The development team behind the $25 million plan to buy and turn the Radisson Hotel Niagara Falls-Grand Island into a residential-anchored project has tweaked its plans, putting an emphasis on Niagara River-fronting pocket park.
“It’s about opening the land to the public,” said architect/developer Michael Conroe, founder of Elev8 Architecture of Orchard Park.
Conroe and the J.B. Earl Co. of Provo, Utah, have the 268-room hotel at 100 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island, under contract with plans to turn the hospitality complex into a building anchored by 135 market-rate apartments. The hotel remains open and operating while the project gains all its final Grand Island approvals.
Plans call for the apartments to be housed in a six-story and four-story wing of the hotel while the banquet space is turned into an event center and a new restaurant is added. The building’s indoor and outdoor pools will remain.
The public green space will include room for lawn games, a patio overlooking the Niagara River and docks and boat slips.
Work on the renovations, pending various municipal approvals, will start by early spring.
• The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. has started reviewing the North Aud block development proposals that were submitted by the Sept. 22 deadline.
Officials from the ECHDC declined to say how many bids were received, other “several responses” were submitted.
The North Aud block is a nearly two-acre vacant parcel fronting on Lower Terrace and Main streets. It’s on the north side of the replica Erie Canal waterway. The site is the last undeveloped portion of the Memorial Auditorium site within the 20-acre Canalside footprint.
“ The RFP (requests for proposal) presented an opportunity for experienced real estate developers to transform the nearly two-acre site, which is key to the ongoing revitalization of downtown Buffalo,” ECHDC said in an emailed statement to Buffalo Business First. “The potential project will likely include retail, restaurants, office space, apartments, public space and structured parking within several buildings that will blend historic details with the current surrounding city.”
The ECHDC is expected to name a designated developer for the North Aud block site by spring.
• Leasing@2753 LLC paid $1.2 million for a 9,657-square-foot auto repair center and Hertz car-rental operation at 2753 Niagara Falls Blvd., Amherst, according to a Sept. 23 filing in the Erie County Clerk’s office. The building was owned by Drew Graziadei.
• WNY Metro Roberts Realty will open its eighth area office later this fall. Neil Gerrity, WNY Metro Roberts general manager, said the Williamsville office at 5687 Main St. will focus on a growing northern suburbs customer base.
“The Williamsville market is the next sensible choice for our clients and agents,” Gerrity said.
Headquartered in West Seneca, Metro Roberts is the region’s fourth largest residential real estate according to the Buffalo Business First Book of Lists.
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