BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Developer Douglas Jemal plans to close on the Hyatt Regency hotel "soon" and says the hotel could open in the fall.
Jemal announced in November 2020 he was in the process of buying the Hyatt, one of the largest hotels in Downtown Buffalo. The 396-room hotel and conference center closed in April 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The developer, who already owns Seneca One Tower and the Statler City complex, says he has been going through the foreclosure process in court. His next foreclosure motion in front of NYS Supreme Court is set for July 23. Jemal expects the foreclosure sale to officially happen at the end of August and said the hotel could open in the fall. An agreement has been reached and the hotel will remain the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.
Jemal says there is no structural work that needs to be done to reopen the hotel, it is simply cosmetic work that can be done on a floor-by-floor basis.
While speaking with 7 Eyewitness News about his plans, Jemal stressed the importance of reopening the hotel due to its proximity to the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.
