Statler may soon have new owner and future
Hotel would come to old building
A regional investment group, which includes partners in Buffalo, Toronto and Erie, Pa., could seal a deal to buy the historic Statler Towers by week’s end.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said Erie-based hospitality group Scott Enterprises and Toronto entrepreneur Howard Hurst are in final negotiations to acquire the high-profile property from cash-strapped British developer Bashar Issa.
The sources, who requested anonymity, said the deal would see Hurst and unidentified local investors funding the acquisition, with Scott providing hands-on expertise to locate a hotel in the once-grand hotel building, which is now operated as an office building.
Issa, who in April halted a $100 million renovation of the storied property, had filed an application with the Wyndham Hotel Group to locate a 364- room, luxury Wyndham Historic Properties hotel on 12 floors of the 18-story building.
The current deal, which has been under discussion since early summer, puts Scott in the role of developing a mid-range, extended-stay hotel on several floors of the building, possibly a Marriot Residence Inn.
Scott, which is best known to Buffalo area residents for its Splash Lagoon Indoor Waterpark Resort in Erie, is developing a Staybridge Suites hotel and a Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant, both on Transit Road in Clarence. The family-run business controls more than a dozen hotels and restaurants in Erie.
Hurst, who has real estate and media holdings in Toronto, met with Issa in London in late July to discuss the buyout. The Canadian businessman, who served as an advisor to Buffalo’s Savarino Cos. when it considered buying the 85-year-old Statler building back in 2005, is very familiar with the realities of bringing the landmark back to life.
“This is going to happen soon, or not at all. This group has done its homework and wants makes its move,” said one of the sources familiar with the mechanics of the deal.
The source characterized the deal to be “in Bashar’s hands” at this point.
He also said a potential blow to the buyout effort could be a move by Issa’s father to call a $3.8 million loan he made to his son to fund the 2006 $3 million cash purchase of the Statler, and provide seed money to kick off an extensive renovation effort.
Scott executives and Issa did not return reporter phone calls Monday. Hurst could not be reached to comment.
Mayor Byron W. Brown’s spokesman Peter Cutler said while the would-be buyers have not contacted City Hall to discuss plans, the possibility of a deal is encouraging.
“The mayor has made it clear that this is a prime development opportunity and we hope there is a bona fide proposal made soon for the Statler,” Cutler said.
Word of the potential deal comes as Issa’s financial problems deepen in Manchester, England, where his company’s three main projects are in the British equivalent of bankruptcy. His only finished project, Sarah Tower, a residential building, is up for sale to cover some $14 million owed to the Bank of Ireland.
