By JAMES FINK
Business First

The law firm of Hamberger & Weiss has become the latest tenant to leave the ailing Statler Towers office building.

The firm, which leases 14,000 square feet in the Statler, plans to move into a space of approximately the same size in Main Place Tower.

It had been one of the largest tenants remaining in the Statler. The Buffalo landmark is at the center of a series of lawsuits and legal actions.

The 18-story building, which is owned by BSC Development Buffalo LLC, has been placed into involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy by U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York.

BSC's managing member, British investor Bashar Issa, is facing legal and financial issues in Buffalo and Manchester, England. He has not been to the Buffalo area in more than 18 months.

The fate of the building, which overlooks Niagara Square, rests with U.S. Bankruptcy Court Chief Judge Hon. Carl Bucki, who is presiding over the case.

Bucki is expected to schedule a foreclosure auction date in the coming weeks - a move that could lead the way for the Statler to land in new hands.

Long Island developer Uri Kaufman is considering making a bid for the building and converting the bulk of it into market-rate apartments.

In the meantime, real estate broker Tom Zawadzki is working with a group of out-of-town investors who are considering making a bid for the building, sources said. That group would use most of the building as a hotel, with some residential and commercial space included in the mix.

"I wish there was more interest from the Buffalo real estate community in the building," said Morris Horwitz, court-appointed trustee for the Statler. "All of the interest seems to be coming from out-of-town parties."

The Statler has been losing more than $80,000 a month, and those losses are expected to mount as other tenants leave the building.

Issa bought the Statler three years ago and soon announced plans to invest $100 million and return the building to its glory days. Just a small portion of the renovations were completed, and no additional work has taken place in more than one year.

A pending lawsuit by Park Lane Catering, another anchor tenant, alleges that the building's condition and uncertain future have caused it to lose more than $1 million in potential bookings.