Council ‘derails’ $65-million entertainment complex, mayor says

From the Niagara Falls Review:

The future of a proposed $65-million entertainment complex is uncertain after city council removed from Monday’s agenda an agreement on the possible sale of the city-owned property to the developer.

“It’s obviously questionable at this point,” said business development officer Serge Felicetti whose office has been dealing with Andrzej Kepinski, an investor considering a downtown entertainment complex. “He thought we were proceeding forward. He’s going to be very disappointed.”

Mayor Ted Salci said he’s worried council’s decision not to consider the agreement might have “derailed” Kepinski’s plan to build an entertainment complex near the corner of Erie Avenue and Bridge Street. The 4.5-acre city-owned site is now Niagara Falls Transit’s office, garage and yard.

Kepinski and Associates approached the city in June with a proposal for what a city report describes as a “proposed multiplex entertainment complex,” though it doesn’t give much description of what kind of specific entertainment it would provide.

It would draw 300,000 visitors annually, an increase in visitor traffic that would benefit other parts of the city’s economy. The year-round complex would tie in with the Niagara Convention and Civic Centre, giving meeting planners one more reason to bring their conventions to Niagara Falls. Kepinski’s proposal would not contain a hotel. And as a private business, it could generate $218,000 a year in property taxes, the city report states.

Tags: andrzej kepinski, bridge st, civic centre, entertainment complex, erie ave, kepinski and associates, niagara falls transit, property taxes, proposal, Serge Felicetti, ted salci