City of Buffalo takes another step toward acquiring Buffalo Grand Hotel

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The City of Buffalo has taken yet another step toward acquiring the Buffalo Grand Hotel, which has sat vacant since a fire in late 2021.

In June 2025, the city initiated the process to take ownership of the hotel, which is the largest in Downtown Buffalo. Then, in October 2025, city officials announced plans to file an abandonment proceeding in court.

"There have been no permits filed, no serious action taken place on the part of the owner," Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon said in October. "It's a public safety drain on our police resources. There's a clear pattern of neglect."

Now, the city has filed a notice of intent to commence abandonment proceedings in New York State Supreme Court.

In its court filing, the city says the property is abandoned by reason of the following:

1. The property is vacant, unsealed, and not continuously guarded as required by law, and/or it was sealed or guarded by a person other than the owner, a mortgagee, lienor or agent thereof, and either of the following facts exists:
2. A vacate order of Buffalo City Court currently prohibits occupancy of the property, and
3. The tax on the property has been due and unpaid for at least one year, and
4. The property has had a zoning, building, or property maintenance code violation that has the potential to injure or endanger the health and safety of others or to unreasonably annoy others and that has been continuously outstanding and not remediated for at least one year, and
5. A certification of abandonment, which gave notice that the property has been found to be abandoned and that it is a crime to take, remove or otherwise damage any fixture or part of the property or any building or structure thereon, has been affixed to the property in a prominent and conspicuous location and filed with the undersigned.

We spoke to Harry Stinson, the hotel's owner, in October, who said at the time that they were working on getting the financing and that they were very close. He also said that his objective was still to get the hotel open.

"We have never abandoned the building, we will never abandon the building," Stinson said in October.