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Work worries on Vineyard Drive

There’s a lot of construction going on Vineyard Drive in Dunkirk, with DaVita hoping to open soon at the former TOPS building and Aldi’s undergoing some major construction. However, it is rare for a construction project to go smoothly, and these two projects are experiencing some bumps along the way.

DaVita is currently working on underground services and pillar foundation installations, but Dunkirk Code Enforcement Officer Ryan Mourer has been fielding some complaints from DaVita construction crews in the meantime.

“The construction crew working for DaVita there (is having) problems with customers from Hibbett Sports,” explained Dunkirk Town Supervisor Richard Purol. “Apparently, (customers) are parking right next to the building, and … they’re not getting along.”

Additionally, Aldi’s has been undergoing some construction for the past couple of months, but will soon have to close for approximately five weeks while it finishes up its work, due to some safety concerns.

“They have some safety issues while being open during construction,” said Purol. “They’re trying to stay open as long as possible. Some of the aisleways there in Aldi’s are getting so narrow, it’s getting to be where it’s not going to be safe for much longer. They do plan on closing down for at least five weeks, and they didn’t say when they’re going to do that, either.”

The town is also working with a company on a hotel concept for Vineyard Drive. This four-story hotel idea has apparently been pitched before, but fell through in the early stages

“They’re no farther ahead than they were the last time they stopped this project. Ryan (Mourer) said we can’t do anything until we have a new application and a site plan for what they’re going to do; then we can start proceeding with everything else,” said Purol. “We’re going to run into a problem, because last time we asked for an engineering firm to go over their plans. We had secured several thousand dollars to do that and the hotel service was going to pay for it.

“Well, there’s only a little bit of money left in there, so if you start using the engineer again, we’re going to run out of money in a hurry, so we’re going to have to sit down with them,” Purol said.

Hopefully, these projects can reach completion before the end of the sweltering summer days that Chautauqua County is accustomed to.

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