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Niagara Hotel project set to be restarted after pandemic kills funding







Niagara Rainbow Boulevard Hotel

Brine Wells Development has been working on plans to develop the historic Niagara Hotel on Rainbow Boulevard in Niagara Falls for more than seven years.


Derek Gee/Buffalo News


Niagara Hotel project set to be restarted after pandemic kills funding

Ed Riley was sure his $42 million effort to revive the historic Niagara Hotel was ready to go four years ago.

He had already struck a deal to buy the century-old building in Niagara Falls from the state agency that owned it.

He had all the government and regulatory approvals he needed to renovate the historic structure. He had obtained tax breaks for the project.

And he had planned the financing.

“That’s how far along we were with the project,” the Syracuse developer said.

At the end of the month, the Covid-19 pandemic was worsening. Within weeks, lockdowns were in place. The economy was teetering on the brink of uncertainty, the hospitality sector was struggling, and lenders and investors were pulling back.

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Soon after, Riley’s funding dried up, and with it, any hope of the project getting off the ground.

It took almost four years before Riley got a second chance.

“No one was watching anything, because we had our ups and downs during the pandemic,” Riley recalls. “Hospitality was so affected that no one knew what was going to happen.”

In the meantime, Riley did not lose hope and conditions finally changed about eight to ten months ago. Since then, he and his team at Brine Wells Development have been working to rebuild his Humpty-Dumpty financing.

(RELATED: Photo gallery of the Niagara Hotel in Niagara Falls)

WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT

David Robinson: A step back in hiring, but no worries – for now: The region lost 900 jobs between April and May — the first decline in five months — at least temporarily interrupting what had been a strong and fairly steady hiring period that had lasted for more than a year, according to data released Thursday by the Labor State. Department. Learn more

Julia Bottoms’ Inspiring New Mural Brightens Masten Park Community: The 14.5-foot-tall, 46-foot-wide artwork is publicly unveiled today at 391 Norfolk Ave.

Erie County lawmakers approve major pay raises for elected officials by 6-5 vote: The raises recommended by a citizens’ panel affect the county executive, sheriff, comptroller, county clerk and legislators. Six Democrats voted for it and four Republicans and one Democrat voted against it. Learn more

Democrats in Erie County Legislature pass law to curb Republican influence on sales tax: A new law aimed at limiting the need for bipartisan support in votes to extend Erie County’s sales tax was approved along partisan lines. The law, passed by the county Legislature’s Democratic majority by a vote of 7-4, facilitates the expansion of the 8.75 percent sales tax that consumers must pay on all retail products. Learn more

Biden and Hochul get lowest results ever in new poll: A new Siena College poll released Thursday found the lowest ratings ever for President Joe Biden and Gov. Kathy Hochul — with more than half of voters surveyed saying they think the country and state are heading into the wrong direction. Learn more

The BMHA is moving forward with plans to revamp Shaffer Village: The housing authority’s board approved a measure authorizing Executive Director Gillian Brown and other authority officials to enter into demolition agreements, financing and land agreements to begin work on demolition of complex buildings and reconstruction of the Riverside development. Learn more

Canadian shipping company fined $100,000 for illegal discharges into Great Lakes: Algoma Central Corp., headquartered in St. Catharines, Ontario, owns and operates a fleet of dry bulk carriers that transport coal, iron ore, salt, grain and other cargo around the Great Lakes. The company agreed Thursday to pay a $100,000 fine to settle charges involving a half-dozen illegal discharges of bilge water, treated sewage and cargo residue into Lake Huron from its vessels. Learn more

Buffalo Has ‘Significant Quantity’ of Illegal Weapons, Police Commissioner Says After 20 Related Arrests: “We make gun arrests every day, and there are a lot of guns on the street,” said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph A. Gramaglia. “I think the public needs to know what our police department is doing, how many guns they are taking off the streets and how many arrests are being made.” Learn more

North Tonawanda residents call on state to step in to regulate noise coming from crypto mining company: Fed up with the noise from a nearby crypto mining plant, North Tonawanda residents are turning to the state Department of Environmental Conservation as they seek to return their neighborhood to its former tranquility. Joined by climate activists at a news conference Thursday morning, they called on the DEC to deny renewal of the air permit for the Digihost factory on Erie Avenue. Learn more

The Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame unveils final class and new exhibit for Hall memorabilia: The Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame is no longer just virtual. You will once again be able to see the names and faces of the inductees and relive the memories they created. Learn more

WEATHER REPORT

More clouds: Partly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms possible during the afternoon. Temperature near 85 degrees. Learn more

ENTHUSIASM







The Caboose (copy)

Enjoy ice cream in the unique setting of a train van at Great Lakes Station Ice Cream in West Seneca.


Georgia Pressley/Buffalo News


Refresh yourself at these 12 seasonal ice cream stands in the Buffalo area: From long lists of Perry’s ice cream flavors to nostalgic ice cream floats, candy-mixed milkshakes and dairy-free options, the choices are plentiful. Learn more

Alan Pergament: To “Blast” to finish, “Homicide” to return; Tonys vs. McDavid; and weather news: Pergament is aware of what’s happening on local and national television. Learn more

Erik Brady: Mark Twain and Joyce Carol Oates offer us cat litter: Mark Twain and Joyce Carol Oates are literary heroes of Western New York. They also have something else in common: their cats. Learn more

Just announced: Iris Dement, KMFDM, Billy Ocean: Concerts by Billy Ocean, KMFDM, Iris Dement and Yngwie Malmsteen have been announced this week at venues across Western New York. Learn more

Jeff Simon: Recalling the genius of Lukas Foss during his time in Buffalo as head of BPO: Foss was conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic from 1963 to 1970. During that time, he became by far the most important avant-garde artist to ever live in Western New York, says Simon. Learn more

BUFFALO NEXT

State closes main Hamburg store for pot sales: “Illicit cannabis” was seized and the store was ordered to close and stop selling unauthorized cannabis, according to a sign on the building at 5310 Southwestern Blvd. Learn more

INVOICES

AFC East Preview: Growing Pains Predicted for New England Patriots: The rookie quarterback-rookie coach combo is intimidating, and facing the AFC East only makes the task more daunting for the Pats. Learn more

SABER

‘Nothing is off the table’ for Sabers amid report of possible Jeff Skinner buyout: “We’re going to talk about everything. We will examine each scenario. But I probably wouldn’t go into further detail right now, Sabers general manager Kevyn Adams said. Learn more

PICTURES

#EveryDayAPhoto: Check out our photo series each morning to see our favorite image of the day.

See more photo galleries here.

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