[Midtown Urbanist]

And it only got worse for Stinson. Ontario securities regulators accused him of improperly soliciting more than $19 million from Canadian investors for an aborted condo conversion project at the Buffalo hotel – and then using the money for other projects. Stinson disputes those charges.

This explains the perpetual delays at Beasley Park Lofts lol

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Kind of incredible how this 12 year old thread is still going on (and that the subject actual predate the start date by a decade).

AoD

 

[innsertnamehere]

This explains the perpetual delays at Beasley Park Lofts lol

the project, which 4 years after starting sales, has yet to submit a single development application? Lol. I feel bad for those purchasers, every few months you see a post on reddit or somewhere asking about what will happen to them as purchasers and if they will get their $200,000, 600sf unit they put a deposit down for 4 years ago.. Sorry buddy, you got swindled.

 

[AlbertC]

The Stinson saga continues, article from a couple weeks ago:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/harry-stinson-ontario-securities-law-update-1.6828142

 

[christiesplits]

99% sure I spotted Stinson in Downtown Hamilton last weekend.

 

[Towered]

99% sure I spotted Stinson in Downtown Hamilton last weekend.

A walking cadaver is hard to miss!

 

[AlbertC]

Buffalo Grand Hotel owner wants to reopen rooms by year's end

Harry Stinson is hoping to reopen the hotel later this year after cleaning up a lot of the fire damage in the 486-room hotel portion of the complex.

www.wgrz.com

Buffalo Grand Hotel owner wants to reopen rooms by year's end​

Sept 28, 2023

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Grand Hotel in the center of downtown Buffalo hasn't seen much activity since the city fire department says it was struck by an arsonist in December of 2021.

That caused millions of dollars in damage. And apparently the investigation, which involved Buffalo Fire investigators and the Federal ATF, remains open with no suspect or any arrest reported to the media.

Harry Stinson, the hotel's owner, is still hoping to reopen the hotel later this year after cleaning up a lot of the fire damage in the 486-room hotel portion of the complex.

He said right now lawyers are working on a reported $50 million insurance settlement.

"Everything hinges on the Traveler's (Insurance) settlement . Yes," he said.

Reporter: Where is that?

Stinson: "Well, my lawyers would say 'don't say anything.' But we are continuing negotiations with them now. We are at a point where they're focusing on the details of the claim in terms of the numbers. I think they've given up. I hope they've given up on saying, 'Well, you could have started the fire,' which I certainly didn't."

And if they can get it, Stinson feels they can really move forward with that reopening goal.

"The rooms are useable. A lot of dusting and cleaning, yes, but the rooms are useable itself. The main damage to actual space was within the events center on the third floor. But unfortunately right underneath where the fire occurred was the main boiler, the main chiller, the electrical banks."

 

[AlbertC]

Renovation of former Buffalo Wonder Bread factory on hold, but Stinson still has big plans

Eventually, Stinson plans to spend $20 million or more to turn the building into office space for startup companies.

www.wgrz.com

Renovation of former Buffalo Wonder Bread factory on hold, but Stinson still has big plans​

Oct 10, 2023

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Developer Harry Stinson has put plans to renovate Buffalo's former Wonder Bread factory on the back burner due to a prolonged dispute over another property, but he said he hopes to get to work as soon as possible.

"Right now it's sort of on pause, because I'm pretty preoccupied with the hotel fight," said Stinson, who owns the former Buffalo Grand Hotel at 120 Church St.

The hotel has been closed since a 2021 fire, and Stinson has spent much of the last two years trying to resolve a $50.1 million insurance claim with Travelers Insurance Co.

Meanwhile, work on the 198,600-square-foot Wonder Bread has been limited to securing the site and removing an underground gas tank that was once used by delivery drivers. Stinson said steps have been taken to prevent trespassing, which had been rampant.

Read more of this from our partners Buffalo Business First.

 

[Northern Light]

Renovation of former Buffalo Wonder Bread factory on hold, but Stinson still has big plans

Eventually, Stinson plans to spend $20 million or more to turn the building into office space for startup companies.

www.wgrz.com

Renovation of former Buffalo Wonder Bread factory on hold, but Stinson still has big plans​

Oct 10, 2023



View attachment 515196

Harry was never short of plans..............that was never his problem......its the next part where he usually stalls.

 

[AlbertC]

Tribunal hits Hamilton developer Harry Stinson with hefty sanctions over Buffalo hotel project

Tribunal orders repayment of more than $13 million in investors’ funds for Buffalo hotel project

www.thespec.com

Tribunal hits Hamilton developer Harry Stinson with hefty sanctions over Buffalo hotel project​

December 27, 2023

Hamilton developer Harry Stinson has been fined $600,000 and ordered to pay back more than $13 million collected from investors for a Buffalo hotel redevelopment project after a tribunal ruled he broke Ontario securities law.

