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I'm curious where these BILLIONS that Schumer has secured for NY's chips were spent.
Do you go into every other city/state's forum and ask where they waste their tax dollars too? I hope you're consistent. Or if you just troll this board
Do you go into every other city/state's forum and ask where they waste their tax dollars too? I hope you're consistent. Or if you just troll this board
So, do you have the answer to where in NYS Schummer has delivered billions in tax dollars as he said in the article, or do you like government throwing money around and taking credit for things he hasn't done.
So, do you have the answer to where in NYS Schummer has delivered billions in tax dollars as he said in the article, or do you like government throwing money around and taking credit for things he hasn't done.
CK has provided sources for where it's gone. Will you acknowledge then that this spending has brought jobs here, or will you just say it's a waste, despite EVERY SINGLE STATE doing this?
"A Syracuse-based development firm is bringing back its plan to renovate the historic Hotel Niagara in Niagara Falls, three years after pandemic-related financing problems caused what was a $42 million project to stall out.
But now the project cost will be 21% higher, at $50.8 million.
Brine Wells Development, which has been working on plans to redevelop the 12-story building on Rainbow Boulevard for more than seven years, is again hoping to rehab the century-old landmark into an upscale hotel while still retaining its historic character.
The company says it will restore the hotel's exterior, including repairing or replacing the decorative terra cotta, cleaning and polishing the stonework, and restoring the decorative windows. Workers would also restore the interior areas with their original colors – such as in the lobby, restaurant, ballroom, mezzanine and meeting rooms – and would also restore the guest rooms and basement barbershop.
Opened in 1925 after two years of construction, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the project is eligible for state and federal historic tax credits, so the renovation will comply with federal and state standards.
Upon completion, it would include 160 guest rooms, as well as a main ballroom, a secondary ballroom, a full-service restaurant, a lounge that opens to the sidewalk, an exterior patio, a rooftop lounge, and a space for private dining and meetings.
To support the project, Brine Wells and its subsidiary, Hotel Niagara Development, are asking for $6.71 million in tax breaks from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency. That includes $4.38 million in property tax relief over 15 years, $1.98 million in sales tax breaks for purchases over two years, and a mortgage-recording tax exemption of $348,000.
Brine Wells was founded in 2014 to focus on projects in hospitality and historic rehabilitation. It was founded by Edward M. Riley, a 40-year veteran of design, construction, real estate and hotel operations, who previously worked at Pyramid Hotel Group as senior vice president for design, construction and real estate, working on projects such as the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, Claremont Resort in Berkeley, Calif., and Fairfax at Embassy Row in Washington.
Riley left Pyramid and formed Brine Wells to renovate the Hotel Syracuse, which is now Marriott Syracuse. That $75 million project led to his firm's selection by USA Niagara Development Corp. as designated developer for Hotel Niagara in 2017, a year after the state agency paid $4.4 million to acquire the vacant property that had closed in 2004.
This is the second time that Brine has applied for assistance from NCIDA for the project. The company sought and obtained $4.85 million in tax breaks in 2018, and received three six-month extensions that carried it through the end of 2020. But the developer struggled to secure bank financing, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic struck, decimating the hospitality industry and leaving lenders skittish about extending credit for new projects.
So the project lingered. Now Brine is slated again to acquire the 0.53-acre Niagara Falls site, at 201 Rainbow, for $1 before undertaking its project of "extensive renovations."
The 168,160-square-foot hotel will feature 147 standard rooms, 10 junior suites and a presidential suite, plus a partial penthouse and a full basement."
"The vacant Howard Johnson motel in Niagara Falls could soon get an entirely new look under a proposal by a local hospitality company to convert it into a rock-and-roll-themed music venue.
Live-USA Inc., a subsidiary of the DiCienzo family’s American Niagara Hospitality, wants to renovate the 80-room motel at 472 Main St. to include the musical focus, along with a celebrity-endorsed restaurant and bar.
