A development team has been selected for a vacant commercial site in Waterfront Village. Finally. The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency this morning named Specialty Restaurants Incorporation as preferred developer for the prime 1.4 acre parcel at 10-15 LaRiviere Drive. The owner of the adjacent Shanghai Red’s restaurant is proposing an uninspired, four-story, 100 room Wingate Inn.
The $8 million hotel’s main entrance facing Templeton Terrace will feature a Porte Cochere and a secured enclosed walkway will connect the hotel to Shanghai Reds Restaurant. The façade and design of the hotel will match Shanghai Reds, and the adjacent grounds will have 97 parking spaces, a garden patio and gazebo for outdoor events such as weddings. Boat slips will have special access from the marina to the hotel and restaurant. A fitness center and spa are located facing the marina.
According to the developers, the Waterfront Village Wingate Inn and Shanghai Reds Restaurant will offer increased business opportunities to bring more visitors, banquets, special gatherings, and meetings to the restaurant and hotel.
The selected development team includes Specialty Restaurants Corporation, Elizabeth Buscaglia Architecture and Interior Design, Savarino Companies and J.W. Pitts Planning & Development LLC.
Last November, three developers, including a Florida-based firm, submitted proposals for consideration. Two of the projects include a hotel component. Ciminelli Development offered a “multi-story” hotel, office and retail complex. The third proposal was submitted by Tampa-based Birchwood Properties for a two-story office and retail building. Due to covenants, residential use was not an option for the site.
Wyndham Worldwide is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies with over $3.8 billion of net revenue in 2006. Wingate Inn is one of the company’s all new construction, midscale brands, that caters to both business and leisure travelers. Would-be Statler redeveloper Bashar Issa was hoping to land an upscale Wyndham Hotel for that failed project.