USA Niagara doles out cash to favored developers, dubious projects

Niagara Falls Reporter

USA Niagara doles out cash to favored developers, dubious projects
One of USA Niagara's dubious streetscape projects was a $12 million remodeling of Old Falls Street to turn this two-block area into a public space with vending and events. USA Niagara decided to pave the street with expensive pavers imported from Italy. The pavers set poorly. Collapsing bricks were dappled with blacktop patchwork. Old Falls Street is now a business under USA Niagara control and a losing one, at that. Vending, music, kids clubs, zumba, pilates, fitness classes, movies somehow lost more than $1 million dollars in two years and the city has to pay for it. How a two-block street of vendors could lose more than a million over a three-month tourist season is difficult to comprehend. When Lou Antonacci ran a similar operation on the street, he not only made money but paid the city. Instead USA Niagara bought out his lease for more than $310,000 an the city has paid more than one million in two years to cover their wasteful losses. Other USA Niagara projects include a Wayfinding and Signage Program. The Robert Moses Parkway State Park Access reconstruction project which is meant to direct tourists straight into the state park. Some of USA Niagara’s projects are not likely to happen. The Niagara Experience Center (NEC), is described on the USA Niagara website, as “Using cutting-edge entertainment technologies” to create a virtual Niagara Falls attraction that “will immerse the visitor in the real Niagara experience.” In 2004, USA Niagara used taxpayer money to hire consultants to do feasibility studies and draw plans. The studies suggest that, if built with taxpayer money and private investment, it might be able to pay for itself through admission fees and not be a permanent drain on taxpayers. The estimated cost is $100 million. As USA Niagara adds on their website, the NEC will allow tourists “to get closer (to the falls) than they are able to in real life.” Actually, the NEC could be built anywhere. Maybe Las Vegas will one day build it as part of a Vegas casino. No developer has come forward to build it. The problem seems to be that a virtual Niagara Falls is not needed when the real one is right here. Other projects are gifts of money made to help out wealthy developers remodeling hotels. They chipped in for the Sheraton at the Falls (The Crowne Plaza) in 2006. This alleged $34 million hotel investment project invested into a 400-room property (at that time a Holiday Inn Select). USA Niagara chipped in $6 million in funding toward the project. The Reporter made an inspection of the work and suspects the $34 million figure is a number that included a 75 percent profit for the developer. Another USA Niagara project is the new Niagara County Community College (NCCC) culinary institute. This $26.1 million project will renovate one-third of the former Rainbow Centre Mall and the attached 1,600 space City Parking Ramp. USA Niagara/Empire State Development Corporation will contribute $13.3 million. The culinary school will create instructional space for 1,000 students in NCCC’s culinary arts, hospitality management and tourism/event management programs and will open student‐operated restaurants, pastry and deli facilities, a college bookstore, and a “Niagara Wine Trail” shop to compete with existing businesses in the tourist district who pay taxes. They gave $75,000 to a hotel developer to help develop space for a TGI Fridays. Friday's has 920 restaurants in 60 countries. But Niagara Falls has to pay them to come here. Recently USA Niagara selected a developer for another unneeded hotel on a valuable parcel located 300 feet from the entrance to Niagara Falls State Park. The Hamister Group, Inc., proposed a $22.4 million hotel, retail and housing development plan with taxpayer money needed. Preliminary details include 104 upscale hotel rooms, 24 residential units and a modest 8,000 square feet of retail space. It is not known how much taxpayer money is needed to give to a millionaire developer on top of a gift of a multi-million dollar piece of land to build a hotel which is not needed. It should be noted that Hamister is a big contributor to Gov. Cuomo. USA Niagara approved a $750,000 grant toward a $15 million redevelopment of the former Fallside Hotel. USA Niagara Development approved a $1.5 million capital grant toward a $10.9 million renovation project to upgrade the Days Inn Hotel. USA Niagara approved $125,000 for the Urban Land Institute, an organization with ties to Mayor Paul Dyster. The money will buy a panel of “national experts in design and real estate to formulate potential reuse scenarios for remaining space in the former Rainbow Mall.” These experts will get paid $125,000 to spend a week talking to “stakeholders,” having “listening sessions” and formulating “various alternatives. The team will provide a summary of its conclusions followed by “a formal report within a month of the site visit.”

