BY NICKI MAYO
B.F. Patel came to Niagara Falls as a tourist in 1996 and fell in love with the historic, but abandoned Niagara Club.
“This place is right on The Falls. There’s a lot of opportunity here,” said Patel.
Patel plans to reopen the Niagara Club in summer 2010 as a hotel, wedding chapel, honeymoon and banquet hall.
“I have at least a 400 person capacity in the banquet facility over here and I want to run a small convention center over here,” Patel added.
There are more than $100 million in revitalization projects underway in downtown Niagara Falls.
“In our given national economy, we’re in a deep recession. So this is just remarkable for a city our size,” said Niagara Falls Economic Development and Planning Director Peter Kay.
The old Winter Garden is under construction on First Street.
Niagara County Community College is also eyeing the Rainbow Place Mall as the new home for its culinary school.
The Niagara Club has a rooftop patio and a picturesque view of the Horseshoe Falls. Patel says it’s a prime piece of real estate because of its proximity to other historical landmarks.
The former United Office Building has become the “The Giacomo.” The structure has been around since the Great Depression. Today, it is home to 38 boutique hotel rooms, office space and 27 upscale apartments. Apartment rent ranges from $1,400 to $5,500 a month. Buffalo-based developer Carl Paladino acquired the building after 12 years of inactivity.
“All the windows were broken out and it was filled with dead birds and bat droppings. It was going to be destroyed,” said The Giacomo General Manager James Oliver.
The Giacomo is one of several revitalization projects geared at drawing more people to downtown Niagara Falls.
“The more the city rebuilds, the more confidence developers have in the place, the more confidence people have in the place,” said Kay.
“This is going to be the crown jewel of Western New York and the Niagara frontier,” added Oliver.
“This place is right on The Falls. There’s a lot of opportunity here,” said Patel.
Patel plans to reopen the Niagara Club in summer 2010 as a hotel, wedding chapel, honeymoon and banquet hall.
“I have at least a 400 person capacity in the banquet facility over here and I want to run a small convention center over here,” Patel added.
There are more than $100 million in revitalization projects underway in downtown Niagara Falls.
“In our given national economy, we’re in a deep recession. So this is just remarkable for a city our size,” said Niagara Falls Economic Development and Planning Director Peter Kay.
The old Winter Garden is under construction on First Street.
Niagara County Community College is also eyeing the Rainbow Place Mall as the new home for its culinary school.
The Niagara Club has a rooftop patio and a picturesque view of the Horseshoe Falls. Patel says it’s a prime piece of real estate because of its proximity to other historical landmarks.
The former United Office Building has become the “The Giacomo.” The structure has been around since the Great Depression. Today, it is home to 38 boutique hotel rooms, office space and 27 upscale apartments. Apartment rent ranges from $1,400 to $5,500 a month. Buffalo-based developer Carl Paladino acquired the building after 12 years of inactivity.
“All the windows were broken out and it was filled with dead birds and bat droppings. It was going to be destroyed,” said The Giacomo General Manager James Oliver.
The Giacomo is one of several revitalization projects geared at drawing more people to downtown Niagara Falls.
“The more the city rebuilds, the more confidence developers have in the place, the more confidence people have in the place,” said Kay.
“This is going to be the crown jewel of Western New York and the Niagara frontier,” added Oliver.
