A new Costco is just weeks from opening in Amherst, New York, bringing the retailer to the Buffalo area for the first time. The warehouse is scheduled to open October 28, 2026, beside I-290 on the former Ridge Lea property. The site has a much deeper history than its latest retail transformation suggests.
University at Buffalo opened its temporary Ridge Lea campus here in 1967 while the North Campus was being developed. The university gradually moved out, but many of the low campus buildings survived for decades as part of Amherst Commerce Park. Those structures were eventually demolished as the property entered a new redevelopment phase. DICK’S House of Sport later rose on part of the former campus, while Costco took shape on the adjoining land. The images below show how the property changed from an aging university-era complex into one of Amherst’s biggest new retail developments.
April 2002
The future Costco property still carried the unmistakable layout of the former Ridge Lea campus in April 2002. University at Buffalo had left years earlier, but many of its old buildings remained. The low structures had since been adapted for offices and commercial uses within Amherst Commerce Park. Parking lots and internal drives filled much of the property beside I-290. Few clues suggested the complex would eventually give way to major retail development.
September 2011
A September 2011 Street View offers a closer look at the aging Ridge Lea complex from beside I-290. Long, low buildings stretched across the property behind lawns, parking areas, and narrow internal roads. Their design still reflected the site’s earlier life as an interim university campus. By then, however, the buildings had spent years serving commercial tenants. The future Costco site remained almost completely occupied by the older development.
June 2022
By June 2022, the former campus buildings were approaching the end of their run. Street View shows weathered pavement, loading doors, and connected commercial spaces across the property. The old university layout remained surprisingly recognizable more than five decades after Ridge Lea opened. Costco plans were emerging around this time as Amherst prepared for another major redevelopment. Soon, much of this familiar complex would disappear.
May 2023
Demolition had dramatically changed the property by May 2023. Most of the former Ridge Lea buildings were gone, exposing foundations, pavement scars, and large cleared areas. A handful of structures survived farther south, but the old campus arrangement was rapidly vanishing. Decades of university and commercial history were being erased from the landscape. The cleared land created room for the retail projects that would follow.
June 2025
The transformation had advanced even further by June 2025. DICK’S House of Sport was rising on the northwestern portion of the former Ridge Lea property. Much of the future Costco area remained cleared and heavily disturbed closer to I-290. Almost nothing resembled the dense collection of buildings visible in 2002. Costco is now preparing to open its new Amherst warehouse in October 2026.