Harry Stinson will be the first to tell you that re-opening the Buffalo Grand has nothing short of a Herculean development effort. However, Stinson remains determined to see the 486-room hotel welcoming back overnight guests by this summer.
Stinson said he will be investing $10 million just to renovate and re-open the hotel rooms, some of which suffered smoke and water damage in the 2021 fire.
For the first time in nearly a decade when the hotel opens this summer, it will have a national flag, in this case, the region’s first Radisson-branded hotel. The Radisson brand left the region more than 10 years ago.
“Our objective is to have the building open Summer of 2025 with a Radisson hotel brand on the building,” Stinson said.
The reopening of the hotel would be a huge boost for Visit Buffalo Niagara’s efforts to bring more conventions and special events to the core of downtown Buffalo.
It would increase the downtown hotel inventory by more than 25%, going from 1,912 hotel rooms to 2,398 rooms. That alone would open the door for VBN to go after at least another 400 conventions and special events that collectively could bring in more than $306 million in new dollars to the city and region.
Stinson said his reopening plans include bringing the hotel rooms online first.
“The first priority is to get the guest rooms, the 486 guest rooms open, and that will be the first phase of the opening,” Stinson said.
Staying with the hotel option was Stinson’s best choice for the Buffalo Grand.
“You just have to somehow steer through,” Stinson said. “And in this case, it still is the best approach”
Stinson hopes to have all 3 phases of the hotel’s reopening completed by late 2025.
