA001 Llc, $179,156.

• 2583 Stony Point Road, Patricia Bowman to Terry L. Hashley Jr., $138,900.

• 1913 Broadway, Michele Blythe; Raymond P. Sarama; Gladys M. Sarama to Albert S. Valera, $90,000.

• 160 Marilyn Drive, Wesley C. Brzezinski; Arielle A. Brzezinski to Alexis Stasio, $72,080.

• 1996 East River Road, Marcia C. Pfohl; Edwin L. Pfohl to Joanne McCleary; Christopher McCleary, $59,000.

• 2050 Love Road, L Visone Development to Michael P. Mitchell; Erin M. Mitchell, $39,000.

HAMBURG Highest price: $2,000,000 Average price: $230,626 Median price: $181,500 Number of Sales: 29

• 4255 McKinley Parkway, Walmart Realty Company to EMK Holdings, $2,000,000.

• 6145 McKinley Parkway, Stonebridge Homes of WNY Inc. to Lisa A. Meegan; Robert P. Meegan Jr., $292,470.

• 2204 Shadow Lane, Marrano/Marc Equity Corporation to Joseph Coniglio; Amanda A. Coniglio, $286,195.

• 3346 Countryside Lane, Michael T. Pack; Kathleen M. Pack to Kevin Reyes, $286,000.

• 5574 Coachmans Lane, Barbara Kagle; Steven Kagle to Stacey A. Rager; Michael S. Hadden, $283,000.

• 6145 McKinley Parkway, Stonebridge Homes of WNY Inc. to Karen Peiffer; Henry A. Peiffer, $280,025.

• 2188 Shadow Lane, Ryan Homes of New York; Nvr Inc. to Michael A. Murrin, $272,388.

• 6490 Taylor Road, Heidi Peccia; Paul A. Peccia to Wende Paas; Robert K. Paas, $267,000.

• 1410 North Creek Road, Rosemarie A. Occhino; Joseph A. Occhino to James A. Penepent, $215,000.

• 4108 Sowles Road, Kevin L. Monaco to Maureen E. Lounsbury; Ernest H. Lounsbury Jr., $212,000.

• 94 Holiday Lane, Leon W. Hacker; Inez B. Hacker to Sheila Hurtubise; Peter Hurtubise, $202,000.

• 3311 Queens Lane, Peter R. Fisher; Kristine M. Fisher to Michael A. Pienta; Lynette M. Cummings-Pienta, $192,000.

• 3638 Blair Court, Amanda Ann Coniglio; Joseph James Coniglio to Olivia Schwarzott; Ryan J. Schwarzott, $190,800.

• 4773 Brompton Parkway, Karen M. Davenport-Bosley to Kyungho Lee, $183,000.

• 6286 Old Lakeshore Road, Ann Argy; Donald Argy to George Hancock, $181,500.

• 3011 Cloverbank Road, Kevin Czajka to Megan M. Jordon; Bradley W. Bach, $170,000.

• 6427 Center St., Virginia R. Bley; Calvin E. Bley to Ronald Hosken; Kathleen Hosken, $162,000.

• 20 Lombardy Lane, Margaret L. Wrench to Catherine S. Forcucci, $148,000.

• 84 Pleasant Ave., Joan Trinchera to Jessica Hoffman; Geoffrey M. Lippa, $132,000.

• 3454 Dickens Road, David Hastie to Adam C. Hastie, $130,000.

• 5001 Mount Vernon Blvd., Jennifer L. Mollnar to Cynthia Colella; Andy Colella, $127,900.

• 5675 Apollo Drive, Belinda Szobski; Stephen A. Szobski to Barbara Gollnau; Wojciech F. Gollnau, $121,000.

• 5966 Smith Road, Gail L. Serena to Brian Stelmach; Amy E. Serena, $90,000.

• 2142 Shadow Lane, Cimato Enterprises Inc. to Ryan Homes of New York; Nvr Inc., $52,000.

• Vacant Land/Arnold Road, Peter Carr to Scott M. Davis, $50,000.

• 3671 Seventh St., Timothy G. Blevins to Scott C. Seifert, $49,000.

• 4017 Connors Way, Dato Development to Ryan Homes of New York; Nvr Inc., $49,000.

• 101 Martin Ave., Modestino A. Argenio; Gregory P. Klink Sr. to Fannie Mae, $36,146.

• 5 Scooter Lane, Country Meadows Llc to Ryan Homes Of New York; Nvr Inc., $27,734.

HOLLAND

• Vacant Land/Hunters Creek Road, Laurie A. Sullivan; John L. Sullivan to Lois Rupp; Michael D. Rupp, $62,100.

• 9 Cherrywood Ridge, Larry A. Stulak to Renata Kowalczuk; Stephen J. Parrish, $38,000.

LACKAWANNA

• 558 S Shore Blvd., Todd R. Huber to Theodore J. Annas, $144,000.

• 90 Goodrich Road, Jessie White to Mohsin Ali, $102,000.

• 17 Bedford, Michael A. Pienta to Tracy A. Burke, $100,000.

• 117 Maryknoll Drive, Jason E. Carnevale to Louise D. Graham, $93,000.

• 62 Lincoln, Patrick McMullen; Catherine M. McMullen to Kevin D. Marcinkowski, $50,000.

LANCASTER Highest price: $1,125,000 Average price: $254,747 Median price: $216,500 Number of Sales: 19

• 305 Central Ave., Raymond F. Bova; Margaret A. Bova to Charles J. Andolina, $1,125,000.

• 3 Overlook Court, Pamela Corcoran; Kevin Corcoran to Tina L. Thurston, $490,000.

• 21 Kent Place, Marrano/Marc Equity Corporation to Marilyn Boxhorn; Beverly Marrano/Marc, $335,794.

• 54 Sterling Place, Marrano/Marc Equity Corporation to William M. Hamilton; Suzanne L. Fazar, $307,636.

• 69 Middlebury Lane, Forbes Homes Inc. to Elizabeth Anne Vullo; Tommy Vullo, $286,682.

• 6 Summerfield Drive, K&K Development of Alden to Collen M. Vaccaro, $245,215.

• 3914 Bowen Road, Bowen Road Acquisition to Suren Mewar; Kalindi Mewar, $239,332.

• 131 Pleasantview Drive, Joseph A. Carnevale; Frances M. Carnevale to Lynn Liaros, $225,000.

• 42 Taft Ave., Christopher W. Oesch to Richard Manns, $225,000.

• 22 Via Donato West, Sandra S. Chudzinski; Carl E. Chudzinski to Claudio Giangreco-Marotta; Lisa A. Cirino, $216,500.

• U3503 Hanover St., Marrano/Marc Equity Corporation to Irene Petroziello; Carl J. Petroziello, $199,735.

• U1403 Hanover St., Marrano/Marc Equity Corporation to Diane M. Burgard, $166,490.

• 56 Briarwood Drive, Annemarie C. Dougherty; Allen D. Andrzejewski to Sara Knight; James Knight, $156,900.

• 442 Town Line Road, Barbara J. Windnagle to Jacob M. Desjardins, $138,000.

• 101 Hanwell, Michael Zika to Lisa Nowak, $123,000.

• 195 Argus Drive, Marilyn M. Forster; John S. Forster to Thomas A. Barlow III; Thomas C. Barlow II, $112,000.

• 29 Randolph St., Suzan M. Hart to Carrie L. Kight, $108,000.

• 3907 Bowen Road, Diane M. Piatkowski to Fay M. Loynes, $80,000.

• Vacant Land/285 Westwood Road, Marilyn J. Bundy; Brian N. Bundy to Robert J. Speyer; Lori A. Speyer, $59,900.

NEWSTEAD

• 5982 Crittenden, Richard F. Manns to Nicole K. Lamonte-Degolier; Roy T. Degolier IV, $335,000.

• 12021 Buckwheat Road, John A. Nowicki; Barbara S. Nowicki to People Inc., $233,000.

NORTH COLLINS

• 2334 Langford Road, Mae E. Dickinson to John Friedman; Amanda Friedman, $131,440.

ORCHARD PARK Highest price: $460,000 Average price: $239,837 Median price: $239,000 Number of Sales: 12

• 6 Hidden Meadow, Suresh D. Ghate; Kumud S. Ghate to Devinalini Misir; Bramh Misir, $460,000.

• 11 Winterhall Road, Stephanie L. Dorman; Rodney H. Dorman to Brian Schuster, $423,900.

• 7655 Jewett Holmwood Road, William J. Bissett; Katherine E. Bissett to Matthew R. Whipple; Mallary L. Whipple, $323,000.

• 6001 Seufert Road, Daniel Majchrzak; Joan Majchrzak to Dominic H. Caselli; Alesha J. Caselli, $260,000.

