As of March 15, 2011, the Statler Towers have finally changed hands! Mark Croce completed the purchase of the property through his business, Statler City LLC, late in the afternoon on Wednesday. The purchase price was approximately $700,000 – $200,000 of which went toward the purchase of the building and $500,000 went to pay off the back taxes that were owed against the building.
In a small ceremony on the ground floor of the building, the bankruptcy clerk Morris Horwitz signed the deed and handed it to Erie County Clerk Cathy Hochul. Croce is currently working on a comprehensive building renovation plan, to be completed in phases, to bring the building back to life. The property has been sitting vacant since January 2010. Croce is asking for $5.3 million in public funds to complete the immediate emergency stabalization work that needs to be completed. These repairs include fixing the leaking roofs, as well as beginning to stabalize masonry which is crumbling.
Croce’s redevelopment plan calls to immediately get the grand ballrooms and some office space up and running as soon as October, and will then redevelop the remainder of the 18 story building as office and residential space, as the market dictates.
A Buffalo church may be redeveloped to residential use! Ellicott Development Company has the church at 187 N Pearl St under contract, with plans to convert the building in to residential housing. The church was built around 1899, and is filled with beautiful stained glass windows and ornate architecture. This isn’t Ellicott Development’s first round at the rodeo – they have already purchased the Our Lady of Lourdes church at 1115 Main St for redevelopment. 
