Tall & Urban News

A long-stalled hotel build is set to become a landmark skyscraper overlooking one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

The Niagara Falls City Council recently approved an application to pick up a never-completed hotel project and re-fashion it into a mixed-use building.

The estimated CA$400-million (US$301-million) project is billed for land on Stanley Avenue, zoned as tourist-commercial, and will use the start of an unfinished building as the groundwork for the statuesque tower.

The project, currently being referred to as 6609 Stanley, will rise 72 stories, with 456 hotel rooms and 275 residential units.

“This development will add an iconic and architecturally stunning building that contributes to a modern urban center and world-class destination,” said David Falletta of Bousfields Inc., planning consultant for the project.

Nominee Inc. Construction will pick up where it started more than 15 years ago on a city-approved, 30-story Crowne Plaza Hotel with underground parking.

In explaining the revisitation of the abandoned project, Falletta said, “City Council approved a developer’s application on the site of a build that was stopped before the 2008 recession when tourism suffered after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Previous ownership could not secure financing backing because of it, and held onto the property. Then the old owners teamed up with new international investors.”

Alex Herlovich, director of planning, building, and development for Niagara Falls said, “It was purely a hotel with underground parking and all typical amenities of a four-star hotel.”

Of the approved structure, Niagara Falls City Councilor Wayne Thomson said, “It will be a five-star hotel and one of the tallest buildings in Canada. As of now, there is no five-star hotel in Niagara. It will be a hotel and private condo mixture, very unique.”

Thomson is confident the new hotel will improve the city’s current 60 percent annual hotel occupancy rate.

The new hotel will eclipse the 58-story Hilton Fallsview Hotel that went through a site-specific official plan and zoning amendment as well as the proposed Loretto Convent site opposite the Scotiabank Convention Centre, where there are three unbuilt towers approved from about 35 to 55 stories.

There are also plans in place for two towers of 60 and 61 stories on River Road between the Rainbow Bridge and John Street.

According to Falletta, the venture is projected to generate approximately 500 new full-time jobs, a few hundred construction jobs, up to CA$13 million (US$9.9 million) in development charges, almost CA$3 million (US$2.3 million) in Section 37 fees for local community projects, and an estimated CA$5 million (US$3.8 million) in new property taxes, all of which will boost the local economy.

He also said to expect the skyscraper to include several commercial amenities, entertainment facilities such as restaurants, a potential nightclub, and a skybridge.

The contractor has not yet been named and the owners have not confirmed if there will be a bidding process for the build, but it’s expected to start soon.

“Once there is a site plan, they could start building at any time,” said Thomson. “You’ll see this move along very quickly, as that is the developer’s intention. They hope for completion in one and a half to two years.”

Janice Thomson, president, and CEO of Niagara Falls Tourism is optimistic about the build.

“Development on this scale opens up new markets and provides expanded capacity in the core of Niagara Falls to help compete globally with other destinations that offer such amenities,” she said. “It’s all good for the local economy and the visitors when underutilized properties are finally being advanced, as was the case with this location, which was stalled more than 15 years,” she said.

“The mixed-use approach, of both hotel rooms and residential units for this development, will prove strategically beneficial at times and seasons when visitation is not at its peak,” she added.

For more on this story, go to Daily Commercial News.