The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency approved funding extensions for two recipients, one looking to open later this year and the other breaking ground next spring.
The Hammer & Crown BC tavern, to be located at 462 Third St., Niagara Falls, received an extension lasting through the end of the year as it moves closer to opening later this year. The $220,000 redevelopment had first received $33,000 in Cataract Tourism funds in March 2023 and had already received one extension.
Owners John Paul and Lynn Meeter have been renovating the former Rust Bar, which closed in May 2018, and will open a new restaurant and brew pub. The Cataract grant, meant for encouraging tourism-oriented development in downtown Niagara Falls, is reimbursable, so the funding would not be guaranteed until they provide proof of expenditures.
The other extension was for the proposed Riverfront Vista apartment complex at 235 River Road in North Tonawanda, still in the cleanup stage and yet to break ground. The agency granted a six-month extension, which would start in October, when their current incentives would expire.
IDA Counsel Mark Gabriele said Alliance Homes anticipates closing on the property by spring 2026. Construction would take up to 24 months.
Developers Alliance Homes had previously received $3.55 million worth of tax incentives for the $36.7 million apartment project last October. The mixed-use complex for the site had proposed 87 market-rate apartments totaling 101,391 square feet, 7,608 square feet of commercial space, and 2,690 square feet of community space.
It also received $1 million from the state’s Restore New York Communities Initiative, which is meant to turn blight into new residential and business spaces. The former brownfield site had cleanup costs alone between $3 million and $5 million, which is eligible for the state’s brownfield cleanup program.