One of USA Niagara's dubious streetscape projects was a $12 million remodeling of Old Falls Street to turn this two-block area into a public space with vending and events.

USA Niagara decided to pave the street with expensive pavers imported from Italy. The pavers set poorly. Collapsing bricks were dappled with blacktop patchwork.

Old Falls Street is now a business under USA Niagara control and a losing one, at that. Vending, music, kids clubs, zumba, pilates, fitness classes, movies somehow lost more than $1 million dollars in two years and the city has to pay for it. How a two-block street of vendors could lose more than a million over a three-month tourist season is difficult to comprehend.
When Lou Antonacci ran a similar operation on the street, he not only made money but paid the city. Instead USA Niagara bought out his lease for more than $310,000 an the city has paid more than one million in two years to cover their wasteful losses.

Other USA Niagara projects include a Wayfinding and Signage Program. The Robert Moses Parkway State Park Access reconstruction project which is meant to direct tourists straight into the state park.

Some of USA Niagara’s projects are not likely to happen. The Niagara Experience Center (NEC), is described on the USA Niagara website, as “Using cutting-edge entertainment technologies” to create a virtual Niagara Falls attraction that “will immerse the visitor in the real Niagara experience.”
In 2004, USA Niagara used taxpayer money to hire consultants to do feasibility studies and draw plans. The studies suggest that, if built with taxpayer money and private investment, it might be able to pay for itself through admission fees and not be a permanent drain on taxpayers. The estimated cost is $100 million.

As USA Niagara adds on their website, the NEC will allow tourists “to get closer (to the falls) than they are able to in real life.”
Actually, the NEC could be built anywhere. Maybe Las Vegas will one day build it as part of a Vegas casino.

No developer has come forward to build it. The problem seems to be that a virtual Niagara Falls is not needed when the real one is right here.

Other projects are gifts of money made to help out wealthy developers remodeling hotels. They chipped in for the Sheraton at the Falls (The Crowne Plaza) in 2006. This alleged $34 million hotel investment project invested into a 400-room property (at that time a Holiday Inn Select). USA Niagara chipped in $6 million in funding toward the project. The Reporter made an inspection of the work and suspects the $34 million figure is a number that included a 75 percent profit for the developer.
Another USA Niagara project is the new Niagara County Community College (NCCC) culinary institute. This $26.1 million project will renovate one-third of the former Rainbow Centre Mall and the attached 1,600 space City Parking Ramp. USA Niagara/Empire State Development Corporation will contribute $13.3 million.

The culinary school will create instructional space for 1,000 students in NCCC’s culinary arts, hospitality management and tourism/event management programs and will open student‐operated restaurants, pastry and deli facilities, a college bookstore, and a “Niagara Wine Trail” shop to compete with existing businesses in the tourist district who pay taxes.
They gave $75,000 to a hotel developer to help develop space for a TGI Fridays. Friday's has 920 restaurants in 60 countries. But Niagara Falls has to pay them to come here.

Recently USA Niagara selected a developer for another unneeded hotel on a valuable parcel located 300 feet from the entrance to Niagara Falls State Park. The Hamister Group, Inc., proposed a $22.4 million hotel, retail and housing development plan with taxpayer money needed. Preliminary details include 104 upscale hotel rooms, 24 residential units and a modest 8,000 square feet of retail space. It is not known how much taxpayer money is needed to give to a millionaire developer on top of a gift of a multi-million dollar piece of land to build a hotel which is not needed.

It should be noted that Hamister is a big contributor to Gov. Cuomo.

USA Niagara approved a $750,000 grant toward a $15 million redevelopment of the former Fallside Hotel. USA Niagara Development approved a $1.5 million capital grant toward a $10.9 million renovation project to upgrade the Days Inn Hotel.
USA Niagara approved $125,000 for the Urban Land Institute, an organization with ties to Mayor Paul Dyster.

The money will buy a panel of “national experts in design and real estate to formulate potential reuse scenarios for remaining space in the former Rainbow Mall.” These experts will get paid $125,000 to spend a week talking to “stakeholders,” having “listening sessions” and formulating “various alternatives. The team will provide a summary of its conclusions followed by “a formal report within a month of the site visit.”

Niagara Falls Reporter www.niagarafallsreporter.com July 31 , 2012