Promising plans to turn the Statler into a mixed-use project are being shelved, at least temporarily. According to the Buffalo News, developer Bashar Issa told employees that work on the renovation project will cease in April after failing to secure a construction loan. Issa’s BSC Development purchased the Niagara Square landmark in August 2006 for $3.5 million and proposed turning the circa-1923 giant into a mix of hotel, office and residential space at a cost of over $60 million.
Today’s Buffalo News has the disappointing story:
Issa’s failure to secure a key construction loan is believed to be at the root of the decision to halt the project. Issa did not return calls to inquire about the project’s future.
The halt in work raises questions about one of the biggest renovation projects in the city and restoration of a downtown landmark, although a local member of Issa’s development team insisted the project is not dead...
Over the next two weeks, construction crews will focus on completing installation of new marble tile and carpeting in the building’s lobby. Demolition work on upper floors has stopped.
An employee of Issa’s BSC Development Buffalo LLC, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that, although redevelopment is being halted, Issa “is not going to walk away” from the building.
“He made the point he is not selling the building and is not walking away,” the employee said. “He had a loan deal that didn’t pan out, and he will look at Plan B and Plan C. It’s not a dead project.”
BSC has been involved with a dispute with Laborers Local 210 over wage rates at the project. Issa insisted that his plans for over 200 condominiums on the top floors, a 150-room hotel, plus office and retail space in the 18-story building were imperiled by high labor costs.
In June 2007, Issa purchased property at Mohawk and S. Elmwood Avenue to construct Buffalo City Tower, a forty floor, mixed-use skyscraper that would have been the city’s tallest building. Despite persistent rumors that talks have been underway with an anchor office tenant, that project appears even more of a dream.
In the end, this may be just a temporary pause for Issa’s grand plans. Or the end.