Dec. 06–LOCKPORT — The consultant hired to determine the market demand for a hotel in Lockport believes that a 100- to 150-room hotel on the site of the former Dussault Foundry could succeed, the city’s development chief says.
There also could be room for a smaller “boutique” hotel, perhaps at 57 Canal St., Planning and Development Director R. Charles Bell said.
The word came as the state announced two grants to the city, totaling $380,000, with more than half of the money aimed at developing small hospitality and lodging businesses in Lockport.
The Dussault site at the northern end of Washburn Street, a vacant former industrial brownfield, is a block east of Cornerstone Arena, the city’s new two-rink ice complex.
The $14 million arena was built by a private, not-for-profit group this year with the expectation that it would prove to be a magnet for steady numbers of youth hockey players and their parents attending games and tournaments, including many out-of-towners needing a place to stay.
In October, the city’s development agency, the Greater Lockport Development Corp., hired Interim Hospitality Consultants of Tallahassee, Fla., to perform a feasibility study whose conclusions could be pitched to hotel developers.
Interim Hospitality was hired jointly with the Lumber City Development Corp. of North Tonawanda to study the chances of a successful hotel in that city. Each city agreed to pay the company $4,500 plus expenses.
Bell said Interim’s president, Edward L. Xanders, has made three visits to Lockport and reached the conclusion that there is enough demand to make a downtown hotel a good bet.
Although several sites were considered, “one of the ones that drew his attention was the Dussault site for something a little bigger, 100 to 150 rooms,” Bell told the GLDC board this week.
Lockport has three commercial lodgings, all on South Transit Street a mile or more from downtown — a Best Western, a Comfort Inn, and the independent Lockport Inn and Suites.
Bell said the study’s tentative conclusions include the verdict that a boutique hotel might work at 57 Canal St., currently a three-story building partially occupied by the Trek Inc. research and development department. The refurbished 19th-century building overlooks the Erie Canal locks.
However, Bell said one or two stories might have to be added to the building to reach what he called “the 40-room sweet spot” to interest the boutique brands of the major hotel chains.
Corporation Counsel John J. Ottaviano said the city might need to determine whether there might be any repercussions to such a move, since the building and two others on Canal Street were renovated in part with government historic preservation grants.
Bell said the state Historic Preservation Office already has been called about the addition. “Early indications are it won’t be a problem, that we could do it in a way they’d be happy with,” Bell said.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office announced this week that Lockport won $380,000 through the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council. The two grants are aimed at the city’s microenterprise program that helps very small or start-up businesses.
There is a $180,000 grant specifically targeting small hospitality or service businesses. That grant is meant to bolster 12 companies and create about 15 full-time jobs.
“There is a need for additional lodging within the city. Now we’re getting experts confirming that,” Bell said. “We want to incentivize any lodging options and/or conversions of existing residences into hospitality options. This is our opportunity to get out in front of that and have a real diversity in housing.”
The other grant is $200,000 for another 12 microenterprises in downtown Lockport, aimed at creating 22 jobs. Bell said the city had a similar grant three years ago through the Lockport Main Street program. “We had tremendous demand from both start-ups and existing businesses at that time,” he said.
email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
