By JAMES FINK
Business First

The prospective owners of the Statler Towers are hoping to buy some extra time to close on their deal, even though that ownership group, New Statler Buffalo Development LLC, is under a court order to complete the transaction by Sept. 28.

New Statler Buffalo's attorney, David Pfalzgraf Jr., filed motions Sept. 23 with Western District of New York U.S. Bankruptcy Court Chief Judge Hon. Carl Bucki for a 60-day extension on the closing date. Bucki on Aug. 28 granted a one-month extension but warned that he wanted the deal to close.

On Sept. 29, Bucki will hold a hearing on the request.

Pfalzgraf acknowledged that the extension request may bring a new round of cynicism about the Statler's fate and his clients' development plans.

He said the prospective owners are dealing with a complex set of issues that are affecting the court-ordered Sept. 28 closing date. The request for another extension may trigger counter-arguments from attorneys who have been watching or have been involved with the Statler case.

"We will have to see what their terms are," said Amherst attorney Morris Horwitz, the court-appointed Statler trustee. "Whatever our response will be, it will be made in open court. We will put our cards on the table."

While Pfalzgraf said he and his clients wanted to stick to the Sept. 28 closing deadline, issues concerning both public-sector incentives and privately securing funding forced further delay.

"In the short term, we need to get some financing together for the closing, but we are also looking at the more extensive longterm development plan and its financing," Pfalzgraf said.

New Statler Buffalo Development, a consortium led by businessmen William Koessler, Richard Sterben and Tom Zawadzki, bid $1.3 million for the 18-story, 82-year-old building, which overlooks Niagara Square. The Aug. 12 auction was ordered by Bucki as part of efforts to remove British investor Bashar Issa as the Statler's owner. Issa's company, BSC Buffalo Development LLC, bought the Statler in 2006 and had grandiose plans to renovate the aging and financially ailing structure.

New Statler Buffalo is proposing a $100 million renovation of the building. Since the auction, it has invested nearly $350,000 of the $1.3 million bid price.

In addition, the group has been paying all of the carrying costs, such as making weekly utility payments and payroll for the building's nine workers. That tab exceeds $15,000 per week.