Empire State Development (ESD), USA Niagara Development Corporation (USAN) and the City of Niagara Falls today announced that The Hamister Group, Inc. was selected as the preferred developer in response to the request for proposals (RFP) for development of a key City-owned site located at 310 Rainbow Boulevard in downtown Niagara Falls. Hamister is planning a mix of retail, hotel and residential space.
The site is located at the northwest corner of Rainbow Boulevard and Old Falls Street, 300 feet from the entrance to Niagara Falls State Park, which enjoys roughly 8 million annual visitors. Totaling 0.88 acres, the vacant property was recently acquired by the City in conjunction with a larger effort to develop a Niagara County Community College‐sponsored Culinary Institute in a portion of the former Rainbow Centre Mall.
USAN received seven responses to the RFP, which was due in December. Of those, Hamister’s $22.4 million proposal was determined to best meet the RFP objective of creating a relatively high-density mix of uses with a focus on active ground-level development that would contribute to visitor and resident offerings along historic Old Falls Street.
Preliminary plans include 104 upscale hotel rooms, 24 residential units and up 8,000 square feet of retail space. Carmina Wood Morris is designing the project. The development is estimated to directly create 219 construction jobs and 130 permanent jobs. Construction is expected to start next year and be completed in 2014.
“This is another step forward for a project that is a direct result of substantial investment by the state into Niagara Falls,” said ESD President, CEO & Commissioner Kenneth Adams. “Between the Culinary Institute, Old Falls Street and now the development of 310 Rainbow Boulevard, we are not only reinvigorating the downtown area, but creating new jobs and expanding the tax base.”
“We are thrilled to be selected as the preferred developer for 310 Rainbow Boulevard and to be a part of the growth of downtown Niagara Falls,” said The Hamister Group, Inc. Senior Vice President of Business Development Daniel Hamister. “This project is a perfect example of what can be accomplished when a government agency sets a goal and streamlines the process in order to get the job done. We are proud of the relationship that we have maintained with USA Niagara throughout the RFP process and look forward to that same positive working relationship with the City of Niagara Falls and Niagara County.”
The Hamister Group, Inc., founded in 1977 and based in Buffalo, is a recognized leader in hotel and healthcare facility development and management. Its hotel holdings include facilities in Pittsburgh, Knoxville and Louisville.
Hamister also has plans for a key downtown Buffalo site. The company is planning adaptively reuse the Tishman Building on Lafayette Square as a mixed-use office, residential and hotel property featuring a new Hilton Garden Hotel. That project is expected to get underway later this year. Carmina Wood Morris is designing the Tishman conversion as well.