• 75 Hilltowne Drive, Ryan Homes of New York; Nvr Inc. to Tammy L. Curcio; Craig R. Curcio, $256,645.

• 79 Old Farm Road, Rebecca A. Purcell; Brian G. Purcell to Lisa R. Blake; Christopher M. Blake, $256,000.

• 46 Bridle Path, Richard E. Robison Jr. to Lisa A. Hastings, $222,000.

• 106 Thorn Ave., Lisa R. Blake; Christopher M. Blake to Jeffrey Bonerb, $199,000.

• 6475 Webster Road, Neil A. Hartung; Carolyn M. Hartung to Kaitlin Price; William Price, $162,500.

• 7679 Ellicott Road, Marion W. Nieman; Lloyd S. Nieman to Annette Wojtusiak; David Thompson, $138,000.

• 5335 Powers Road, Mark D. Mortenson; Curt F. Maranto to John B. Kohlhas, $125,000.

• 82 Hunters Ridge Road, Laura M. Pirritano; Frank A. Pirritano to C Burke Enterprises, $52,000.

SARDINIA

• 10300 Phillips Road, David W. Zimmer to Lori A. Whittington; Gerard J. Whittington Jr., $315,000.

CITY OF TONAWANDA

• 153 Franklin St., Randall C. Knight; Pamela J. Knight to Bryan C. Lavey, $108,000.

• 286 Morgan St., David C. Laub; Matthew L. Harrington; Sherri K. Harington to M&T Bank, $106,361.

• 36 Schuler Ave., Peter A. Rudnicki to Charles House, $95,000.

• 221 Wheeler St., James M. Stein to Patrick C. Haynes, $84,000.

• 43 Hill Place, Kathleen C. Sutton; Kathleen C. Kearly; Kathleen C. Joyce to Thomas Turtle, $56,062.

TOWN OF TONAWANDA Highest price: $292,500 Average price: $122,283 Median price: $120,000 Number of Sales: 35

• 121 Leicester Road, Luciana Coppola Galante to Kristin P. Collado; Joseph M. Collado, $292,500.

• 1520 Niagara Falls Blvd., 1508 Niagara Falls Boulevard Inc.; Joseph Caputy; Joseph F. Caputy; Joseph F. Caputy Jr. to John R. Simon Enterprises Ltd., $284,000.

• 197 Bering Ave., 250 Cortland Avenue Inc. to Cecelia Kohlmeier, $249,900.

• 60 Snug Haven Court, Joseph Krasner; Joan D. Krasner to John P. Gaeta; Christine M. Gaeta, $183,000.

• 788 Starin Ave., Kay E. Woike; Glenn V. Woike to Rachel E. Santana; David T. Santana, $180,000.

• 65 Brenton Ave., Jennifer Birkemeier to Tammi R. Radwanski; Mariusz T. Radwanski, $177,000.

• 344 Liston St., Robert J. Oleary; Alice L. Oleary to Michael P. Holmes; Erin J. Holmes, $164,900.

• 111 Mayfield Ave., David W. Baran to Nicole M. Hackett, $153,700.

• 51 Aspinwood Place, Alan Rosen to Stacy Hanover; John W. Hanover, $150,000.

• 311 Zimmerman Blvd., Bernadette Thomas to Scott C. Walters, $139,000.

• 270 Westfall Drive, Joan E. Long; Ellen A. Heyer; Nancy E. Gorman to Susan M. Adinolfe, $137,000.

• 340 Pilgrim Road, Renata Stevanovic; Nebojsa Stevanovic to Lindsay A. Brownell, $130,000.

• 45 Fairfield Ave., Terry R. Litten to De Sheng Tian; Yan Fen Zhang, $122,500.

• 207 Oakridge Ave., Robert Kanner to Rachel N. Delmonte, $121,500.

• 144 Majorie Drive, Lawrence A. Benz; Kimberly A. Benz to Matthew F. Christopher, $121,000.

• 345 Parkwood Ave., Kerri A. Dokken to Meghan E. Martin; Brian M. Martin, $121,000.

• 681 Moore Ave., Christopher Nutty; Kathleen L. Nutty; James V. Nutty to Catherine R. Cline, $120,500.

• 500 Zimmerman Blvd., Sharrae D. Fields to Nancy A. Federici, $120,000.

• 30 Briarlee Drive, Renata Wolszczak; Mieczyslaw Wolszczak to Megan E. Kunecki, $113,500.

• 147 Fowler Ave., Kevin Munro; Lucy Vitale to Virginia L. McIntyre, $111,000.

• 242 Knowlton Ave., Noah Rothberg to Wynne F. Barron Osiadlo; Nathan J. Osiadlo, $106,900.

• 5335 River Road, Joseph Maciejewski; County of Erie to 5335 River Road Associates Llc, $100,000.

• 103 Knowlton Ave., Allen J. Zale; Terry A. Heron to Donald A. Kurnik, $98,500.

• 176 Shepard Ave., Michelle Giallella to Sabrina Miller; Joshua L. Miller, $94,500.

• 129 Moulton, Albert Botti to Sandra A. Turano; Justin M. Turano, $89,900.

• 115 Waverly, Alberta Fleischman; Joseph H. Fleischman to Joseph M. Duke, $87,000.

• 138 Desmond Drive, Marilyn Henderson to Kevin M. Slon; Samantha M. Baker, $80,000.

• 64 Lincoln Blvd., William J. Brown to Richard P. Rogers, $75,000.

• 279 Grandview Ave., Linda L. Zurat; Edward C. Zurat to Elizabeth A. Clough, $74,000.

• 671 Harrison Ave., Nathan C. Mellenthien to Sirva Relocation Credit, $70,000.

• 671 Harrison, Sirva Relocation Credit to Christine M. Kulifaj; Marco V. Jurich, $70,000.

• 29-35 Cobb St., Tony Clough; Jill M. Clough to Nazia Kabeer; Thoufiq J. Kaleemullah, $69,000.

• 102 Ralston Ave., Rose Marie Lograsso; Andrew Lograsso to Michael J. Gambino, $41,000.

• 396 Niagara Falls Blvd., Bruce C. Birkby to Ketheeswaran Thurairajasingam, $22,000.

• 63 Tremaine Ave., Victoria L. Senko; Richard A. Senko to Richard A. Senko, $10,088.

WALES

• Vacant Land/Vermont Hill Road, Christopher D. Valiquette to Amy R. Andres; Gary N. Andres Jr., $65,000.

• 11327 Warner Hill, Florence C. Thornbury to Karen Jane Ciminelli; Daniel Ciminelli, $40,000.

WEST SENECA Highest price: $257,348 Average price: $119,570 Median price: $110,650 Number of Sales: 24

• 147 Chancellor Lane, Marrano/Marc Equity Corporation to Oren Massil, $257,348.

• 47 Freedom, George E. Northcliffe; Kimberly A. English to Rosemarie Karaszewski; Donald J. Karaszewski, $192,000.

• 8 Cove Creek Run, John C. Berner; Ellen M. Berner to David W. Zimmer, $190,000.

• 4867 Seneca St., Patricia McGhee; John McGhee; Patricia A. McGhee; John M. McGhee to Nicole J. McGhee-Rynolds; Meghan N. McGhee-Reynolds, $180,000.

• 124 Treehaven Road, Jeanette M. Smith to Janet A. Harris, $172,000.

• 311 Leydecker Road, James H. Petrie; Gail M. Petrie to Susan E. Boigt; David A. Boigt, $162,000.

• 60 Wedgewood Drive, Edgar P. Conrad Jr. to Dawn R. Gierschke; Christopher J. Gierschke, $148,000.

• 33 Camwood Drive, Vicki O’Reilly; Patrick C. O’Reilly to John R. Kaminski; Mary C. Juszkiewicz, $144,000.

• 113 Singer Drive, Richard P. Paoletti; Maxine L. Paoletti to Brandon Hughey, $133,500.

• 59 Boardman Road, Joseph Robert Miller; Kim Marie Miller to Sheba S Schohn Delozier; Mark E. Delozier, $130,000.

• 81 Collins Ave., Jacyndra Jahnke to Steven H. Duckworth; Emily C. Duckworth, $123,100.

• 108 Briarwood Drive, Alexander Emmerson to Renee L. Galenti, $111,300.

• 2094 Transit Road, Marie M. Carroll to Lynn M. Krakowiak, $110,000.

• 5500 Seneca St., Linda Nappo to Jennifer McRae; Preston J. Monkelban, $106,000.

• 2869 Seneca St., Jill E. Sinclair; Brian L. Sinclair to Lorene Barulich; Ian Barulich, $96,000.

• 210 Waltercrest Terrace, Mary Pokojowczyk; Violet F. Meka to Callie Lockwood, $86,920.

• 2841 Seneca St., Charles E. Lee to Adam Joseph Galligan, $84,000.

