By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – The Statler Towers sold to the highest bidder in a bankruptcy auction Wednesday morning for $1.3 million.
Bill Koessler, owner of Park Lane Catering, submitted the bid during the public auction. Koessler bid on the property along with Richard Sterben, a local real estate developer and Tom Zawadzki, a local mortgage broker. They outbid one other bidder.
The auction drew a large crowd of on-lookers inside the Statler lobby, but only Koessler and other person ending up in the bidding process. The bids for started at $400,000. Auctioneer Cash Cunningham conducting the bidding process. Each bidder was required to pre-register and submit a $100,000 deposit that was refundable in order to participate in the public auction.
The Statler was owned by Bashar Issa and operated by his company BSC Development of Buffalo, but the company filed for bankruptcy last April. Issa had purchased the Statler in 2006.
The $1.3 million bid for the Statler must still be approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy court in Buffalo on August 18th. WBFO News asked Koessler how he felt after he won the bid. He said he "feels" great", but would not answer any other questions from reporters. However, Sterben, who is part of the investment group, says they plan to spend $100 million to renovate the historic building.
Sterben says it will be a mixed use building with a hotel, office, retail and restaurants. The grand ballroom would also be preserved.
As for when work will begin, Sterben says they should begin construction within the first six months of this year.
"Hopefully starting in September, we will start doing asbestos removal. Then once removal, yuor be shovel ready you start the hotel," said Sterben. Sterben says the hotel could open in about 24 months from now. He says three hotels are interested in setting up at the Statler.
The Statler investors are eligible for historic state tax credits.
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You can click the audio player above to hear Cash Cunningham conduct Wednesday's Statler auction now or use your podcasting software to download it to your computer or iPod.