Board recommends approval of Buffalo Hearing & Speech’s St. Aloysius campus plans

Sam Severino, the developer and guarantor for historic tax credits, presented Buffalo Hearing and Speech’s plan to purchase two adjoining school buildings and a convent on the St. Aloysius campus in Cheektowaga, a roughly 9-acre property on the National Register of Historic Places. "Buffalo Hearing and Speech intends to use this as for their early childhood education programs," Severino told the board.

Severino said the nonprofit has part 1 and part 2 historic approvals in hand and that part 2 approves the renovations the project intends for the school building. He said the organization faces a lengthy local waitlist for services—about 400 children—and that the campus reuse would expand early childhood capacity for preschool through second grade.

Planned work includes exterior accessibility repairs, replacement of plumbing fixtures, abatement work and a new tempered makeup-air HVAC system; Severino said the air-conditioning upgrade is the single largest expense and requires a new underground electrical service. "We are getting a new underground service coming in," he said, and the project will grant a permanent 15-foot easement to National Grid plus a two-year temporary construction easement to accommodate work.

Severino said Buffalo Hearing and Speech will pick up roughly 75% of campus operating expenses and expects to open the renovated facility in February 2027. The board seconded a recommendation and voted to carry the motion, advancing the project as the town’s recommendation to the town board.

The board’s recommendation does not itself complete state or federal reviews tied to historic compliance or licensing; Severino said the organization is licensed through the State Education Department for its services.