• 44 Tudor Blvd., Stephen G. Makosy; Robin A. Makosy to Lisa Mendolia Frankowski; Kevin M. Frankowski, $80,000.

• 2663 Seneca St., Gerald McNamara to Michael Kalenda, $75,000.

• 110 Bellwood Ave., Richard E. Travers; Cynthia M. Travers to David D. Shaffer; Audrey J. Shaffer, $70,000.

• 254 Tampa, Jenny Boggio; Michael T. Gutkowski; John T. Gutkowski; Nancy J. Dischner to Matthew H. Smith, $67,500.

• 235 Knox Ave., Anthony N. Lleras to Kevin F. Hagen, $65,000.

• 431 East & West Road, Richard D. Horner to Colton Glendenning, $45,000.

• 2639 Seneca St., Mark D. Vergien; Jane M. Vergien to David Rodriguez, $41,008.

CAMBRIA

• Upper Mountain Road, Nathan G. Silvernail to Melissa Stolzenburg; Eric Stolzenburg, $165,000.

• Baer Road, Melani Autin; Marfa A. Kwiatkowski to Sante Dipaolo; Idalynn McDonald, $20,400.

• Town Line Road, Marlene Janik; Paul E. Wendt to Robin S. Wendt; Paul E. Wendt, $15,000.

LEWISTON

• Pletcher Road, Deborah L. Quaranto; Deborah L. Falcone to Jonathan L. Jackson; Jennifer G. Jackson, $250,000.

• 414 Kenwood Drive, Jonathan L. Jackson; Jennifer G. Jackson to Maria A. Dunets; Aaron J. Dunets, $165,000.

• Hewitt Drive, Charles E. Channell; Sharon A. Channell to Britney M. Burns, $130,000.

• 5024 Callan Drive, Maryanne Hargrave Berkowitz; Theresa M. Hargrave; Joseph S. Hargrave; Frank J. Hargrave to Aaron J. Hargrave, $100,000.

LOCKPORT Highest price: $575,965 Average price: $124,667 Median price: $72,435 Number of Sales: 8

• Tudor Lane, Southwind Realty of WNY to Tudor Heights Apartments, $575,965.

• Irving St., Deborah Kim McGeown to Henry F. Spoon Jr., $97,000.

• West Grant St., Jennifer M. Deneau to Patrick S. Burke, $92,500.

• Fayette St., Danielle Hagen to Breanna Paris Friedersdorf; Seth C. Friedersdorf, $77,000.

• 424 High St., Geoffrey T. Naughton; Patricia M. Burns-Naughton to First Niagara Bank, $67,870.

• 29 Harrison Ave., Fannie Mae to Sandra M. Cocca; John D. Cocca, $52,000.

• Mill St. & Vanburen St., Virginia Miller to Affordable Living New York, $20,000.

• Walnut St., Michael F. Zapp to Mark C. Zimmerman, $15,000.

TOWN OF LOCKPORT Highest price: $260,000 Average price: $153,574 Median price: $155,200 Number of Sales: 8

• Tonawanda Creek Road, Victoria L. Eberle; Carl E. Eberle to Stephanie M. Bush; Brian P. Bush, $260,000.

• Mount View Drive, Scott R. Elliott; Maureen A. Elliott to Rachel E. Smith; Leonard A. Smith, $218,000.

• Marion Ave., Carolann Donorovich; Robert C. Donorovich to Jeffrey G. Hickman; Ellen M. Hickman, $180,000.

• Mount View Drive, Elaine M. Colucci to Patrick K. Ellinger, $175,900.

• Rapids Road, Jeffrey G. Hickman; Ellen M. Hickman to Anita Lewczyk; Douglas Lewczyk, $134,500.

• 5328 Ernest Road, Cartus Financial Corp. to Amy B. Lorenz, $129,000.

• 4079 Johnson Road, Joan E. Drew; Charles N. Drew to HSBC Bank USA, $106,193.

• Ernest Road, Catherine Montedoro; Charles J. Montedoro to William L. Teaven, $25,000.

NEWFANE

• Hatter Road, Mary M. Irwin; Brent D. Irwin to Ralph Murdola; Julie Murdola, $154,000.

• Rounds Road, Valerie Baker; Robert R. Rounds to Andrew P. Crosby, $85,000.

• Brown Road, Sharon A. Stanistreet; John B. Stanistreet to Lori Ann Neidlinger; Jeffrey J. Neidlinger, $19,500.

• Lockport-Olcott Road & Park Lane, Frederick P. Everett to Kathleen M. Maynard, $11,500.

• McKee Road, Robert E. Stedman to James D. Pease; Beth A. Pease, $5,000.

NIAGARA FALLS Highest price: $194,900 Average price: $84,247 Median price: $74,500 Number of Sales: 24

• Greenview Road, Philip J. Bourque; Barbara A. Bourque to Crystal A. Lincoln, $194,900.

• Crestview Drive, Michael W. Mlacker; Debbie A. Mlacker to Joel J. Schwartzkopf, $194,250.

• Brandi Drive, Louis H. Paonessa; Jeannie D. Paonessa to Christofer C. Ciccone; Andrea Ciccone, $189,900.

• 3rd St., Cheng Chen; Chen Cheng to John Giusiana; Craig E. Avery, $175,000.

• Rivershore Drive, Lewis D. Rotella to Chantal A. Calato; David Bachowski, $109,000.

• 102nd St., Barbara J. Hummel; Barbara J. Cook to Melissa Sterner, $105,000.

• Buffalo Ave., Muhammad A. Hossain to Christopher J. Bensch, $103,000.

• Roselle Ave. & Bell St., Kolleen E. Sulli; Mark J. Longo to MJ2 Apartments Llc, $92,000.

• 100th St., Lisa Marie Alvarez; Michael A. Alvarez to Jonathan D. Recchione, $86,170.

• Pershing Ave., Robert C. Wright; Ann K. Wright to Mary E. Pagano, $82,000.

• 98th St., Mary Ann Paonessa; Dianna Marie Piotrowski; David Michael Paonessa; Renee Marie Whobrey; Dianne Marie Piotrowski to Jennifer R. Bossinger; Joseph M. Bossinger, $79,800.

• Niagara St., Alan Griffiths; Christopher J. Mikienis to Rosecrest Llc, $75,000.

• 98th St., Vera Draganac; Joseph Draganac to Robert J. Terrana Sr., $74,000.

• 3rd St. & Buffalo Ave., Parkway Condo Unit 411, Jeffrey E. Pasler to Shannon Pieczewski; Stephen Dankert; Marysia Dankert, $68,000.

• 77th St., Dorothy B. Ciechoski; Deborah A. Gall to Amanda J. Dixon, $67,000.

• Main St., Kathryn Rotundo; Victoria Forysinski to Christina Lewis; David Lewis, $62,000.

• Livingston Ave., Denise Plennert; Christopher Plennert to Charles Robinson; Stefanie L. Pezzino, $58,500.

• 23rd St., Kurt A. Davis to Jeanette Micon, $40,000.

• St. Paul St., Michael J. Martino to Denise M. Sahr; Alan E. Sahr, $34,900.

• 17th St., Judith R. Ellsmore; Charles E. Ellsmore to Lori Suzanne Schelhas, $31,000.

• Elmwood Ave., Wing Properties to YHK Properties, $27,000.

• 71st St., JCA Enterprises to RTP Property Management, $25,000.

• Willow Ave., Christine M. Washburn; Alfred Chiodo to Paragon Enterprises, $25,000.

• Ashland Ave., Rita Deluca to Ryan James Brehmer, $23,500.

NORTH TONAWANDA Highest price: $148,000 Average price: $90,140 Median price: $95,110 Number of Sales: 8

• Thompson St. & Bryant St., Church of the Lutheran Brethren of America to Ihope Community Church Inc., $148,000.

• 280 Homestead Drive, Marsha J. Lamont; Marsha J. Campbell to Darren R. Vukovic, $118,000.

• Meadow Drive, Sue Anne Lorenz; Michael D. Lorenz; Julia M. Lorenz to Phillip P. Sargent; Michelle M. Sargent, $100,000.

• Woodward Ave., Carolyn A. Bors; William J. Bors to Rhonda E. Stoll, $97,520.

• Rumbold Ave., Megan Hartel; Thomas Allen; Megan E. Allen to Jason J. Durst, $92,700.

• Fredericka St., Yolanda M. Chase; Michael J. Chase to Lindsay M. Warning, $77,900.

• Robinson St. & Market St. & Payne Ave., Lutheran Church Grace to Vanguard Christian Church, $50,000.

• 7th Ave., Jeanette Perretta to Kevin J. Grover, $37,000.

PENDLETON

• Transit Road, Diane J. Haas to Kas Holdings, $240,000.

• Alexander Parkway Hunters Creek Condo A Unit 8, Iris Mackett to Joan Barto, $193,000.

