A New Home for your Family!

Good News! (Aug.14, 2005)

Governor George Pataki Announces Housing Awards for the new Town Homes at Shawnee Landing!


August 14, 2005-Prayers have been answered for the Church at Shawnee Landing and its development partners.

Governor George Pataki has announced that the Town Homes at Shawnee Landing project has been awarded funding enabling construction to go forward.

The New York State Division for Housing and Community Renewal has awarded federal and state low income housing tax credits that will provide the project with approximately $6.3 million dollars of financing.

Additional funding will come from the New York State Housing Trust Fund in the form of a 1% interest loan in the amount of $1,658,000. Development manager Mike Riegel of Belmont Shelter Corporation has also won a $640 thousand dollar grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank that will provide another 1% loan to the project. Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-Clarence, secured a HUD grant of $477,000 for the project, and New York State Senator George Maziarz, R-Newfane, has obtained a state grant in the amount of $150 thousand.

The total project cost for the Town Homes at Shawnee Landing is approximately $9.2 million. The complex will provide comfortable town house style apartments offering 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom units in a park-like setting on Shawnee Road in the Niagara County Town of Wheatfield. The affordable units will be made available to qualified low income families and seniors.

Belmont Shelter Corporation will serve as the managing partner of a limited liability partnership that will own and operate the Town Homes at Shawnee Landing. The Church at Shawnee Landing and prominent Buffalo area businessman Paul Granville partnered with Belmont in developing the venture.

The complex will reside on a spacious plot at the rear of a campus under development by the Church at Shawnee Landing.

The Town Homes at Shawnee Landing will provide the church with sufficient funds to finance construction of a new house of worship, day care center, and support facilities at the front of the campus along Shawnee Road.

The Day Care Center will be known as Safe Haven at Shawnee Landing. The same free- standing facility will serve as the church’s Sunday school and education wing.

The Church at Shawnee Landing worship center will be the centerpiece of the church campus, featuring a state of the art auditorium-sanctuary employing all the latest technology for Sunday worship and performing arts events on other occasions. The worship center will also include a spacious lobby, offices, and kitchen facilities for banquet events.

A capital campaign will be planned to raise additional funds for a Family Life Center at Shawnee Landing to provide recreation and banquet facilities available to the entire community on a reservation basis. In addition, the campus will feature a spacious outdoor picnic shelter. The campus will retain ample green space for other recreation activities and future development.

“It’s been a long and bumpy road,” said the Church Pastor, Rev. Jerry McGlone, “I can promise you, we still have a long road ahead,” he added. “But prayers are being answered, and we will make good use of these blessings to extend our Christian ministry to our new neighbors in Wheatfield.”

“We planted seeds of faith, hope, and love in a dormant cornfield in a place called Wheatfield,” said Moderator for Development Vic Baker, “Now, the harvest season is almost upon us. It’s time to get busy doing more of God’s work,” he said.

Some of that work will include numerous planning meetings, final approvals from the Town of Wheatfield, finalizing the financing of both the Town Homes and church projects, final site reviews, approval of qualified bids, and construction.

Construction for the Town Homes and church complex is likely to begin early in 2006.

In the meantime, watch this space for project specifications, illustrations, exciting news about groundbreaking celebration events for the Town Homes at Shawnee Landing, and the Church at Shawnee Landing.

If you are interested in more information about the Town Homes at Shawnee Landing, email us at info@thechurch.tc or pastor@thechurch.tc.