Hyatt Regency unveils results of $15 million in upgrades
Manager says site poised to be top hotel
The completion of a major overhaul of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Buffalo, unveiled Thursday, will soon be followed by a makeover of the neighboring convention center.
A ribbon cutting at the Hyatt wrapped up the $15 million renovation that includes 395 remodeled rooms, updated meeting places, restaurants and a health club.
The Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, directly across Pearl Street from the hotel, is about to undergo its largest refurbishment since it opened in 1978, a $ 5 million project that includes new lighting, sound systems, wall coverings, concession areas, updated kitchen space and a working outdoor marquee.
The center’s main exhibit floor will see the bulk of the new improvements. Facility Director Paul Murphy said the redone floor and new ceiling tiles will help the space feel more like a hotel ballroom.
“It’s difficult to compete with a 30- year-old space that looks like an old airport hangar,” Murphy said.
The improvements follow about $7 million in physical plant updates to the center from 2002 to 2006. The project is scheduled to be completed next summer during a lull in conventions, Murphy said, and should boost the center’s marketability.
“This is stuff customers will be able to see, touch and feel and we’ll be able to sell,” he said.
Michael Marsch, general manager of the Hyatt, said the renovations at each spot poise the Hyatt to become downtown’s top hotel, and will boost the convention center’s competitiveness.
“We are confident that a world class Hyatt hotel attached to a world class convention center will provide a great foundation for future success,” Marsch said.
County Executive Chris Collins said the funding for the convention center project came from the county’s capital fund. The Hyatt project was in part financed by $5.1 million in state grants and $ 1.1 million in tax breaks from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.
The Hyatt has long struggled to turn a profit since first opening in 1984. But Collins said he sees the hotel as a vital piece of downtown’s infrastructure, and key to its future. “It’s absolutely an appropriate use of tax funds,” Collins said.
He said tax breaks and incentives are necessary in the nation’s third poorest city to attract and maintain economic development, and foresees the hotel turning a profit in the years to come.
“People who suggest this is not appropriate don’t understand how the economics work,” he said.
Rodahl Leong-Lyons, vice president of North America sales operations, said the renovations and the E. B. Green-designed hotel put the facility on the map within the Hyatt chain.
“You will rival any convention destination in our country,” she said.
The end of the makeover coincides with the 25th anniversary of the hotel. Last month, Preservation Buffalo Niagara gave the hotel’s developer, Paul L. Snyder, an award honoring him for his successful efforts to refurbish the now 86-year-old Genesee Building into a hotel.
Snyder said the hotel, the last to be commissioned by Hyatt’s founder, A. N. Pritzker, had problems from the start in the 1980s, when the construction of the light rail system and pedestrian mall on Main Street deeply cut into business. While Snyder acknowledged that the hotel has struggled, he said he is confident he will finally see a return on his investment, especially once the convention center is renovated.
“We really believe we have a good future as long as we’re operating a profitable hotel,” he said.
Snyder’s son, Paul L. Snyder III, CEO of Snyder Corp., said the hotel plays a key role in the city’s economic health. “This part of downtown owes itself to this project,” he said.
Keeping the hotel up to date is essential to keeping it viable, he said.
“You can do development and preserve a city’s legacy at the same time,” he said. “And this hotel is testament to that.”
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