Mayor Anthony M. Masiello has an ultimatum for those trying tolure a large outdoors store to the waterfront: Fish or cut bait.
'I'm not happy with the state of the negotiations. Things appearto be just drifting,' Masiello said of plans to attract Bass ProOutdoor. 'I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, but I want answers foreverybody involved here about where we are with Bass Pro. I wantclosure.'
The mayor is trying to arrange a meeting with representatives ofErie County, Empire State Development and the Bos Group, theproject's designated developer, in the next week.
'We need to go in a room, shut the door and roll up our sleeveson this,' he said. 'It would be a damn shame if we let this slipthrough our fingers. I want Bass Pro on the Buffalo waterfront.'
A key discussion point will be financing the ambitious effort toconvert the mothballed Memorial Auditorium into a state-of-the-artretail facility, anchored by a 130,000-square-foot Bass Pro OutdoorWorld store. The mayor confirmed a gap of about $20 million inpublic and private funding to cover the project's estimated $104million price tag.
Under the current funding framework, the Bos Group wouldcontribute nearly $45 million in private dollars, while the statehas pledged $21 million and the county has signaled it will kick in$20 million.
'This is an enormous, very expensive project. There's no gettingaround that if we want to do it right,' Masiello said. 'There'sserious money on the table, and we're close. Close isn't goodenough.'
The mayor declined to discuss how the money gap might be bridged.
The possibility of bringing Bass Pro to the Aud, serving as a keypiece in development of the larger Erie Canal Harbor EntertainmentDistrict, has been in the works since mid-2001. The city's chancesof landing the sports superstore appeared to improve in June when itnamed the Bos Group of Baltimore, a firm with strong ties to BassPro, as the project's designated developer.
Mark A. Lichtman, a Bos Group principal and Kenmore native, saidhe would welcome a meeting with the various governments to cement afunding package. While the state and county have shown 'enormousinterest' in the project and have floated financial assistanceoffers, it's time to put the offers on paper, he said.
'You've got to show Bass Pro the money,' Lichtman said. 'Thereare hundreds of developers all over the country trying to get BassPro's attention, and many of them have state and local governmentsstanding behind them with economic development dollars. Now's thetime for the Buffalo group to make a firm offer.'
While outdoor retailing was a hot commodity when Buffalo cast itsline for the company two years ago, Bass Pro's clout as a retailerand economic development engine has grown exponentially. Cities havebeen tripping over each other to land the stores, which are regionaldraws, attracting an average of 2 million visitors each per year.
Offers have been made, and deals have been consummated in suchplaces as New Orleans, Kansas City and Little Rock.
But potentially more disturbing is a recent push by Pyramid Cos.of Syracuse to land Bass Pro for its Destiny USA mega-mall.
'Bass Pro is clearly looking all over the country, all over theregion and all over the state, but it's my gut feeling that theirinterest in Buffalo is genuine,' Lichtman said. 'But it will stilltake an attractive deal that's locked and loaded.'
In a visit to Buffalo in late April, Charles Gargano, chairman ofthe Empire State Development Corp., confirmed the state's $21million package for Bass Pro, adding that the funds werespecifically tied to the Buffalo site. While he was aware thecompany had feelers out in Syracuse as well as downstate, Garganosaid he did not consider those inquiries as death knells forBuffalo's hopes.
'That's what these companies do; they look at everything theycan,' Gargano said. 'Based on what we know about their siterequirements, the Buffalo site is a perfect fit, and we intend toget back in contact with them to remind them of what we're willingto do to make that happen.'
The Bos Group faces a June 30 dealine to deliver a master planfor the harborfront -- including the Aud, Donovan State OfficeBuilding, the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroadterminal and the vacant Webster Block south of the Donovan Building -- as well as a signed letter of intent from Bass Pro.
Lichtman admitted the time frame is a 'bit of a stretch,' butsaid he was not focusing on the calendar.
'We're committed to bringing Bass Pro to Buffalo, however longthat takes,' he said. 'If the 60 days comes and goes and things arestill progressing toward that goal, we'd hope to stick with thetask.'
e-mail: slinstedt@buffnews.com
