Lancaster pipe distributor plans expansion with tax breaks

Robert-James Sales Inc. in Lancaster.

Jeffrey Parrish was named to the board of directors of Robert-James Sales.

A Cheektowaga-based stainless steel pipe distributor wants to expand its warehouse in Lancaster in a $7.65 million project but is asking the town's industrial development agency for tax breaks to help pay for it.

Boden LLC, a real estate investment group with properties in Cheektowaga and Lancaster, is seeking to construct a 50,000-square-foot warehouse at 4543 Walden Ave., which it will lease to Robert-James Sales.

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Boden is seeking $297,500 in sales and mortgage-recording tax incentives, plus unspecified property tax break, from the Lancaster Industrial Development Agency, as well as site plan approval from the town planning board. The property tax breaks typically are the most lucrative part of an incentive package.

Costs include $5 million for construction, $2 million for infrastructure and $600,000 for furniture and fixtures. Funding will primarily come from bank loans, plus $650,000 in company equity. The project will help retain four full-time jobs, but no new jobs will be created.

Founded in 1972, Robert-James Sales offers a range of stainless-steel piping products and can also build a customized corrosion-resistant piping system. It currently employs 63 at its facility at 2585 Walden Ave.

"Robert James Sales is in need of modern warehouse space to remain competitive in the metals service center industry and to maintain current employment levels," Boden wrote in the application to the IDA. Without assistance, "we will not build the building."

Besides Lancaster, the company operates 11 other warehouses in Chicago; Cleveland; Florida; Indianapolis; Los Angeles and Stockton, Calif.; Missouri; New Jersey; Raleigh-Durham; Salt Lake City; and Wisconsin. Boden noted that the company could expand in those areas.

"Over the years, many agencies have contacted us regarding moving or expanding upon our locations," Boden wrote.

The company previously obtained $686,000 in tax breaks for a $6.47 million two-phase expansion project in 2018 and 2019, which added 45 acres and a 98,000-square-foot warehouse.

If approved, the project would begin this summer, with completion next winter.

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News Business Reporter

I've been a business reporter at The Buffalo News since 2004, now covering residential and commercial real estate and development amid WNY's resurgence. I'm an upstate native, proud to call Buffalo my home, and committed to covering it thoroughly.

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