• Town Line Road, Robert K. Melton; Erica M. Melton; Erica M. Mayo to Sheri L. Thorne; Eric P. Thorne, $135,000.

• Bear Ridge Road, Marilyn M. Lynch; Marcia J. Schwagler; Frank T. Lynch; Marcia J. Stolzenfels to Carolanne Rose Knotowicz, $127,000.

PORTER

• Main St. & 2nd St., Katherine R. Hurd; Katherine M. Piercy; Richard W. Gilbert to Rodney H. Paul, $70,000.

• Ransomville Road, Joseph S. Dixon to Autum Vas, $40,000.

ROYALTON

• Rochester Road & Canal Road, Gary M. Warchocki; Sherry L. Warchocki to Colin G. Corcoran; Christine J. Corcoran, $21,000.

• Highland Drive, T. Steenhof Estates Limited; Henrietta Marianne Schoeman; M. Schoeman to Joseph Polanin, $17,500.

SOMERSET

• East Ave., Violet N. Eggert; Edmund C. Eggert to Rae Ann Miller, $93,600.

WHEATFIELD Highest price: $313,271 Average price: $202,445 Median price: $229,540 Number of Sales: 9

• Timberlink Road, GMD Development to Annmarie Kenny; Daniel A. Kenny, $313,271.

• 3754 Brandywine Road, GMD Development to Michael J. Zwelling, $265,000.

• Rock Dove Lane & Ferchen St., Kimberly B. Cirillo; Fortunato A. Cirillo to Liaquat Ali, $250,000.

• Osprey Lane, Na Li; Charles Bland to Lynn M. Fusco; Joseph P. Starinsky, $232,400.

• Skylark Lane, Ryan Homes of New York; Nvr Inc. to Mark R. Peterson; Kathleen K. Peterson, $229,540.

• Skylark Lane, Ryan Homes of New York; Nvr Inc. to John L Iii Fonagy; John L. Fonagy Jr., $176,690.

• Tonawanda Creek Road & Town Line Road, Julie Murdola; Ralph W. Murdola to Samer Rizek; Syed S. Jaffri, $165,100.

• Krueger Road, Dianne M. Carpenter; Ilona D. Maracle to Michael W. Mlacker; Debbie A. Mlacker, $145,000.

• Slusaric Road, Russell Patronaggio; Patricia L. Patronaggio to Alliance Construction of WNY Inc., $45,000.

WILSON

• Washington St., Linda M. Henry; Linda Henry; Aaron Henry to Christopher D. Phillips; Amy D. Phillips, $128,000.

NIAGARA FALLS – The governor has pledged to make it happen. The mayor has been onboard with it.

But the three-member City Council majority has yet to make a decision on the Hamister Group’s plans for a $25.3 million hotel, apartment and retail complex that many believe would be an important economic-development project for downtown Niagara Falls.

Council Chairman Glenn A. Choolokian said he continues to harbor concerns about a proposed agreement with the Hamister Group project.

“My stance hasn’t changed on anything,” Choolokian said Friday.

When asked what the Council majority may do about the proposal when it meets today, Choolokian did not shut the door on a possible deal but also did not indicate that a vote could happen.

Choolokian, whose majority tabled the deal in July, said he is interested to see if there are any updates today from either the Dyster administration or Corporation Counsel Craig H. Johnson.

“Maybe there will be a miracle,” Choolokian said.

The Council is being asked to allow the city to sell the land at 310 Rainbow Blvd. and allow Mayor Paul A. Dyster and his administration to negotiate and sign a development agreement for the site with the Hamister Group, which has proposed a five-story project with a 114-room hotel, 24 apartments and up to 8,000 square feet of street-level retail space.

A 10-page memo from Dyster to the Council dated July 2 outlined terms of a resolution that lawmakers were being asked to approve, along with a 17-point term sheet, which the mayor said actually goes beyond what’s typically put on paper at this point in an approval process.

Dyster has argued that what the Council is looking to include now is what is typically negotiated when the details of an agreement are worked out after Council approval.

Choolokian said the Council is “interested in taking all the gray areas out” in order to reach a deal that “protects taxpayers.”

But what gray areas remain?

Aug. 5, the Council majority sent a memo to the corporation counsel that added six issues to its existing list of four, bringing the total to 10 issues that the three-member majority has concerning the project.

Johnson, after consultation with representatives of USA Niagara Development Corp. who were in contact with Hamister, responded to the majority with a three-page memo Aug. 14 addressing each of the 10 issues. A copy of the memo was obtained by The Buffalo News from the City Council’s Office.

Choolokian said the reply “wasn’t really answers” to the questions of the Council majority, which also includes Councilmen Robert A. Anderson Jr. and Samuel F. Fruscione.

One of his continuing concerns, Choolokian said Friday, was that the project may receive benefits of “Start-up NY” tax-free zones, because of the site’s proximity to Niagara County Community College’s Niagara Falls Culinary Institute.

But in Johnson’s Aug. 14 memo, he wrote that developer Mark E. Hamister “will agree not to pursue” any tax-free zone designation.

When asked about Johnson’s memo and Hamister’s Sept. 6 statement to The News that he would not pursue – and that he may not even be eligible for – such benefits, Choolokian said that such an assertion “is easy to say” but doesn’t mean much to him unless something is signed.

Choolokian said he also still has concerns about the amount of money the city would receive in exchange for the land, as well as whether Hamister has the finances in place for the project.

When asked about Hamister’s ongoing $41 million project at the Tishman Building in Buffalo, Choolokian brought up Hamister’s failed attempt to purchase the Buffalo Sabres in 2003. Hamister pulled out of contention after he met government resistance to a request for $40 million in public financing. The Hamister Group manages hotels and health care facilities in several states.

Other issues among the 10 concerns related to the powers of the Council through the rest of the development process, the term “affiliate” in the agreement documents, the “reverter clause,” the hotel’s rating, a guarantee on the number of rooms, the need for local hiring, the terms of any payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, agreement and potential parking revenue from the site.

Hamister has previously called the Council’s issues “red herrings,” saying he believes that such issues have never been made part of any project previously submitted to the Council.

The parcel at 310 Rainbow was donated to the city, and its value was considered the city’s contribution to the deal as part of the overall agreement, which also includes a $2.75 million subsidy from USA Niagara Development, the state’s economic-development agency in the Falls.

Originally, the city was to receive no payment for the land, but the Falls is now in line to receive $100,000.

In his Aug. 14 memo, Johnson told the Council majority, “As you requested, I attempted to obtain a higher price for this parcel, but was unsuccessful.”

In terms of local labor, the developer has agreed to “endeavor … to the fullest extent practical” to use contractors from Erie and Niagara counties. The project would also have a goal for minority- and women-owned businesses of 30 percent of the state aid received, Johnson wrote in his Aug. 14 memo.

Hamister has also agreed not to seek anything more than a standard, 10-year PILOT agreement for the project, which Johnson wrote and which Hamister previously told The News.

Hamister, who was designated as the preferred developer for the project in early 2012 after a public bidding process, nearly walked away from the proposal earlier this month after a political mailer accused him of “running a con game on the city of Niagara Falls.”

After Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo personally intervened, Hamister decided to give the process more time.

“We are in the final stages of fine-tuning some points within the development agreement with USA Niagara while we await approval from the City Council,” Hamister spokeswoman Andrea Colao Czopp said Friday.

Dyster, who has previously said the Council is, at best, stalling with regard to its approval, said he believes that any outstanding issues were addressed fundamentally in the Aug. 14 memo. But Dyster left the door open for further discussion, referring to the situation as an ongoing dialogue.

“There’s still a willingness on the part of everyone associated with the project to answer additional questions or to meet with additional people,” Dyster said.



email: abesecker@buffnews.com

Bill Shaw is a high-ranking official at General Motors, as its North America manufacturing manager. And he is quite familiar with GM’s Town of Tonawanda engine plant and the region in general. In 1996, he was named assistant plant manager at the Tonawanda site. Two years later, he became plant manager of a GM engine and components complex in St. Catharines, Ont., and worked there for several years. Shaw’s duties have grown substantially: He is responsible for metal stamping, vehicle assembly, engine and battery assembly operations at nine GM plants in the United States and Canada, including Tonawanda’s. He recently came to town for the plant’s 75th anniversary celebration.

Q: You oversee nine plants. What stands out about Tonawanda?

A: What’s unique about this plant in my mind is the resiliency of this workforce, the community, the media and the support around this plant. (GM) announced a couple of products here that ultimately got canceled. Some communities would have come down really hard and been very negative. This workforce banded together to figure out ‘how are we going to recover from that and attract new business?’ They did, and as a result, you can see the success, with both the LGE 4-cylinder engine and the V-8 engine. Huge successes.

Q: GM has posted a solid increase in new-vehicle sales over a year ago. How does that influence production here?

