Hamburg, N.Y. (WBEN) - Gov. Kathy Hochul says she is "so frustrated" with the stalled Heritage Point project in downtown Buffalo's Canalside District and she wishes there was a legal way for the state to find a new developer for the apartment-anchored development.
"I live down there, I ride my bike by there, I walk by there," Hochul said. "I know what the frustration is."
Hochul has a Buffalo Waterfront Village condo.
But Hochul is not alone.
Developer Nick Sinatra, whose company Sinatra & Co. was named designated developer for the site - located at Main Street and Marine Drive - in 2018, said he, too, is frustrated at the time it is taking to secure the financing for his $45 million signature project.
"Nobody wants to get this going as much as I do," Sinatra said. "We share everyone's frustration."
Hochul said because there were no clawback provisions added in the initial contract with Sinatra & Co., the state is limited in its powers to take control of Heritage Point and seek a new developer.
"Our hands are tied," Hochul said.
Hochul is the latest - and the most powerful - of leaders to question why little visible work has taken place at the construction site for more than two years.
For the better part of the past 18 months, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has raised questions about the project and pushed for the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. - a state agency where Poloncarz is an ex officio member - to find a new developer.
Sinatra countered he is working on securing the final financing package for the $45 million, apartment-anchored project. Negative talk about the project has delayed some of that financing, the developer said.
Still, Hochul wonders about the delays.
"I thought all the notes were signed," Hochul said.
Sinatra said he has invested more than $14 million in the project.
"And, I intend to invest a lot more," Sinatra said.
Heritage Point will be anchored by 64 apartments along with some commercial and retail space. It neighbors the Explore & More - The Ralph C, Wilson Jr. - Children's Museum and also overlooks the Ice @ Canalside.
The project is one of three residential-anchored developments within, or adjacent to the Canalside footprint. The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority is in the early stages of its Marine Drive Apartments renovations and reconstruction and a development team led by Philadelphia-based Pennrose Corp. hopes to start work this year on its North Aud block project.
Sinatra said once he secures his financing package, Heritage Point can be completed with 12 months to 14 months. Some of the steel frame has already been installed and other site and prep work has started.
"When it is done, it will be the gem that it was always meant to be," Sinatra said. "Believe me, I am still a believer in Canalside."