But Stinson, who argues the sanctions are heavy-handed, says he'll challenge the Capital Markets Tribunal decision in court and vows to press forward with the project and others in Hamilton.

In Hamilton, he has planned for several years the redevelopment of the Cannon Knitting Mills into the Beasley Park Lofts and the conversion of the old Gibson school on Barton Street East into condos.

“It’s not over and I have no intention of stopping or giving up on any of them,” he told The Spectator.

Stinson bought the historic Buffalo Grand Hotel in 2018 for about $17 million, but his plans were delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, in 2021, a fire caused millions in damage.

The tribunal, which is a branch of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), determined that Stinson and his companies broke Ontario securities law while soliciting funds from investors for the hotel redevelopment project.

In particular, they didn't file a prospectus — which outlines information for investors — when they sold the securities, a Dec. 15 written ruling asserted.

-------------
Sales for smaller-sized office spaces in the sprawling former industrial complex at Cannon and Mary streets have been brisk, and interest in full-sized classroom units at the old Gibson school at Barton just west of Sherman Avenue North are greater than anticipated, Stinson notes.

But eight years ago, when the school lofts were approved, prices in Hamilton didn't make it “economically viable,” which was also the case for the Beasley redevelopment, he says.

That's changed, despite a market slowdown that's halted major projects, such as the Hamilton City Centre redevelopment downtown, in their tracks, he acknowledges.
“These two projects, I think they’re the last ones,” said Stinson, who is known for converting another old school in the lower city — also named Stinson — into condos in 2013. “I'm just worn out.”

 

[JasonParis]

He'll show up in Syracuse next.

 

[PinkLucy]

I always get a chuckle when this thread gets some action.

 

[Jacory]

First time hearing about Stinson, glad to know this person isn't dead.

 

[AlbertC]

Insurance payout saves Buffalo Grand from foreclosure​

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Grand Hotel owner Harry Stinson has narrowly avoided a foreclosure on the downtown hotel, thanks to a long-awaited insurance settlement, and the hotel could reopen to guests by year's end.

Closed since an early morning fire on Dec. 30, 2021, the hotel was slated for the auction block after being sued last summer by mortgage holder WNY Lodging LLC, an affiliate of Corning-based Visions Hotels Inc. Visions Hotels had operated the former Adam’s Mark Hotel until it was sold for $12 million to Stinson in 2018 and converted to the Buffalo Grand.

According to the foreclosure complaint and subsequent decisions filed in recent months in Erie County Supreme Court, Judge Emilio Colaiacovo in November 2023 appointed a receiver and referee to handle a foreclosure sale of the entire property at 120 Church St. As of April 1, Stinson’s Buffalo Grand Hotel Inc. owed the mortgage holder $20.4 million, the documents show.

Insurance payout saves Buffalo Grand from foreclosure

Buffalo Grand Hotel owner Harry Stinson has narrowly avoided a foreclosure on the downtown hotel, thanks to a long-awaited insurance settlement.

www.wgrz.com

'We're at a turning point': Owner of Buffalo Grand Hotel pushing ahead with plans to reopen​

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Harry Stinson, the owner of The Buffalo Grand Hotel, said he intends to finish what he started after receiving an insurance settlement for his fire-ravaged property.

As first reported by Buffalo Business First, Stinson confirmed that he was able to fight off foreclosure on his downtown hotel after recently receiving an insurance claim for a fire at the property in late 2021.

The Buffalo Grand Hotel has been closed since the fire, which was ruled as arson, and caused $50 million in damages. Stinson said he remains confident that he will be able to reopen the hotel and event center.

"We didn't win the Powerball lottery here," Stinson told me during a phone interview Friday afternoon. "We settled the insurance. We have a lot of work to do, but we will see it through."

According to Buffalo Business First, Stinson owed WNY Lodging LLC $20.4 million but worked out a deal with the mortgage holder to avoid foreclosure.

Stinson told me he couldn't share the details of the insurance settlement or the deal with WNY Lodging LLC calling them "confidential" but said he is now focused on "reviving the hotel."

"It needs an awful lot of work for sure, but it's not a wasteland and this is a prime site and this is a large piece of real estate," said Stinson.

Stinson said he will now begin the process of assessing the work that needs to be done, and will then focus his attention on getting the Buffalo Grand's more than 400 hotel rooms back online as soon as possible.

"I would say in the next 12 months for sure," said Stinson. "Obviously I'm going to be a little more optimistic than that."

When asked if he thought reopening the hotel within the next 12 months was realistic Stinson replied, "Well, just watch me."

'We're at a turning point': Owner of Buffalo Grand Hotel pushing ahead with plans to reopen

Harry Stinson, the owner of The Buffalo Grand Hotel, said he intends to finish what he started after receiving an insurance settlement for his fire-ravaged property.

www.wkbw.com