The new owners of the former Freezer Queen plant on the outer harbor are either visionary or crazy. Queen City Landing LLC is planning to transform the six-story, 300,000 sq.ft structure and surrounding property into a mix of residential and hotel space. The development team headed by Gerald Bucheit and Jon Williams has hired the architectural firm that designed the Seneca Nation's casinos in Niagara Falls and Salamanca, JCJ Architects.
Business First’s James Fink has the details:
Buchheit said Queen City Landing's first phase will focus on the Freezer Queen warehouse, which could be home to as many as 130 upscale condominiums. Initial plans call for adding two more floors to the building to make way for the extra condo units.
Construction could start later this year.
Future phases may include the construction of a 250-unit condo tower that could be as tall as 15 stories and building a 250-room full service hotel that could be expanded by another 100 rooms.
The 20-acre property sits between the Small Boat Harbor and the NFTA’s Lakeside Distribution Center warehouses on Fuhrmann Boulevard.
Gerald Bucheit is the former owner of the Statler. He sold the property to Bashar Issa and has been busy constructing the Quaker Crossing power center on Milestrip Road in Orchard Park. Jon Williams owns Ontario Specialty Contracting. The team purchased the property for $3 million at a November 2007 auction. Plans for the ambitious project are expected to be presented to City officials in coming months.