A: In general, we produce an engine for every vehicle. There is some aftermarket (production). But in general, as the volume of vehicles goes up, the volume of engines goes up. So as the market expands, and our percentage of the market expands, the more production that we have here.

We forecast out and we look at the range of capacity for any engine module. Right now, we’re planning to fully utilize the modules that are here, so increases in the market will drive us to look at increases in investment. We’ll look at things like operating shifts. Can we get more out of the operating shifts? Can we run overtime? Can we run through breaks and lunches? Those are all operating variables. But predominantly, when you see a shift in the market that’s substantial, we’re years ahead of that, forecasting that and planning for that in an investment.

Q: GM Tonawanda has been hiring workers who are new to the auto industry. How has that been going?

A: It’s twofold. I’m going to say we’ve always had quality people. But the difference is the matchup of what traits we’re looking for in people, No. 1. And No. 2, the amount of training. I’ve mentioned 60,000 hours of training being logged. It’s our responsibility to develop people. … People don’t come out of school learning how to build an engine. They come out of school with basic skills and knowledge. Then we have to take that and convert it into a world-class engine builder.

Q: How has GM Tonawanda changed since when you were here as an assistant manager in the 1990s?

A: In ’96, we were starting the first global engine program, the L-850. So it was the first introduction of lean manufacturing. Today, lean manufacturing permeates the entire site. We were starting a new transformation into employee engagement. Today, it’s totally different. It’s ingrained in the way we do business. The whole focus on quality – we used to build product, inspect, and make sure only good product left. Today, we only manufacture good product. And so the focus is assuring we don’t produce a defect, not just, ‘don’t ship a defect.’ Big difference.

Q: How can this plant stay viable in GM’s eyes? A: It’s a continuation, it’s not something new. It’s continuously improving every day, removing waste from the operation. We’ve defined waste in seven forms. We’ve taken that message to the (production) floor so that everybody in the organization becomes a part of our future success.

Q: What are examples of what GM considers waste?

A: Creating inventory is a waste. Correction is a waste. Walking or waiting, those are wastes. So we get it down to elements people can understand.

Q: What is it like to come back and see where this plant is now, in your new capacity?

A: It just does my heart good, absolutely. … To think about what’s happened in the manufacturing world in the past five years, it’s great to have been around for 75 years and back on a growth spurt.

Q: This plant is well-known locally, but how about within GM’s leadership?

A: Oh yeah. I’ve mentioned the number of engine variants that this plant has produced – it’s touched almost every vehicle that we’ve produced, so yeah, it’s very well-known.

email: mglynn@buffnews.com

The vast majority of large and midsize companies and institutions offer health benefits as a way to attract and retain employees or because company officials believe it’s the right thing to do.

As a result, most Americans get their health insurance through their employers.

Now, with the Affordable Care Act poised to reshape how health insurance is delivered in this country, business owners, human resource officers and rank-and-file employees are left to wonder what health care reform means for them.

“They’re afraid to make a wrong move,” said Pamela Pawenski, Univera Healthcare’s regional vice president of sales.

There’s a lot of confusion about how the act will affect small, midsize and large companies – and their workers – as its key provisions go into effect over the next two years.

The act requires large employers to offer affordable, comprehensive insurance to their workers, but this rule was delayed until Jan. 1, 2015.

Smaller companies won’t have to provide health insurance, but some of those who do may be eligible for tax credits.

And some small employers may drop coverage for their workers, steering them to the state’s insurance exchange, where it is possible those workers may pay less for their insurance.

“This is the biggest change since Medicare was implemented in the ’60s. It affects everybody,” said Kathleen Armstrong, employee benefits manager with Evans Agency Insurance, which manages benefits for commercial clients.

While most people who now receive health insurance through an employer shouldn’t expect a change in their coverage next year, reports of companies seeking to avoid the large-employer mandate – by cutting staff or worker hours – have rippled through the media.

Locally, employers of every size are consulting with insurance brokers, representatives of their current insurer and other experts to plan for the future.

“You can be educated on the topic and still not have all the answers,” said Shannon K. Buffum, a labor and employment lawyer with Harris Beach.

Limiting hiring

The system of employer-provided insurance started during World War II, when companies began to offer health benefits as a way of getting around wage controls that made it hard to recruit employees.

Workers don’t have to count the value of their health benefits as income, and companies can deduct the cost of health insurance as a business expense.

The Affordable Care Act is meant to make health insurance more portable and to limit the blow when someone loses a job that offered insurance.

One concern is how large companies will respond to the act, which requires employers with 51 or more workers to provide health insurance to anyone working 30 hours per week – or pay a fine of $2,000 per employee, not counting the first 30.

This insurance must meet minimum standards of affordability and benefit levels. This mandate was to take effect Jan. 1 but was delayed for one year.

A related provision requiring large employers to track and report the insurance status of their workers also was delayed, potentially making it easier for the uninsured to sidestep the act’s requirement that everyone buy health insurance.

While most large employers already offer coverage to their full-time employees, for those that don’t there are fears that these companies would put off hiring new employees – or lay off an existing worker or more – to keep their payroll below 51 full-time workers. Or, companies could reduce the hours of workers to keep as many of them as possible below 30 per week.

Harris Beach’s Buffum is skeptical about health care driven hiring freezes – “If a person thinks it’s a wise business decision to increase their staff, they’ll do it,” she said.

But Raymond M. Nowicki, a certified public accountant, has heard about payroll game-playing.

“I’ve got a bushel of clients who are screening their employee base, and limiting employees to less than 30 hours of work, per week,” said Nowicki, managing partner with Nowicki and Company, a tax, accounting and business consulting firm.

Univera’s Pawenski said the formula included in the act to account for full-time employees would make it difficult to manipulate employee hours to dodge the large-employer mandate, but some employers who don’t may opt as a business decision to pay the penalty.

A February survey by the nonpartisan National Small Business Association of 400 employers with 50 or more workers found 71 percent planned to continue to offer health insurance and just 3 percent said they planned to pay the fine. “We’re not expecting things to change dramatically in the large group market,” Pawenski said.

Small employers

In the small group market, there’s no requirement in the act that they provide insurance.

For those that do, however, they and their employees will see some changes, as more health plans bid on their business. “For small businesses, there are more choices that these businesses will have in 2014,” said Nora McGuire, Independent Health senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

But, she added, she expects most small employers to stick with their current insurers or insurance brokers for at least next year.

Employers with 50 or fewer workers may opt to direct their employees to buy insurance through the small-business section of the public exchange.

This option would be most attractive to companies with fewer than 25 employees, because they could be eligible for small-business tax credits. But not every small business would qualify and the tax credits are not permanent, officials said.

Still, New York expects 450,000 small-business employees to sign up on the small-business section of the state benefits exchange.

Further, it may make sense for some small businesses that offer insurance to drop their coverage and steer employees to the state’s individual exchange.

Those employees could end up paying less for their insurance because, on the individual exchange, they would be eligible for federal tax credits meant to lower the cost of their coverage.

“In certain circumstances, it will be to the employee’s benefit if their small-business employer does not offer them coverage,” said Gregory Pasieka, director of health care reform for BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York.

Private options

The Buffalo Museum of Science this year switched to a private exchange offered through Liazon Corp. to offer a more extensive menu of insurance options to its 35 full-time employees, who now can choose from five different Independent Health plan options, as well as dental and vision coverage.

“The benefit for us is that it’s not a one size fits all approach,” said Mark Mortenson, museum president and CEO. “The best analogy is as a cafeteria plan.”

Bauer Freight, a freight broker in North Buffalo, has two full-timers: managing partner Josh Bauer and his wife, Lindsay. Josh Bauer said he hires salespeople as independent contractors and would like to provide health insurance to them.

“We’re kind of waiting to see what happens with the Affordable Care Act and all the regulations,” said Josh Bauer.

Bauer said he buys coverage directly through BlueCross BlueShield at a group rate. But he and his wife still pay $793.70 in monthly premiums, up from $726 per month the year before.

“That’s not even top of the line,” he said. “And to top it all off, my wife’s pregnant. So we’ve been going to the doctor a ton.”

Some sole proprietors buy pool insurance through a chamber of commerce now, and the act eliminates this option.

Sole proprietors will be steered to the individual public exchange, where they may be eligible for a subsidy.

“They won’t be eligible for SHOP,” said Ashok Subramanian, CEO and co-founder of Liazon, referring to the state exchange’s small-business piece, “because they’re a single person. So they’ll have to go to the individual public exchange, or there may be private exchange options that target individuals.”

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership, which provides health benefits through a Liazon-powered exchange to about 800 people, including many sole proprietors, is preparing for the new health insurance landscape, said Craig Turner, a vice president with the partnership.

The partnership is hosting a series of seminars on health care reform and answering a lot of questions from its members.

