Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village scraps plan to move to Amherst Central Park

AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — Amherst Central Park is being reimagined after losing two major components, MusicalFare Theatre and the Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village (BNHV), that were supposed to break ground at the location.

Just a few weeks after MusicalFare Theatre decided it was no longer building a new theater at Amherst Central Park, the BNHV has officially backed out of the project as well.

Carrie Stiver, the executive director at BNHV, said the museum staff was excited to have the opportunity to join the project, but recently, they’ve encountered some challenges.

Stiver said the museum has always had a strong partnership with the Town of Amherst and has received lots of support from the town board, but the proposed museum did not receive much support from residents.

A group of neighbors filed a petition known as Article 78. The group, “Concerned Residents for Amherst Central Park,” expressed issues about livestock moving to the park’s site because it borders residential neighborhoods.

The museum is currently home to heritage-bred sheep, a couple of chickens and bees.

“Our animals are a really critical part of what we do here at BNHV,” Stiver said. “Our mission focuses on the history of agriculture and agriculture is not just food.”

New York State Supreme Court Justice Emilio Colaiacovo reviewed the petition and ultimately determined that the Town of Amherst could move the museum, but the museum could not bring its farm animals with them — a decision that caused BNHV to no longer consider the proposal.

“We’re really disappointed by that decision,” Stiver said. “At this time, we just decided it was best to move forward in a different direction.”

The BNHV recently received a $1.5 million grant from the New York State Assembly. Stiver said the museum plans to invest into its current location on Tonawanda Creek Road to boost museum attendance and make each visitor experience memorable.

“That’s going to be used to create new exhibits and reinterpretation within the historic village,” Stiver said. “So that’s something we’re going to be able to start doing in the near future.”

Stiver said the BNHV is in communication with a few developers and the public can expect to see those new exhibits and improvements in the coming year.

But what’s next for the proposed Amherst Central Park? Town of Amherst Supervisor Brian Kulpa said it will most likely be turned into a traditional park.

“We’re still doing a playground and a splash pad,” Kulpa said. “We’re still doing the aspects of the parks, the trails, those types of things, which is exciting by itself.”

Kulpa said the goal is to begin construction on the new park in the spring of 2025.

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Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here.

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