BUFFALO, N.Y (WKBW) — The Buffalo Grand has stood vacant for a little over four years, and the owner has just days to show he has solid plans to redevelop the site before the city resumes abandonment proceedings.
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan's administration has given owner Harry Stinson until April 29 to prove he has secured financing to revamp the building, which has been closed since December 2021 after a fire.
"This is just one more saga that's been going on for years in Buffalo with ups and downs and twists and turns," Ryan said.
Stinson remained tight-lipped over his progress Monday, but told me he expects to have "good news to announce soon" about the future of the property. He declined to comment further.
WATCH: Deadline looms for Buffalo Grand owner to secure financing
The April deadline was first reported by Buffalo Business First. Speaking earlier this month, the mayor said he is prepared whether Stinson meets the deadline or not.
"If the information we requested and the financing is secured, that's fine. If not, we go forward in another way," Ryan said alluding to the abandonment proceedings.
The city started legal proceedings to claim the building on December 12 under former Buffalo Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon. In October, Scanlon said Stinson owed the city more than $300,000 in unpaid taxes and sewer fees.
The city told me they are working to confirm if those numbers are still accurate.
I did some digging and found Stinson separately owes Erie County more than $80,000 in unpaid taxes. In 2022, Erie County also filed a tax warrant to try to recover more than $43,000 in unpaid hotel occupancy tax also known as "bed tax." That money is still outstanding according to the Erie County Comptroller's Office.
In 2023 Stinson, who lives in Canada, was cited by the Ontario Securities Commission for breaking Ontario securities law while raising money from investors to redevelop the hotel. Stinson and Buffalo Grand were ordered to jointly repay the $13.5 million they raised from investors and pay a $600,000 administrative penalty and $166,000 in costs. Stinson fought that ruling but a tribunal stood by the original order in November 2025.
In a statement, Buffalo Deputy Mayor Thomas Baines said Stinson had so far provided monthly written updates on financing progress after the city mandated him to do so. Baines added: "...to date the City has not received a fully executed financing commitment, which is the key requirement to demonstrate meaningful progress."
Stinson purchased the building in 2018 for $12 million, then promising a huge makeover for the 10 story, 450-plus-room hotel.
An independent market study released in February said downtown Buffalo needs a full-service hotel with at least 400 rooms near the Buffalo Convention Center and found that Buffalo has lost an estimated economic impact of over $57 million over six years due to insufficient hotel capacity.
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