Councilmember Michael Kearns has announced a special meeting in
CommonCouncil chambers for Thursday, March 12, at 6 PM in order to discuss the
two proposed developments for a waterfront hotel/inn. All interested parties
are invited, and the special time was arranged so that residents with a vested
interest will be able to attend.
Of the two competing developers, former councilmember James
Pitts will be representing Specialty Restaurants, with Bernard Zyscovich there to help present his design, while Paul Ciminelli and members of the Ciminelli/Hamister Group will present Ciminelli Developments design.
The $12 million, four-story Wingate Inn redesign proposed by
Specialty would include a retail promenade and features that would give the
development a “neighborhood” feel, according to representatives of
Specialty. The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency (BURA) favors the
Specialty plan.
The Ciminelli proposal calls for a $37 million complex
consisting of a 10-story hotel with office and retail space. BURA determined
that the project proposed by Ciminelli Development Co. and businessman Mark E.
Hamister did not meet requirements for both height and density.
Debate heated up, as seen in this Business First Story, with 5
councilmembers, 3 of whom are members of BURA, opposing the Pitts/Specialty
plan. Council President, David Franczyk, in the meanwhile, has put
together a citizen advisory panel that includes waterfront residents, community
advocates and preservationists as seen in this Buffalo News story by Brian Meyer.
Specialty has brought in Bernard Zyscovich, author of Getting Real About Urbanism to “fix”
the Wingate Inn design in the hopes of moving the project along in their favor. It remains to be seen whether or not Pitts can convince the 5 opposing councilmembers and the advisory board that Zyscovich, with many accomplishments in Miami
architecture, has created a Wingate concept sensitive to northern concerns.