So much for things being worked out, this could all but doom the tower completely!
Statler renovation will come to a halt
By Sharon Linstedt NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 03/30/08 7:16 AM
Bashar Issa of Manchester, England, is shown in this May 2007 picture in one of the Statler hotel rooms that was to be renovated. He has decided to put the project on hold as of April 11.
A British developer’s ambitious plans to revive the once-grand Statler Towers in downtown Buffalo have been put on hold.
Bashar Issa, who bought the hotel-turned-office building in 2006 and announced he intended to spend $100 million to overhaul the downtown landmark into a mix of hotel, residential and office space, informed local employees Friday that renovation work will cease April 11.
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.
Issa arrived on the Buffalo development scene with great fanfare in spring 2006, purchasing the Statler for $3.5 million and promising the ambitious renovations.
“It was once such a beautiful, significant building. It deserves to return to that status,” Issa said of the 18-story, building that was built in 1923 by Ellsworth Statler.
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.
The work stoppage affects about a dozen construction workers and six management employees.
The Brown administration had not been told of Issa’s decision to discontinue work on the downtown landmark, according to Peter Cutler, spokesman for Mayor Byron W. Brown.
“We have not been informed of these developments, but if true, it’s certainly a concern,” Cutler said. “Not only is the Statler a significant physical presence on Niagara Square, it’s a key piece in the overall downtown redevelopment puzzle.”
Issa delivered the news via a phone call from Manchester, England, to his Buffalo management team, and local representatives in turn notified laborers that their jobs are ending.
Laborers Local 210, the union that represents demolition and construction workers at the Statler, confirmed receiving notification that workers will soon be out of jobs.
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.”
The BSC Development staff member also said current vendor contracts will be honored and the halt in renovations will not affect tenants or the Park Lane Catering’s event schedule in the Statler’s Golden Ballroom, and Terrace and Rendezvous rooms.
Later in 2006, he unveiled plans for what would be Buffalo’s tallest building — a 40-story mixed-used tower to be built at the corner of South Elmwood Avenue and West Mohawk Street. He enlisted Grand Island- based Cannon Design as architects for the $361 million, 1.2 million-square-foot structure.
The 30-year-old, Kuwaiti- born developer also had Cannon draw up a parking master plan that would carve out some 2,000 underground parking spaces beneath Niagara Square and other downtown sites.
While the British-educated man’s fresh ideas initially commanded a lot of attention in the development community, questions about his ability to deliver have clouded his proposals in the past year.
And the death of a construction worker at one of his projects in Manchester last fall — which is the focus of a labor authority and police probe — raised additional concerns about worker safety.
Here in Buffalo, Issa faces complaints from the National Labor Relations Board tied to his alleged firing of workers due to their unionization efforts. The board has offered a settlement that would require the developer to hire back some of the former employees and pay back wages.
He also would be required to bargain in good faith with the laborers who are seeking a contract that would move them above their current $8-to $9- an-hour pay scale, and provide benefits.
If Issa does not resume the Statler’s reinvention, the building still has a good shot of revival, Cutler said.
“We are confident the Statler will play an important role in Buffalo’s future,” Cutler said.
slinstedt@buffnews.com
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