AM&As paperwork filed in City Hall; $50M project planned

[WNYresident]

AM&As paperwork filed in City Hall; $50M project planned

The redevelopment of the long-vacant former Adam Meldrum & Anderson Co. flagship department store has reached another milestone as key pieces of paperwork have been filed in Buffalo City Hall.

The paperwork offers a clearer picture of what the future of the 10-story, 310,000-square-foot building holds.

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/n...oject.html?ana


This is good news

[grump]

It's funny...I was just commenting to my wife the other day that this area has become a hotbed of Chinese tourism. They never go to NYC or Toronto and they obviously prefer Buffalo as a destination.

[300miles]

This project seems ... odd.

[WNYresident]

Engineer submits plans for renovation of AM&A building to Buffalo Planning Board

The long-vacant Adam Meldrum & Anderson Co. department store building in downtown Buffalo will see eight floors of hotel rooms, two restaurants and a lobby, all geared primarily toward Chinese tour groups from New York City, under plans submitted Wednesday to the Buffalo Planning Board for approval.

http://www.buffalonews.com/business/...board-20150311

[nickelcityhomes]

An upscale Chinese restaurant and spa are proposed for the first floor and basement levels.

Maybe there is a happy ending for this building after all.

[4248]

Maybe there is a happy ending for this building after all.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

This project seems ... odd.

Agree. $50M does not seem nearly enough to redo this complex of structures....correctly.

That said, if they can drain the basements and clear the asbestos....I really don't care if this project pans out or not. Those two items would add so much value and potential to the complex.

Been reading this is all about green cards.

[300miles]

Been reading this is all about green cards.

Any details on that? This project isn't very transparent. I think most investors/developers would have more to share, and would have more conventional plans. With this new owner, I would not be surprised to hear that there are other agendas involved.

[leftWNYbecauseofBS]

Any details on that? This project isn't very transparent. I think most investors/developers would have more to share, and would have more conventional plans. With this new owner, I would not be surprised to hear that there are other agendas involved.

It's called the EB-5 program.

Here is a write up from the LA Times. And one from the Washington Post. More from IMMIHelp.

EB-5 awards visas to immigrants who invest $500,000 to $1 million in a U.S. business. Applicants who can prove that their investment has created at least 10 jobs get permanent green cards.

For the AM&As project, Robert Biniszkiewicz who I know you know from BRO and a guy who knows his stuff posted on the Buffalo News Comments to this post:

Driving this is investment money from Chinese seeking green cards in exchange for jobs created and investments committed here. So in part the economic solvency of this development may be secondary to the individual investors' goals of getting through an open immigration door into the USA. Yes, I'm sure the investors would like a positive return on their cash, but maybe the rate of return isn't the biggest draw for them.

As to the pool of Chinese (specifically) and Asian tourists (generally): Their populations dwarf ours. As they industrialize their economies and become relatively wealthy, they will travel the world, just like us. And for them, we are an exotic location (the Falls) not far from NYC (a world class draw). We should be planning for many more Asians and especially Chinese to come to America sight seeing. And we should get on that bandwagon now, because in the future that tourist segment will only snowball (to coin a phrase).

BRO also mentions it in this post.

From the Post:

The program requires foreigners to invest $1 million, unless a project is in a rural area or a place with a particularly high unemployment rate, where the required investment is $500,000. The vast majority of visas issued are for the lower amount.

Someone also commented (so weight it as such but it makes sense) that Chinese nationals are looking to invest in the US simply as a way to protect their money. $50M invested in this project is $50M that can not be seized by the Chinese government.

While Buffalo has a small Chinese population, Toronto is like 11% and NYC is pretty close as well. My assumption is that is close enough for comfort for people settling in the area. Especially when you can cross the border without issue due to the program.