Turner said the queries boil down to: “What do I have to do, and what do I have to know?”

email: swatson@buffnews.com

Rockstar Games doesn’t play by the rules.

Not that anyone would expect the creators of the massively successful “Grand Theft Auto” franchise to operate like other game designers. And while that’s created an undeniable mystique around today’s release of “Grand Theft Auto V,” it’s also raised some questions.

Q: Why now?

Sony and Microsoft are about two months away from unleashing powerful new game consoles. And yet, the biggest release of the holiday season has been designed for their aging workhorses, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Dan Houser, Rockstar vice president and “GTA V” writer, says the old consoles are perfectly capable of delivering his team’s vision. “The fact that hardware’s so mature right now is exactly why we’re able to go on to the next level,” he told Japan’s Famitsu magazine last year.

Besides, he added, “All the best games for a console come out at the end of the life cycle, right?” And in a year that’s featured stunners like “BioShock Infinite,” “The Last of Us” and “Tomb Raider,” he has a point.

The other advantage for Rockstar is the huge combined user base of the PS3 and Xbox 360, which translates into much bigger sales than “GTA V” would rack up among the new consoles’ early adopters.

“The demand for (new) consoles appears to be very strong,” said GameStop CEO Paul Raines, “but I think ‘GTA’ is a separate animal – and we will sell a lot of copies of ‘GTA V.’”

On the other hand: Won’t the absence of “GTA V” hurt sales of the forthcoming PlayStation 4 and Xbox One?

“People are going to buy new consoles because they’re ready for a new console,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. “They’re not going to say, ‘Oh, “GTA V” isn’t on it? I’m not buying it.’ Nobody is going to buy a new console just to play one game – and no one game is going to keep them from buying a new console.”

Q: So what’s new here?

Rockstar doesn’t participate in the kind of public relations that typically accompany a big-budget video game. It didn’t show “GTA V” at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the annual convention where all the big publishers compete for attention. Rockstar has carefully parceled out a screenshot here, an in-game video there. Many critics – even at some huge gaming sites – found themselves frozen out of review copies.

Most gamers, then, won’t know what’s in “GTA V” until they play it. It’s set in the sprawling city and outlying areas of Los Santos, Rockstar’s tongue-in-cheek take on Los Angeles. The developers have boasted that the game’s virtual footprint is larger than all previous editions of “GTA” combined. Instead of one protagonist, players switch between three criminals: veteran Michael, twisted Trevor and newbie Franklin.

Expect plenty of the franchise’s two cornerstones: driving recklessly and killing frequently. Beyond the usual mayhem, you can also play golf and tennis or invest in the stock market. Houser has said it’s 100 hours long.

The game will also feature “Grand Theft Auto Online,” a separate multiplayer experience.

Q: Wait ... online?

“Grand Theft Auto Online” is far more ambitious than anything Rockstar has tried in the past. The company describes it as “a dynamic and persistent online world for 16 players that begins by sharing gameplay features, geography and mechanics with ‘Grand Theft Auto V,’ but will continue to expand and evolve after its launch.” Rockstar is promising a steady diet of missions, solo and team-based, as well as the ability for “GTA” fans to create their own missions.

The bad news: It doesn’t launch until Oct. 1. The good news: It will be free – to anyone who buys “GTA V,” of course.

Q: But will it sell?

Of course it will.

“Grand Theft Auto IV,” the previous full-fledged “GTA” installment for consoles, shattered entertainment industry records, selling 6 million copies and earning $500 million in sales its first week of release in 2008. That record was later captured by “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” and each subsequent “Call of Duty” launched over the past four years.

NEW YORK – This year, if you call Butterball’s Turkey Talk Line for some turkey advice, you might get a male voice on the line.

For the first time, Butterball is enlisting the help of men along with women for its Turkey Talk cooking-advice line during the holidays. And the turkey seller is seeking the first male talk-line spokesman this year, as well.

The talk line, which is 32 years old, has long offered advice to anyone overwhelmed by making a perfect holiday turkey.

It has been improving its services, last year launching a smartphone application, Facebook live chats, Pinterest posts and other social media tools.

But the talk line, which has grown from six operators to about 60 since it launched in 1981, has never hired men before. The company says that it wasn’t intentionally excluding men but that it usually relied on word-of-mouth to hire its talk line operators. As a result, its hires were always women.

Now it’s taking a more active approach.

“It’s the perfect time, because we have seen more and more men involved in Thanksgiving dinner,” said Mary Clingman, director of the talk line. When the line started, only about 9 percent of calls that came in were from men. But now, she says, about 1 in 4 calls are from men.

Butterball, based in Garner, N.C., will offer an online app – via its Facebook page – for men 25 and older to apply for work at the talk line. A job as a spokesman, working on the talk line and also offering turkey tips via media appearances, can be based anywhere, but a hotline operator should live near the line’s home base of Chicago. The online app will be available until Oct. 20.

Most operators have a background in food or nutrition and have culinary degrees or are dietitians, food stylists or scientists. They take a crash course in turkey-making at Butterball University, as well.

But the main requirement, Clingman says, is that “you have to want to help people.”

Candymaker Wythe Will Tzetzo is getting more than $5.1 million in tax breaks through the Erie County Industrial Development Agency for its $18.7 million project to build a sprawling factory and warehouse in the Town of Tonawanda.

The IDA approved the tax breaks Monday for a project that will allow the company to consolidate its three local facilities in Tonawanda, Cheektowaga and Buffalo at a single site that also will serve as headquarters for its parent company, which is moving its main office to the North Youngmann Commerce Center from Virginia.

The project is expected to retain 165 full-time and 105 part-time jobs, while creating 20 full-time positions and 30 part-time posts within the next two years.

“It’s a nice retention because this company could have moved their production out of this area,” said County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz, an IDA board member.

Company executives have said they looked at space in enterprise zones in Virginia, as well as other sites in the Buffalo area, before settling on the business park planned for Two Mile Creek Road, adjacent to the Youngmann Highway.

“There was a national site search that was done here,” said John C. Cappellino, the IDA’s executive vice president.

In all, Wythe Will Tzetzo is receiving incentives worth more than $6 million, including tax credits that could be worth as much as $950,000 through the state’s Excelsior Jobs Program.

Wythe Will Tzetzo will become the first tenant in the new business park, which has about 80 acres of developable space, Cappellino said.

“This will be the anchor tenant in this new development,” he said. “We think it will serve as a great catalyst for the rest of the property.”

Virginia-based Wythe Will, a national packager and distributor of candy and specialty foods for brands such as Ghirardelli, Godiva, Jelly Belly and Harry & David, acquired Tzetzo Bros. two years ago.

As part of the project, the company will move out of leased facilities on Military Road in the Town of Tonawanda, Broadway in Cheektowaga and Clinton Street in Buffalo, and shift its local operations to the 310,000-square-foot facility that it will build in the new business park.

Even with the $44.2 million in property tax breaks that are part of the overall incentive package, the company will pay an estimated $1.3 million to local governments and schools under a 10-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, agreement. The site of the company’s new facility currently does not generate any tax revenue because it is owned by the Town of Tonawanda.

“We’re really excited about it,” said Tonawanda Supervisor Anthony F. Caruana. “We want to keep them here and have them expand.”

In other matters, agency officials said Niagara Ceramics, the Buffalo dinnerware manufacturer that closed last week, still owes slightly less than $300,000 on a loan it received through the Buffalo & Erie County Regional Development Corp. in 2004. Agency officials met behind closed doors to discuss their options.

The IDA also agreed to take steps that will allow Amherst Development Corp. to provide $1.5 million in tax-exempt financing for a $7.5 million project to renovate and refinance the Brewster Mews Preservation and the Pepper Tree Heights Preservation low-income housing projects.

The move will let Amherst Development use the IDA’s allocation from a state bond reserve to issue the bonds.

email: drobinson@buffnews.com

WASHINGTON – The gap in unemployment rates between America’s highest- and lowest-income families has stretched to its widest levels since officials began tracking the data a decade ago, according to an analysis of government data conducted for the Associated Press.

Jobless rates for the lowest-income families – those earning less than $20,000 – have topped 21 percent, nearly matching the rate for all workers during the 1930s Great Depression.

U.S. households with income of more than $150,000 a year have an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, a level traditionally defined as full employment. At the same time, middle-income workers are increasingly pushed into lower-wage jobs. Many of them in turn are displacing lower-skilled, low-income workers, who become unemployed or are forced to work fewer hours, the analysis shows.

“This was no ‘equal opportunity’ recession or an ‘equal opportunity’ recovery,” said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. “One part of America is in depression, while another part is in full employment.”

The findings follow the government’s tepid jobs report this month that showed a steep decline in the percentage of Americans working or looking for work.

