A state waterfront agency is threatening to take control of a stalled residential project at Canalside unless the developer can quickly show it is back on track.
Sinatra Development Co. says it can do that, but only if the state, as part of their public-private partnership, provides a $4 million loan to go with other state commitments they say will get the project over the finish line.
The company, headed by founder and CEO Nick Sinatra, suspended work earlier this year after losing construction financing for the two six-story, mixed-use buildings being erected near the entrance to Explore & More Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children’s Museum.
Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. sent a letter June 5 notifying the company it was in default on their development agreement, reached almost five years ago.
Heritage Point was supposed to have been completed this month, after the delayed start of construction began last year. It is the latest of numerous setbacks since the residential development was announced in August 2018, with first floor retail opening by Memorial Day 2020. Besides financial challenges, the state’s transfer of the land, negotiations over parking arrangements, and price hikes and supply-chain issues related to the pandemic have all slowed the project.
Construction is expected to begin later this fall and be finished in the spring of 2023. Plans call for the two six-story buildings to have a combined 64…
Read the full article here
