I for one, am for development in Buffalo, any part of Buffalo, Downtown, West Side, South Buffalo, east side et cetera, et cetera. However, if you’re going to develop the city of Buffalo, why not have something that people in Buffalo can actually afford. And I don’t mean Buffalo’s small population of rich affluent people.
Mark Croce has made a living in Buffalo extorting business owners for parking spaces and college students for over priced parking when they are out drinking like well, college students.
But Mark Croce’s penultimate cash cow has been his over priced string of Franklin Street establishments. The Chop House being his center piece establishment. An establishment [which] for most Western New Yorker’s is a place they will never see the inside of.
Now, Mark Croce has finally come forward admitting (what we’ve all known for a while now) that despite saying otherwise in recent interviews, he will be opening a Four Diamond rated boutique hotel in Buffalo New York. You know, Buffalo, NY; the third poorest city in the country per capita. Croce has invested $19 million dollars into the project. Although it is not clear how much of that money belonged to Croce and how much of it was from different Federal, State and City grants.
Croce, who obviously didn’t graduate from the Russell Salvatore School of Business Ethics and Class, has decided to expand his Franklin Street conglomerate to include lodging. No doubt it will be built to the utmost standards. It will probably be over the top and laden with Italian Marble in the typical snobbish fashion.
Which brings me back to my point, Buffalo is the third poorest city in the country. Aside from Buffalo’s small populous of wealthy elite, visitors from Toronto, NYC or out of market sports teams in to play our local greats, who will be able to afford the inevitable gourmet restaurant, 20,000 foot banquet halls or the overly expensive rooms overnight or for an hour for that matter? And if you think it’s going to be reasonably priced, you’re probably to kind of person who would accept Kool-Aid from a man in Nike sneakers and purple robes…
For that matter where does Croce expect his guests to park? He doesn’t own any large lots close enough to the facility to house the expected traffic. And you know someone who can afford to stay the night at a Four Diamond hotel probably drives the kind of car which they won’t be to thrilled about parking on the street.
For this to work ideally, Croce would have to buy a string of buildings on Delaware Avenue which border his existing lot with entrances on Huron and Delaware. I know one person who will be pretty stubborn about selling their bar to help Croce out.
But, as much as I am against such a grand display of Mark’s wealth, persona and arrogance all to give him one more ego stroke, I am for development and jobs coming to a dismal Buffalo market. What can I say? At least he isn’t opening another parking lot… Yet…
Until next time Buffalo… Don’t drink anything I wouldn’t...
Mac The Bartender
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someone who is investing 19million dollars and has a significant portfolio of successful projects is not an idiot. If he is putting all this money into a hotel it means he has convinced investors and banks that it is a sound financial investment. this hotel is not being built for people who are poor (residents of buffalo) but for people who are visiting...like those who left here to make money and come back to visit friends and family or those who are doing business or conventions here...or who are entertainers, doing a night in the city.
ReplyDeletebuffalo doesn't have to have only below-market rate housing, budget motels, and pizza/wing joints because everyone who lives in the city is poor.
*and his parking is a new structure where the continental is right now. there's also a huge public parking garage next door in case his project is more successful than he anticipates.
agree with you mark. disagree with tone of your article mac
ReplyDeleteBoutique hotels are always individual and are therefore extremely unlikely to be found amongst the homogeneity of large chain hotel groups
ReplyDeleteYour post is embarrassing. Who cares if not many Buffalonians will be able to go to his new boutique hotel. If its successful then it is good for Mark and good for the city. Most importantly...Russell Salvatore and his restaurants and hotels are a complete joke. They are a substandard attempt for "fine" dining. If you know anything about fine dining you can pick his places apart. Everything they do is substandard.
ReplyDeleteMark Croce "SUCKS" just look at him..a loud mouth morbidly obese cretin, always looking for something for nothing, He'll probably end up like the previous owners of Spot Coffee..in jail for tax and income fraud. I didn't know that many people drank and ate that much in
ReplyDeleteBuf for him to afford a $1.2 mil crib with a $40K property tax bill, he better not be getting public money/grants for his private ventures, because then we are all in trouble... Mark have a happy LLC day
Your buddy, Santa
Lafayette Hotel, Statler Towers, million +$ house, mailing address condo, price gouging parking lots, bunches of restaurants and bars,... all this from a sandwich shop in Amherst!!!...I don't think so , there's something wrong with this picture...
ReplyDeletei think this is what tom brady was talking about
ReplyDelete