Monday, President Obama stressed the need to address widening inequality after decades of a “winner-take-all economy, where a few do better and better and better, while everybody else just treads water or loses ground.”

“We have to make the investments necessary to attract good jobs that pay good wages and offer high standards of living,” he said.

While the link between income and joblessness may seem apparent, the data is the first to establish how this factor has contributed to the erosion of the middle class, a traditional strength of the U.S. economy.

Based on employment-to-population ratios, which are seen as a reliable gauge of the labor market, the employment disparity between rich and poor households remains at the highest levels in more than a decade, the period for which comparable data is available.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” said Annette Guerra, 33, of San Antonio, who has been looking for a full-time job since she finished nursing school more than a year ago. During her search, she found that employers had become increasingly picky about an applicant’s qualifications in the tight job market, often turning her away because she lacked previous nursing experience or because she wasn’t certified in more areas.

Guerra said she now gets by doing “odds and ends” jobs such as a pastry chef, bringing in $500 to $1,000 a month, but she said daily living can be challenging as she cares for her mother, who has end-stage kidney disease. “For those trying to get ahead, there should be some help from government or companies to boost the economy and provide people with the necessary job training,” said Guerra, who hasn’t ruled out returning to college to get a business degree once her financial situation is more stable. “I’m optimistic that things will start to look up, but it’s hard.”

Last year, the average length of unemployment for U.S. workers reached 39.5 weeks, the highest level since World War II. The duration of unemployment has since edged lower to 36.5 weeks based on data from January to July, still relatively high historically.

Economists call this a “bumping down” or “crowding out” in the labor market, a domino effect that pushes out lower-income workers, pushes median income downward and contributes to income inequality. Because many mid-skill jobs are being lost to globalization and automation, recent U.S. growth in low-wage jobs has not come fast enough to absorb displaced workers at the bottom. Low-wage workers are now older and better educated than ever, with especially large jumps in those with at least some college-level training.

“The people at the bottom are going to be continually squeezed, and I don’t see this ending anytime soon,” said Harvard economist Richard Freeman. “If the economy were growing enough or unions were stronger, it would be possible for the less-educated to do better and for the lower-income to improve. But in our current world, where we are still adjusting to globalization, that is not very likely to happen.”

NIAGARA FALLS – The City Council majority on Monday released its chokehold on a $25.3 million downtown development project.

Councilman Robert A. Anderson Jr. defected on the issue from his colleagues in the three-member majority and voted with the two existing supporters to approve a deal with the Hamister Group for a five-story hotel, apartment and retail project on Rainbow Boulevard.

The three-member majority, which also included Chairman Glenn A. Choolokian and Councilman Samuel F. Fruscione, had put off a vote on the deal in early July and refused to allow a vote later that month.

Daniel Hamister, senior vice president of business development for the Hamister Group, said the next step is to finalize a development agreement for the project. He said he expects it to be completed in the “next couple weeks.”

“For us, actually for everybody, I think it’s a good thing,” Hamister said after Monday’s Council meeting. “Not only do we get the project that we’ve been negotiating for the past 18 months, but Niagara Falls gets a beginning of what I would call the opportunity for a redevelopment and revitalization of Niagara Falls.”

Some supporters of the project have hailed it as the first non-casino development of this size in the Falls in more than 40 years.

Anderson joined Councilwoman Kristen M. Grandinetti and Councilman Charles A. Walker in voting in favor of a measure that allows the city to sell the land at 310 Rainbow Blvd. and also allows Mayor Paul A. Dyster to sign a development agreement with the Hamister Group.

Anderson, who had voted twice with the majority to table the agreement, said the project may help give the city a chance “to come back.”

“But you have to start someplace,” Anderson said, “and this could possibly be a great beginning for us.”

Anderson announced his support for the project Monday morning during a news conference with Sam Hoyt, regional president of Empire State Development Corp.

Anderson said he got assurances about his three main concerns through talks with Hoyt, which included a face-to-face meeting at Anderson’s house on Friday. Those assurances are:

• The Hamister Group will, to the greatest extent possible, try to employ local workers on the construction job.

• The city will obtain a performance bond that protects the city in case the project is not completed by Hamister.

• In the event the land comes back to city control, through the function of a clause in a development agreement known as a “reverter clause,” any of the money Hamister borrowed to fund construction of the project that he does not pay back will not be a liability to the city because it will be covered by the performance bond.

At the news conference, Anderson said he had not spoken with his colleagues in the majority in three to five days.

The documentation approved Monday by the Council was the same paperwork it had first tabled July 8, and included a list of 17 items that outline what is to be negotiated in the development agreement. The term sheet already made reference to the requirement of a performance bond for the project.

Dyster said the discussion between Hoyt and Anderson allowed for “an opportunity to clarify and amplify what was already on the term sheet.”

Choolokian and Fruscione voted against the proposal.

Choolokian said he would have preferred to see something in writing documenting the assurances made to Anderson.

“I can’t vote on something I don’t really feel comfortable with,” Choolokian said. “I was elected to represent the taxpayers. I do believe this project is not in the best interest of Niagara Falls on the whole. ... I wish Mr. Hamister all the luck in the world. I hope this project is successful. I hope I’m dead wrong, and I hope this is something that’s going to continue on,” Choolokian said.

Fruscione did not offer any explanation when casting his vote.

The Council voted to take the proposal off the table during its 5 p.m. meeting, prior to the regular business meeting which followed at 6.

All five lawmakers voted to take the item from the table, including Fruscione and Choolokian.

When asked why they would change their position and vote to allow the item to come up for a later vote, Fruscione told a reporter he’s “not wasting his [expletive] time” answering that question.

Fruscione, who finished fourth in last week’s City Council primary for three spots on the Democratic Party line in the November election, was supported on an anonymous political mailer that was sent to Democrats in the Falls earlier this month that also attacked Hamister Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Hamister. The flier accused Hamister of “running a con game” on the Falls with this project and caused Hamister to nearly walk away from the project.

Fruscione blamed his loss in the primary partly on “character assassination on [his] ethnicity.”

Hoyt, who also had meetings with Choolokian and Fruscione about the project, blamed himself for not reaching out to Anderson earlier.

Hoyt, who said he had never met Anderson before a few days ago, said he mistakenly viewed the Council majority as a voting bloc.

“There were communications with other members of the Council, but I never spoke directly to Mr. Anderson and that was my mistake.”

Dyster called Hoyt’s discussions with Anderson, as well as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo reaching out to Mark Hamister to keep him from withdrawing his proposal, as examples of how effective personal diplomacy can be.

But does this ordeal surrounding the project cast say something to other developers who may be interested in the Falls?

“I think at the end of the day, we got it done,” Dyster said, “and I also am hopeful that we’ve reached the tipping point, not just in terms of the substance, but in terms of the process.”

Dyster said one lesson from this situation may be applied to another proposed development project downtown – the city has asked two developers to submit proposals for the former Rainbow Centre mall. Dyster said it may be helpful to offer a briefing to Council members at this stage of the process.

“Council members have to accept those invitations,” Dyster said. “That’s, I think, a key part.”

email: abesecker@buffnews.com

The long-vacant Trico Building on the edge of downtown Buffalo and the medical campus may finally get a new use.

Peter Krog – whose Krog Corp. in Orchard Park is one of the area’s leading developers of industrial properties – is meeting with the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. at noon today to propose taking over as the preferred developer for the vast former factory building at Goodell and Washington streets.

Currently, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus itself is the preferred developer of the property at 817 Washington St. The nonprofit entity previously indicated it might seek to demolish the roughly 1 million-square-foot building to expand its highly successful Innovation Center technology incubator next door.

But the medical campus has never formalized any development plan, and the designation from the government agency expires Nov. 16, giving Krog an opportunity to take over.

The developer’s plans for the building were not known Monday, but he is known to be interested in creating an extended-stay hotel to serve the nearby Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

Neither Krog nor his top deputy, Peter Neureuter, responded Monday to a request to comment. But BUDC and medical campus officials confirmed that Krog is scheduled to attend the regular monthly meeting of the agency and its subsidiary, the Buffalo Brownfields Restoration Corp., which is the formal owner of the Trico building.

“Trico is always on the agenda, and I understand that someone is supposed to be attending from BNMC and from Krog regarding the designated developer agreement,” said BUDC President Peter Cammarata. “But we have received nothing from them as of yet.”

The potential project marks a turnabout for both Krog and for the derelict building, which has a storied history in Buffalo.

Krog, which owns the former SmartPill building at 847 Main St., had planned to replace that facility with a seven-story mixed-use project, including an extended-stay hotel featuring 120 to 150 rooms.

But in a complex $15 million swap arranged a few weeks ago, Krog agreed instead to sell the building to the medical campus, which in turn plans to add 10,000 square feet of space to house Albany Molecular Research Inc. and another unidentified firm until a more permanent facility can be built for them at Goodrich and Ellicott streets.

