Croce to bid on Statler

[steven]

Local developer Mark Croce is expected to make a bid to acquire the mothballed Statler Towers.


Sources confirmed that Croce is leading a local partnership that wants to acquire and renovate the Buffalo landmark, which has been shuttered since January.


The sources said Amherst attorney Morris Horwitz, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court-appointed trustee, and his special counsel, Hodgson Russ partner Garry Graber, will file a motion with Western District Bankruptcy Court Chief Justice Carl Bucki to authorize the sale to Croce and his partnership. The motion could be heard within a few weeks.


Sale terms will be set during the hearing.


Croce, Horwitz and Graber could not be reached for comment.
Tentative plans call for a mixed-use development, although final details are being worked out, sources indicated.


Croce already has a stake in the Statler’s fate.


Two years ago, a partnership led by him acquired a surface parking lot at Mohawk Street and South Elmwood Avenue from financially troubled Bashar Issa, a British investor. The lot was used as parking for Statler tenants and people attending special events there.


The building would add to Croce’s vast downtown holdings, which include restaurants such as Buffalo Chophouse and Laughlin’s in the city’s central business district. He currently is in the middle of an $18 million conversion of the former Curtiss Building on Franklin Street to a boutique hotel scheduled to open next fall. He also owns several parking lots.

Read more: Croce to bid on Statler - Business First of Buffalo

[newwayofthinking]

Croce doesn't have that kind of scratch. Everybody in the development business knows it'll take $100M to get that place in shape. There won't be any public money available for it either. Rocco Termini would do it if that was the case.

[Save Us]

Croce doesn't have that kind of scratch. Everybody in the development business knows it'll take $100M to get that place in shape. There won't be any public money available for it either. Rocco Termini would do it if that was the case.

What they said.

[therising]

Croce doesn't have that kind of scratch. But everybody in the development businessknows it'll take $100M to get that place in shape. There won't be any public money available for it either. Rocco Termini would do it if that was the case.

a) You don't have to be in the development business to know about the $100 million - all you have to do is read the newspaper. But, everybody in the development business does know you don't need to have $100 million to do a $100 million deal.
b) He'll have investors - between them, i'm sure they could raise 25% of it
c) Of course there will be public money involved

[300miles]

Rocco Termini would do it if that was the case.

I think Rocco has his hands full right now.

He's planning to renovate the AM&A's building and the Lafayette Hotel... both are huge projects that need complicated financing.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

Croce doesn't have that kind of scratch. Everybody in the development business knows it'll take $100M to get that place in shape. There won't be any public money available for it either. Rocco Termini would do it if that was the case.

I think you need to read between the lines and connect the dots a little bit....

1 - Croce does not have the money but he is not doing it 100%. Croce is leading a local partnership, so who knows what kind of backing he has.

2 - The biggest challenge on the Statler was parking. None of the other developers had parking as a realistic option. However, as the post points out, Croce not only has a surface parking lot at Mohawk Street and South Elmwood Avenue but the City of Buffalo wants to give Croce $7M to develop a $35M / 11 floor parking ramp a stones throw away. When announced in the spring, it was called the Statler Intermodal Transportation Facility. Also to note, the ramp and office building leads the City of Buffalo's 2010-11 Federal Agenda.

So much for your idea that Croce was not going to public money. The reason why Rocco or everyone else could not make the math work was PARKING. Croce has parking locked up already.

A lot of people were upset or concerned that his ramp idea did not have enough development on it. But development for the ramp was never a goal. The goal was to build Croce a ramp for his OTHER PROPERTIES downtown.

So with the money from the parking during the day (city workers/office space on top of the ramp) and money from the parking deck at night (hotel guests and events), Croce takes over the Statler with his new parking deck and works on 20% of the hotel at first with 100% of the event space from the get-go.

It will take time for him to complete the entire Statler but during the whole process he will return a nice profit for his "local partnership" of investors.

Oh...did I forget to mention that Croce has a Boutique Hotel in the works around the corner in the former Curtiss Building? That is going to be a 59 room hotel with event space. That is 1100 feet from door to door between the two hotels.

With that kind of booking power, Croce would essentially control the downtown hotel market in 5-8 years.


Oh...one more thing. If you look at what exists on the west side of Delaware Ave between W. Mohawk and W. Huron...you will see a huge opportunity for Croce.

YELLOW = His hotels
RED = His parking
GREEN = Future Event/Convention Center?????

[300miles]

GREEN = Future Event/Convention Center?????

Have there been any plans floated for that?
I thought that land is owned be several different owners.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

Have there been any plans floated for that?
I thought that land is owned be several different owners.

No plans...just me reading the tea leaves so to speak. The ownership of the North section of this block is a mess. I think there are 4-5 lots owned by 4-5 people.

But if you think about Buffalo...and what it would be really good at in regards to 'conventions'...the small but upscale space is a much better match.

For starters, it would be an easier sell. Not only would it cost less but it would change the competition. Instead of trying to compete massive conventions, you go after the smaller groups that currently max out at hotel spaces. As for the cost, it could be put under the level of a 'silver bullet' which WNY has a bad taste for and it would be easier to get funding.

Even if the COB does it, Croce is so close with the City 'Leadership' he would have an inside track and reap the benefits as if he did.

Hell, even if a new CC/Meeting space is not built...the two hotels he owns are right next door to the current one. No matter what happens...he wins.


I worked for Croce as he built out the Coliseum. I was just staff and he would not even remember me but what I watched was pretty smart. A different developer would have built out every one of those bars from the get go. Marc on the other hand did one at a time. He built enough to make a profit...made enough in profit to build a bit more...rinse and repeat...fast fwd 12 years and here you are.

I mean this was a guy who had nothing but a jewelry store in Amherst 20 years ago. He now is on the verge of being a huge player in downtown Buffalo.

I do not like how is so close to Brown but I love his process of growth. If there were 50-100 people like him...Buffalo would be a much MUCH better place IMO.

[300miles]

ok. that would be nice at that location but with the existing convention center just across the street from it, I don't think the idea would go very far. Especially since they're currently sinking a few million dollars into modernizing the current conv.center.

I've always wondered how difficult it would be for the Statler investors to purchase the L-shaped parking lot on that site right next to the Statler. It could have several floors of parking plus some ground floor retail on the Delaware side. The Huron side would directly face the Statler making it's use ideal.

But since that is never brought up I'm assuming the private owners of the site have no interest in selling.