According to American Niagara Director of Finance Cindy Winter and a filing with the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency, the company plans an “immersive ‘rock & roll’ experience,” with daily indoor concerts, karaoke and live events for up to 400 people. It will feature floors themed for different music genres, like rock and country, as well as artist-themed guest rooms, such as for the Rolling Stones and Billy Joel.
“Every floor is going to be a different genre, every room a different music star,” Winter said.
Winter said that through his ownership of a Canadian resort, DiCienzo has formed partnerships with record producer David Foster, and has lined up a member of Bare Naked Ladies for the hotel opening. He also has relationships with actors Kiefer Sutherland and Dan Aykroyd, and will be exclusively using their respective brands of whiskey and vodka. “Our owner is just a very creative person,” she said. “He just gets these ideas.”
The $16 million project would include the two existing buildings of 44,929 square feet and 836 square feet, respectively, built in 1964 and located on 1.3 acres. No new construction is planned. All of the hotel rooms would be renovated, and the company would also buy a sound system, lighting and restaurant equipment.
A helium-filled hot-air balloon ride that is tethered to the ground will take up to 30 guests at a time up to 500 feet in the air for 15-minute rides, using an adjacent former helipad site, but that’s separate from the hotel. Work on the balloon is expected to finish by July, followed by the hotel renovation. Officials are targeting a June 2025 opening.
“We’re excited by the balloon, but we’re going to very excited about the hotel,” Winter said. “We don’t have any hotels like that here. It’s going to be a destination, and that’s what we’re excited about.”
Project costs include the $5 million purchase of the hotel, which is already owned by another DiCienzo affiliate, NFNY Hotel Management, as well as $4.5 million for construction and improvements and $6 million in furniture and equipment, plus $500,000 in “soft” costs or fees. Financing includes $10 million in bank loans, $4.5 million in developer equity and $1.5 million in unspecified grants or tax credits.
Live-USA is asking the NCIDA for $2.25 million in tax breaks, including property tax savings of $1.52 million over 10 years, a $660,000 sales tax break over one year and a mortgage-recording tax abatement of $75,000. A public hearing will be held June 25.
The project is expected to create 32 full-time and 20 part-time jobs within three years, paying annual salaries ranging from $45,000 to $65,000.
Based at the Sheraton Niagara Falls, which it owns, American Niagara is a cross-border hospitality company that owns three hotels and resorts, nine restaurants and five entertainment facilities in the United States and Canada, mostly in Niagara Falls.
Those properties include the Sheraton and the 188-room Wyndham Garden at Niagara Falls, formerly the Days Inn at the Falls, as well as the JW Marriott Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa in Ontario’s “cottage country,” north of Toronto.
It also owns the Reef Beach Club & Pool, as well as At the Falls Arcade and Rainforest Cafe in the Sheraton, and the new Torrent restaurant, all in Niagara Falls. Other restaurants include Chill 443 and a Starbucks, also at the Sheraton, and five restaurants at the Marriott resort. In the past, the 30-year-old company also owned Sheraton and Crowne Plaza hotels on the Canadian side, as well as a water park atop a parking garage in Canada."
"A Syracuse-based development firm is bringing back its plan to renovate the historic Hotel Niagara in Niagara Falls, three years after pandemic-related financing problems caused what was a $42 million project to stall out.
But now the project cost will be 21% higher, at $50.8 million.
Brine Wells Development, which has been working on plans to redevelop the 12-story building on Rainbow Boulevard for more than seven years, is again hoping to rehab the century-old landmark into an upscale hotel while still retaining its historic character.
The company says it will restore the hotel's exterior, including repairing or replacing the decorative terra cotta, cleaning and polishing the stonework, and restoring the decorative windows. Workers would also restore the interior areas with their original colors – such as in the lobby, restaurant, ballroom, mezzanine and meeting rooms – and would also restore the guest rooms and basement barbershop.
