Hope for Main Street

Things are going to be different this time on Main Street in Niagara Falls. At least if the Restaino Administration, the Niagara Orleans Land Improvement Corporation and Empire State Development have anything to say about it.

At a Wednesday press conference in the shadow of the Jenss Building, stakeholders announced the first four projects for the long-neglected Bridge District.

Three of the four developers are known entities or at least affiliated with people who have completed successful projects in Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

Develop Niagara, Inc., which will take over a vacant lot at 717 Division St. and a historic house at 723 Division St. The developers are committed to convert the properties into short-term rentals. Victoria Skrlin, of Heritage Real Estate is the daughter of Tamara Skrlin, who has renovated properties along Buffalo Avenue near downtown for similar use.

Niagara National Heritage Area (NFNHA Holdings, LLC), a cultural association, will create an artisan market and antique fair with artist space in a historic former church at 1509 Main St. The Heritage area is the only entity to accomplish anything along the decrepit stretch of the once-bustling Main Street in the last two decades, creating not only numerous murals but making the Jenss Building a work of art.

The Heritage area, through its public art initiative, paid $25,000 to a contractor to remove the paint from the building’s windows. Once they were clean, 136 windows were decorated with art by Polly King, whose son Don was there Wednesday for the press conference.

The crown jewel of the strip, the Jenss Building, will transfer to 1708 Main St. LLC, a team led by architect James Baptiste and Jason Yots and will become 30 market-rate apartments. Yots, who is principal of Common Bond Real Estate, is a realtor, lawyer and developer associated with Preservation Studios LLC where his father, a fixture in Niagara Falls for decades and the original renovator of the Marshall House, still works regularly.

The younger Yots is at the core of successful recent Buffalo projects like the former Record Theatre Building (now Monroe) as well as the Barcalo Development in Buffalo’s Old First Ward.

RJ Niagara, LLC was designated to take over 2109 Main St., a former bar and nightclub, converting it into six apartments and a commercial space. Details on this entity are not known by the Express but it will be a surprise if it is an unknown entity.

This was only 4 of 38 properties the city announced it was acquiring through foreclosure in March, 37 former Blue Cardinal properties and the Rapids Theatre.

Niagara Falls Director of Planning Kevin Forma said the student housing plans for Niagara University remain on the drawing board. Current plans are for new construction with the demolition of the Nunn and Bush building at Main and Cleveland.

The idea behind that new housing is to give NU students a place to live when the new ordinance restricting residential use in the DeVeaux neighborhood is implemented. It has now been delayed twice.

In retrospect, it all looks positive even as residents, who remember the glory days, still feel a sense of trauma over the carcass of a once-great business district and broken promises from big dreamers.

Gone are the days when shaky outfits with shallow pockets like Richard Hastings of Hastings Real Estate or Bob Richardson of Blue Cardinal Development or John Hutchins, formerly of the Rapids Theatre ruled the day with grandiose plans that were underfunded.

Blue Cardinal never achieved anything. Neither did Hastings.

Hutchins renovated the theatre but then deferred maintenance. NORLIC has fixed 15 roof leaks since the city took ownership through its Niagara Falls Development Corporation. Forma said there have been at least four credible parties interested in the historic theatre.

Hutchins sold everything he could from the theater when he still had access and knew foreclosure was imminent, from chairs and tables to office equipment. Even the sound equipment and lights disappeared under uncertain circumstances.

He reportedly accepted a plea deal recently and agreed to a 10-year sentence in federal prison. Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 29.

When the theatre hosted shows in recent years, it was all cash business and the place never seemed to warm up.

Hutchins is like that rich entitled uncle, born on third base thinking he hit a triple, happy to succeed in business if that means cheating you and always the government.

He defrauded the federal government of money by overstating revenue and expenses for his theater, charges also faced by his bookkeeper. The most recent discussions over his case included agreeing to a guilty plea but allowing Roberto Soliman, his bookkeeper, to take the fall and eventually be deported to Egypt.

Hastings wanted better and cared

Hastings at least let Niagara University use the Jenss building to clean and sanitize more than a million pairs of Cave of the Winds single-use slippers which could be recycled and sent to third-world countries under the direction of NUs Dave Taylor. When Blue Cardinal took over, that ended.

50,000 slippers were left behind and loaded into dumpsters out front over the last few months.

From the start, it was only the most optimistic who believed in Blue Cardinal’s plans. Without big money investors, they were unrealistic.

The four projects are expected to take at least two years to complete. Work completed so far, since the city took over, includes dumpster after dumpster of cleanouts and structural analysis.