In exchange, the medical campus agreed to help Krog and its partner, Hart Hotels, find a different location on the campus for their hotel plans, which they now have exclusive rights to build on the 120-acre campus.

In an unrelated matter, Krog is in a dispute with the City of Lackawanna over the tax bill on a building owned by a company he set up to buy it called G.K. Commerce Drive. That dispute was reported in a story in Monday’s Buffalo News.

As for the former Trico plant, the historic windshield wiper factory was constructed of reinforced concrete in eight stages in the 1920s and 1930s, and was the original headquarters for Trico Products Corp. The first maker of windshield wipers was founded by industrialist John R. Oishei and continued to operate at that facility until 1998, after the company transferred most of its manufacturing work to Texas and Mexico.

Another developer in 2003 proposed reusing the building as a mixed-use residential and commercial building, but after he died, it was purchased by the BNMC, which eventually planned to demolish 95 percent of the building. But preservationists fought back, seeking to have the property designated as having landmark status.

email: jepstein@buffnews.com

Allstate will close an insurance claims office in Amherst and combine the operations with a location in Rochester.

Its Essjay Road location, which has 48 employees, is expected to close by Dec. 16.

Allstate cited “improved technology and efficiencies” in making the decision. The company said that with “few exceptions,” employees from the Amherst office will be given the opportunity to work in the Rochester location.

Affected workers will also have the opportunity to post for other positions within the company, and they may be eligible for relocation assistance if they transfer to another city.

Employees who choose not to apply for a different job within Allstate may be eligible for severance benefits, which vary according to an employee’s tenure, Allstate said.

Allstate said the Amherst office was chosen for closing because it was the smallest of its nine claims offices in New York State, as measured by their number of employees.

The company said the closing will not affect customer service and that claims now handled out of the Amherst office will be handled by the Rochester location.

Allstate leases 22,000 square feet at the Essjay building, which opened in 1995 and is owned by Centerpointe Corporate Park Holdings LLC, with Frank Ciminelli as the property’s managing member. Ciminelli Real Estate Corp. manages the property.

email: mglynn@buffnews.com

ALBANY – At a time when entrepreneurs and start-up companies are having a hard time raising funds for their business ideas, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the state’s giant pension fund is looking to invest $400 million in New York firms.

“It’s a tough economy out there. This kind of program may be another option for you,” DiNapoli said of the state and local government pension fund’s In-State Private Equity Program.

The fund has invested $624 million in New York companies through their government-run pension fund in the past six years, DiNapoli reported Tuesday, with money going to emerging and established small to mid-sized companies that the comptroller’s office says has created 4,000 jobs in the state while returning an estimated 20 percent return to the pension fund.

The fund has targeted about 45 percent of the investments in upstate communities.

The program was designed to have the state’s Common Retirement Fund, the third-largest public employee pension system in the nation, invest in New York companies while at the same time leveraging other outside sources of money to help the companies expand or start up.

In all, 252 companies have gotten $684 million in pension fund investments, including $55 million in the Buffalo area.

The pension fund channels money to the companies through one of 18 private equity firms, such as Buffalo’s Summer Street Capital Partners, which can then play an active role in helping those getting the investment money with management and other strategic services. The equity companies, which raise money from other investors to add to the pension fund’s money, often end up for a period of time in ownership roles of the firms getting the cash. The money has gone to firms engaged in nanotechnology, biotechnology, clean energy, material sciences and other industries.

Michael McQueeney, a managing partner at Summer Street Capital Partners who joined DiNapoli at a news conference at the comptroller’s Albany office, said his firm uses everything from business plans and growth potential to quality of the management to decide where money is invested.

The equity firms make money either from a fixed fee or a percentage of the profits of the company in which the pension fund is investing.

“It has been an economic development tool. We’re investing capital, and we’re in the business of growing business,” McQueeney said. His firm has developed three different investment pools from the $100 million received from the pension system since it became the program’s second partner in 2001.

Summer Street has invested in companies – from three years old to one Lancaster firm, Reichert, which is more than 90 years old – in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and downstate communities. He acknowledged the risk, noting three companies over the years have generated losses for the fund’s investment, while others have seen returns of four to six times the value of the investment.

McQueeney said in most cases his firm becomes the majority owner of the company getting the investment money, which means seats on the board and roles in major decisions.

In all, 71 companies have exited the program since getting money from the pension fund, the vast majority having paid back the money and growing. They had received a total of $179 million in capital from the fund and returned $293 million, the comptroller reported. He estimated the program has leveraged a total of $7 billion when all the pension fund and private investment money is counted. Among the dozen or so Buffalo-area companies that have or are currently being funding under the program are Reichert, Unifrax, AccuMed, Innovative Concepts in Entertainment, Willcare, Palladium and Ontario Specialty Contracting.

As sole trustee of the pension system, DiNapoli has a fiduciary responsibility to protect the assets of the more than 1 million members of the fund. But the program, first begun in 1999, has exploded with New York investments since DiNapoli became comptroller: He has doubled the investments in the program to more than $1 billion.

DiNapoli said the fund still has $400 million available to invest in New York companies. “I hope this sparks some phone calls to our office. We want to get this capital out the door,” DiNapoli said.

Jordon Levy of SoftBank Capital, a Buffalo venture capital firm, said the pension fund has provided his company with about $100 million to invest since 2005. The investments have gone to local companies and Internet firms such as Huffington Post and BuzzFeed. Levy’s company was given a second installment of pension fund money to invest – totaling $50 million – in May.

“It’s been a great partnership for us (and) for entrepreneurs,” Levy said.

email: tprecious@buffnews.com

Hires/Promotions/Honors

SweetWorks appointed Larry Schiavone production scheduler. Schiavone previously was a senior planning analyst at Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America in the Town of Tonawanda. He is a University at Buffalo graduate.

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Nichols School appointed to its board of trustees: Alan Elia, president and chief executive officer of Sevenson Environmental Services; Steve Foley, a trial lawyer at Paul William Beltz; Amy Blum Houston, managing director of management assistance/human capital at the Robin Hood Foundation in New York City; Marsha Koelmel, a board member of Everywoman Opportunity Center and a board member of Wider Opportunities for Women; and Scott Weber, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education at the University at Buffalo.

Company Connections

ABEL Medical Software is adopting the Electronic Health Record Developer Code of Conduct introduced by the Electronic Health Record Association. The objective is to establish, promote and uphold standards of practice that reflect the industry’s commitment to support safe health care delivery, foster continued innovation and operate with high integrity.

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Hunt Real Estate ERA’s Wheatfield branch held a groundbreaking ceremony recently at a new office going up at 3070 Niagara Falls Blvd. The office has 30 licensed real estate agents.

Patents

Title: Systems and methods for gas separation using high-speed induction motors with centrifugal compressors

No.: 8,529,665

Inventors: Manning, Michael S. (Buffalo); Rosinski, Andrew C. (Orchard Park); O’Connor, Gerald Thomas (West Seneca); Belanger, Paul William (Clarence Center)

Assignee: Praxair Technology (Danbury, Conn.)

Date issued: Sept. 10, 2013

Small-business lending in Buffalo and Rochester through a government-guaranteed program continues to grow.

Loans originated through the Small Business Administration’s core 7(a) program in the Buffalo-Rochester market were up 7.6 percent over the same 11-month period a year ago. The statistics cover a period from last October – the start of the federal fiscal year – through August.

A total of 607 7(a) loans were originated during that span, compared with 564 last year. Meanwhile, the combined dollar value of those loans was up 25 percent, to $113.2 million. In August alone, 47 of the 7(a) loans were originated in the Buffalo-Rochester market, worth a combined $6.05 million.

The 7(a) loan statistics show which institutions are most active in the program, as well as to what extent borrowers are taking advantage of it. Under 7(a), the federal government provides guarantees for up to 85 percent of the principal amount of a loan.

M&T Bank remained securely atop the list, with 240 7(a) loans over the 11-month span. Next came First Niagara Financial Group, with 108, followed by Five Star Bank, with 74. A notable change involved Canandaigua National Bank and Trust, which was No. 10 through August in 2012 but has moved up to No. 5 this year, ahead of KeyBank.

M&T also led in dollar volume on this year’s list, at $42.3 million, followed by First Niagara’s $13.1 million and Five Star’s $9.7 million.

Apnea Care of Western New York, based in Williamsville, contributed to M&T’s first-place showing. The company, an M&T customer, was approved for a $500,000 7(a) loan late last year. It was part of a loan package that helped Apnea Care secure a contract worth about $15 million with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide oxygen services to veterans around the state. The company opened four locations and added 26 employees, said Ed Mis, vice president.

Sandy Fermoile, the owner, said the 7(a) loan proved essential to his company’s growth plans. “Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to get this contract from the VA,” he said.

email: mglynn@buffnews.com