Opened in 1925 after two years of construction, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the project is eligible for state and federal historic tax credits, so the renovation will comply with federal and state standards.
Upon completion, it would include 160 guest rooms, as well as a main ballroom, a secondary ballroom, a full-service restaurant, a lounge that opens to the sidewalk, an exterior patio, a rooftop lounge, and a space for private dining and meetings.
To support the project, Brine Wells and its subsidiary, Hotel Niagara Development, are asking for $6.71 million in tax breaks from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency. That includes $4.38 million in property tax relief over 15 years, $1.98 million in sales tax breaks for purchases over two years, and a mortgage-recording tax exemption of $348,000.
Brine Wells was founded in 2014 to focus on projects in hospitality and historic rehabilitation. It was founded by Edward M. Riley, a 40-year veteran of design, construction, real estate and hotel operations, who previously worked at Pyramid Hotel Group as senior vice president for design, construction and real estate, working on projects such as the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix, Claremont Resort in Berkeley, Calif., and Fairfax at Embassy Row in Washington.
Riley left Pyramid and formed Brine Wells to renovate the Hotel Syracuse, which is now Marriott Syracuse. That $75 million project led to his firm's selection by USA Niagara Development Corp. as designated developer for Hotel Niagara in 2017, a year after the state agency paid $4.4 million to acquire the vacant property that had closed in 2004.
This is the second time that Brine has applied for assistance from NCIDA for the project. The company sought and obtained $4.85 million in tax breaks in 2018, and received three six-month extensions that carried it through the end of 2020. But the developer struggled to secure bank financing, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic struck, decimating the hospitality industry and leaving lenders skittish about extending credit for new projects.
So the project lingered. Now Brine is slated again to acquire the 0.53-acre Niagara Falls site, at 201 Rainbow, for $1 before undertaking its project of "extensive renovations."
The 168,160-square-foot hotel will feature 147 standard rooms, 10 junior suites and a presidential suite, plus a partial penthouse and a full basement."
"Ed Riley thought for sure that his $42 million effort to revive the landmark Hotel Niagara was ready to go four years ago.
He already had a deal in place to buy the century-old Niagara Falls building from the state agency that owned it.
He had all of the government and regulatory approvals he needed to renovate the historic structure. He had secured tax breaks for the project.
And he had the financing lined up.
"That's how far along we were for the project," the Syracuse developer said.
But that was March 2020.
By the end of the month, the Covid-19 pandemic was building. Within weeks, lockdowns were in place. The economy was on the precipice of uncertainty, the hotel business was reeling, and lenders and investors were pulling back.
Not long after, Riley's financing dried up, and with it, any hope of the project getting underway.
It took the better part of four years before Riley would get a second chance.
"Nobody was looking at anything, because we were up and down through the pandemic," Riley recalled. "Hospitality got hit so bad, nobody knew what was going to happen with it."
In the interim, Riley didn't give up hope, and conditions finally changed about eight to 10 months ago. Since then, he and his team at Brine Wells Development have been working to put his Humpty-Dumpty financing back together.
"We want to get going," he told the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency board this week, as he sought again to obtain tax breaks for what is now a $50.8 million project. "I’m no spring chicken either. I’d love to get it opened on its centennial."
If he is successful, the new four-diamond hotel would include 160 guest rooms, as well as a main ballroom, a secondary ballroom that would also be used as a three-meal restaurant during tourist season, a full-service sports bar and restaurant for the rest of the year, a lounge that opens to the sidewalk, an exterior patio, a rooftop patio next to the penthouse and a space for private dining and meetings.
And it would show he can replicate the success he had previously with the similar Hotel Syracuse, now the Marriott Syracuse after a $75 million renovation there.
"The Hotel Syracuse was a great project. You renovated that and made it a jewel," NCIDA board member and former County Legislature Chair William L. Ross said. "If this can be done for Hotel Niagara, it’s very dear to Niagara Falls. It's another piece of our early history."
