Wednesday Event to Celebrate Croce's Statler Purchase

I can't get excited about this because we bought the same BS from Bashar Issa. He needs to get working on it and needs to set some dates on when it will be open for business for me to believe it is real.

First Pegula, and now Croce. These two men know how to wow the community and bring back some excitement to this town. No wonder each is successful in their business endeavors.

I get a sense of what it must have been like to be in Buffalo in the early 1900s when Buffalo was one of "the" places for innovation, entrepreneurship and community pride.

THANK YOU MARK!

They should have torn this eyesore down when they had the chance!!! Damn obstructionists.

Can't wait to see the ground level and street retail spaces spruced up. Even just some work on the main entrance go a long way!

What's that age old saying? "Hater's they gohn' hayte?"
Regardless of what goes in there, strip clubs, sky bar 2.0,
steak house, it will be better than what it is now.

Maybe Croce will even slap a helipad on the roof?

It's way too early to be doing any celebrating.

Croce's successfully renovated smaller projects like Laughlin's and the Chop House. However, the Curtiss Building has not seen any of the development proposed by Croce over the past couple of years. Now, he's tackling a building that's much bigger than the Curtiss Building. All reports in the Buffalo News indicate that Croce has not submitted any type of concrete redevelopment plan for the Statler.

The ball's in Croce's court now. Here's to hoping he delivers on his promises on time and on budget and doesnt just decide to demo the place when he's faced with the rehab costs.

Good for Mark and good for Buffalo. I wish him much success on his project and I can't wait until the ballroom opens again.

listen, the statler's a lot to bite off. let's give croce the benefit of the doubt. if he defaults the way issa did, then you can all pull out your pitchforks and enjoy your told-you-so moments. good luck, mark!

If the "Boutique" hotel was up and running I would show a bit of enthusiasm, but alas it is still an empty shell as it was the day he purchased it. The Statler has generated many stories since Basher bought it and I believe it will continue to do so. Other than MAYBE banqueting space for his own personal gain I see nothing happening. Lets see in oh 12 months or so what BRO is posting about Croce.

once it's finished would in a New York minute stay there over the Avante( usually full); love the building, the history and the location . Detroit re-furbished it's sister building ( Cadillac Book)and it's truly magnificent!

I don’t know what Croce will or won’t complete with this building but the one thing you can’t argue is that as long as the heat & electricity is back on along with someone there to keep an eye on the place daily it is a huge step forward from where we are today. If floors 4-18 never get used but the first three get renovated and occupied I would be happy that at the minimum this building will stay open and maintained. It seems that Croce is taking a smart approach and only doing what he knows he can at any given time which is a way better attitude then the naïve assumption that this building can be rehabbed all at once in a short period of time. He may not be the best owner / developer for the Statler but he is the only one willing to try.

Ahem.
http://www.buffalorising.com/2010/05/web-site-seeks-statler-buyer.html

•Why sell to a man who is offering $200,000 when others are offer $250,000 and $300,000?

•Why sell to a man who needs 5.3 million in funding for “stabilization” from the City of Buffalo? (BTW – According to the Business First article the City has found a funding source for this money!!! Really? Where did this 5.3 million come from?)

•Why sell to a man who’s pockets aren’t deep enough to renovate the structure?

•Why sell to a man who is already invested in a hotel renovation within a blocks of this one?

•Why sell to a man who apparently only has plans for the banquet and restaurant spaces?

•Why sell to a man who can’t pay the back taxes at closing when others can?

Let me tell you why they are selling to Mark Croce. It’s because he’s the only one who came to the plate when no one else would. (Oh, did I mention that he’s close with Mayor Brown and that the Statler Trustee is tired of dealing with the property?)

My concern is that like so many other deals, developments and plans in this City, it’s headed down a path of darkness right from the get-go. A project like this requires someone with very deep pockets and a track record of tackling this type of project. Others have now come forward and have now shown interest in the Statler. Uri Kaufman and Phillip Ruethvens should be considered. Both would pay more for the building. Kaufman stated he would cover the back taxes at closing and he has the finances and experience to tackle this project. He has also asked for zero handouts from the City. He has successfully developed properties like this before. I find it difficult to believe that the “ship has sailed” and that the agreement that is in place between Croce and the Statler Trustee is set in stone. I think we should head back to the table and determine who is best qualified to tackle the Statler project... but that won't happen and I'm just a dreamer.

congrats Mr. Croce! I wish you the best in completing the renovation of the Statler. just don't go pull an ISSA on the citizens of Buffalo.

Thanks,

Wigs

The land is worth more then price he paid for the whole building. We paid for the repairs to the building. He should throw us a party.

With that said, I give him credit. His use of public outcry(demolishing the building), aggressive negotiation with the mayor(lol), and his ability to "out impress" the other suitors is pretty slick. Now he owns an icon for the price of a house in spaulding lake.

Opening the first few floors will definitely make the area of downtown more appealing and at least use the building for something. I just hope that times "change" in downtown and it becomes "economically stable" enough to actually develop the rest of the building which I don't believe will ever happen.

I hope I'm proven wrong.

Where is the parking?

This is borderline criminal and I hope people are brought up on charges for this. The tax payers are being squeezed for over five million dollars for some one showing up with less than 700,000 dollars. He has no plan other than putting another bar or restaurant in the building. This is the same man who was charging over 60 dollars for parking at the arena during the hockey tournament. In any other city he would not even get a phone call back with this SCAM. Thats what this is a big SCAM. We don't learn from our mistakes. Shame on the judge and the WNY politians for allowing this to occur. Another sad day for the few tax paying citizens we have left in this city. He has no proven success in developing a building of this calaber. He has never even started on the boutique hotel he was given tax payers money for. I never thought Buffalo would actually be this desperate and stoop so low. SHAME ON OUR LEADERS!!!

Without any question I prefer bording it up until a REAL highrise developer comes along with a proven plan. Is that how you have made your life decisions? Rushed, Paniced, and without a plan. Put it this way, you have just given this Croce more money than you or me will may ever have in our life. This is a DISGRACE, and ethically wrong in all ways.
If I was a leader in this city, NO I would not just jump at handing out over 5 million dollars. IF this is the case...they should have advertised the 5 million to all developers, I gaurentee you would get a better choice than a restaurant and bar on the first 2 floors. But once again you sound like the desperate girl in the corner at a middle school dance that no one asked to dance all night...You would go with any one. Hey here is 700,000 if he even paid that, give me 5,000,000(sounds like a fair deal right?). [Deleted- flaming] Patients, Planning, and calculated risk our how regions get a head, not dirty handouts.