A significant landmark
Riley's story is just the latest chapter in what, until now, has been a string of broken promises for the once-glamorous hotel at 201 Rainbow Blvd. that opened in 1925 and is one of the most prominent parts of the Niagara Falls skyline.
Designed by the Buffalo architectural firm of Esenwein & Johnson, the 12-story hotel was considered exceptional for its time, and featured a large ballroom, a second-floor balcony overlooking the lobby, a restaurant and a bar room that offered live entertainment.
Presidents and other celebrities reportedly visited or stayed there, including Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotten during the filming of the movie "Niagara," as well as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.
Like the Statler Hotel in downtown Buffalo, or the Hotel Syracuse that Riley redeveloped a few years ago for $75 million, the Hotel Niagara is a significant landmark in the city, a cornerstone of its history and its downtown. It is one of the few major downtown structures to survive the demolition days of urban renewal in the 1960s and 1970s.
So, it has been heartbreaking for the city to watch its neglect and deterioration over the years – especially after at least four prior failed attempts by others to bring it back to its glory. The formerly upscale hotel had been reduced to a Travelodge Fallsview when it went into foreclosure and was purchased for $2.3 million in 2005 by Niagara Inn Corp.
Two years later, the 193-room hotel – now the Ramada Niagara – was acquired for $4.6 million by a Houston company promising a $15.2 million renovation to "bring it back to what it used to be."
The hotel – which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 – was supposed to reopen in 2009. But it never did – a victim of the Great Recession.
One after another
Instead, the building decayed further while the company owners, James T. Cook Jr. and his wife, Judith, fell behind on taxes. The property went into foreclosure. All of its furniture, fixtures, pipes and bathrooms had been removed, although new electrical, plumbing and heating were installed. With no electricity, water or fire protection, the empty building was condemned by the city in 2009 and 2010.
Developer Harry Stinson of Hamilton, Ont., bought it at a foreclosure auction and unveiled a $26 million remake plan that included converting 10 floors of tiny single hotel rooms into two-room suites, while renovating the grand ballroom, creating a 100-seat movie theater and introducing four restaurants. He set an opening target date of summer 2013, and obtained tax breaks.
But he never completed the project, either – the first of several local projects he has undertaken, but not achieved, including the still-closed Buffalo Grand Hotel, formerly the Adam's Mark. His JSK International agreed to a deal with Niagara County Community College to house students from its culinary institute. But that fell through by 2015, when he also tried to recruit yet another company, Reception Hotels and Resorts, to come in on the project.
Reception, a new company based in the Rockland County community of Monsey but whose CEO and other principals were tied to Pittsburgh, then proposed a $27 million purchase and renovation project, and even sought $3.1 million in tax breaks from the NCIDA. The plan included a $4.4 million purchase from Stinson and then a $21.5 million makeover to create a 200-room, four-star hotel with 30,000 square feet of event space, with an opening for June 2016.
That never proceeded, either, and that's when USA Niagara – a subsidiary of Empire State Development Corp. – stepped in to buy it instead in March 2016, for the same $4.4 million price, using Buffalo Billion money. That agency, in turn, issued a request for proposals to find someone else to get the job done.
So when Riley and his Brine Wells came into the picture in 2017 – recruited to bid after he worked with the state to successfully renovate the Syracuse hotel – there was hope in Niagara Falls, but also skepticism. It was also coming as the city and state were again focusing on trying to make Niagara Falls more attractive and appealing for visitors, residents and businesses.
"This is a hugely important project. It represents potential for our community, but we need action. We need you guys to deliver on that," Clifford Scott, an NCIDA board member and director of community development for the City of Niagara Falls, told Riley last week. "We don’t need promises. We need action. Are you with us?"
"Absolutely," Riley replied. "We jumped into this. We’re right now moving very quickly to get everything assembled."
Will the fifth time be a charm?
Riley has now been working on the project for eight years, but has done little more than stabilize the building. He said he hopes to "be in there" by the fall to start putting on a new roof, restoring the masonry and then beginning interior restoration.
He noted that the prior developers already "did a lot of the cleanup work and demolition," so that will save his firm significant time and money. In Syracuse, he said, Brine Wells spent $15.5 million on cleanup "before we could touch one thing."
"We don't have that here," he said.
But it still hasn't been easy to pull together. USA Niagara will sell the hotel to Brine Wells for $1, and the state has approved $3.5 million in incentives. The project will also qualify for historic tax credits.
However, even before the pandemic, Riley had to persuade lenders about the potential in Niagara Falls.
"Niagara Falls on the American side doesn’t have the greatest reputation in some areas, and we had to basically demonstrate that it’s on the comeback trail, it’s doing very well, and this will be a key component of that," he said.
It was even harder after the pandemic.
"A lot of places, if you tell them you're looking for a loan on a hotel, they're not even interested in it," he said."
"Three highly visible projects in downtown Niagara Falls are moving a step closer to fruition.
The USA Niagara Development Corp. has approved project plans for a new six-story, mixed-use building with apartments as well as a community event space near Niagara Falls State Park and a pedestrian plaza. The development group is a subsidiary of Empire State Development.
“With the approval of these general project plans, USAN can take the next steps for making the projects a reality and continue to transform downtown Niagara Falls into a pedestrian, residential and visitor-friendly area,” said Anthony Vilardo, USAN president.
“One project will expand opportunities for quality housing in downtown, while the other supports placemaking, and lays the ground for further development in our city,” he said.
The mixed-use building is proposed for 333 First St. in the former Smokin’ Joe’s Native Center. Plans call for 73 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment units as well as 4,700 square feet of commercial space.
The apartments are aimed at those who work in the city in the hospitality and tourism industries, with a blend of market-rate apartments and workforce housing for families earning 50%, 60% and 80% of the area median income.
Commercial space on the building’s first floor will house Community Services for Every1, offering workforce development and community habilitation services, including pre-vocational and supported employment services.
The existing, vacant two-story building on the site would be demolished and the land would then be divided into two parcels.
One parcel will be sold to CSE1 for the housing development. CSE1 will pay USAN $380,000 to purchase the property and will receive a $1 million capital grant from USAN. It will also receive financial assistance from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, New York Energy and Research Authority, the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Homeless Housing and Assistance Program, Empire State Development and the Department of Environmental Conservation Brownfield Cleanup Program.
The other parcel will be held by USAN for future development.
Also approved were the Gorge Gateway Park and Hydraulic Power Plaza.
The Niagara Gorge Gateway Park will be developed across from the State Park Police barracks, currently green space that was formerly DiFranco Park, bounded by First, Second and Main streets.
On it will be a multiuse pavilion with the capacity to host 1,400 people. Some tiered outdoor seating will be built into the landscape, taking advantage of the sloping elevation of the lawn. It will be geared toward hosting community and school events, weddings and small concerts.
The Hydraulic Power Plaza will be developed on a site bounded by First, Second, Main and Niagara streets over what was historically the Hydraulic Canal.
Running down the center will be a water feature with misting fountains, tree-lined walkways and seating. Steel arches overhead will hearken back to electric lines and the city’s industrial past. A separate, temporary ice skating rink will be brought in during the winter months. Heritage checkpoints will feature interpretive stations.
Together, they encompass 3.7 acres and have a price tag of $17 million.
The projects are driven by public land acquisitions through the state’s Strategic Land Acquisition Program that involved seven buildings and more than 8 acres of vacant land.
In addition to supporting affordable housing goals set by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the projects are meant to bolster the connection between downtown Niagara Falls and Niagara Falls State Park, which sees 9 million visitors per year. They are also meant to attract safe, year-round, pedestrian activity.
“USAN will greatly impact development in the entertainment district,” Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino said. “The proposed projects will reshape the downtown corridor for future projects.”
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