By JAMES FINK
jfink@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1611

The rocky road to find a new owner for Statler Towers may be coming to an end.

Following a brief hearing March 9 before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Carl Bucki, the path has been cleared for Buffalo businessman Mark Croce to purchase the mothballed, downtown landmark. The closing is tentatively set for March 16, just a few hours before a follow-up hearing before Bucki.

Croce, through his Statler City LLC affiliate, is offering to pay $200,000 for the 18-story Statler plus $500,000 in accrued back taxes - although those will be paid at a later date and not at closing. Waivers from four municipal agencies - including the City of Buffalo and Erie County - which allow the later payment on the back taxes were filed with the federal bankruptcy court. The waivers were one of the last steps before Croce could close on the deal.

"We are, in effect, ready to close," said Morris Horwitz, the court-appointed trustee. "The closing will be a very public event."

Bucki, who has overseen the case for nearly two years, said he is glad to see a closing date set.

"I think we are all anxious to get this closed," he said.

Croce's deal ends a complicated case that began in late 2008 when one of the building's anchor tenants, Park Lane Catering, began a series of legal actions against British investor Bashar Issa.

Issa bought the Statler in 2006 amid much fanfare but has faced legal and financial problems in his native Manchester, England, as well as in Buffalo.

Even after Croce closes on the deal, several advisorial proceedings concerning Issa and the Statler will be on the bankruptcy court docket. None will affect Croce's ownership or operation of the nearly 90-year-old building.

The Statler is one of two historic renovation projects Croce will simultaneously be handling in downtown Buffalo. He confirmed he has sealed a financial deal that allows him to move forward with plans to renovate the Curtiss Building on Franklin Street for a 56-room boutique hotel. That project carries $19 million in development costs.

Croce said he adjusted some of the Curtiss Building plans because of the Statler. He has been working on the Curtiss for nearly three years and came forward with his Statler acquisition plan last summer.

Because of the Statler deal, he has shifted plans for a large-scale banquet hall as part of the Curtiss Building to the Statler. The Curtiss Building will still have a full kitchen, meeting rooms and a 200-person private dining room, however.

As for larger banquet halls, those are perfectly suited for the Statler's Grand Ballroom.

"You already have $10 million worth of banquet halls that have been built in the Statler," Croce said. "They need some new carpeting, paint and lighting - but they are basically ready to go."

His initial plans for the Statler will focus on the Grand Ballroom, mezzanine and lobby areas where he will operate catering halls and perhaps a small restaurant. Plans for the upper floors will be determined at a later date.

The buzz about the Statler has been growing since he decided to buy the building. He said he gets several calls a day from people who want to book events. Work on both the Statler and Curtiss Building may be going on simultaneously, he said.

"While we are working on the Curtiss, we will be stabilizing the Statler," Croce said. "Hopefully, as the Curtiss gets done, we can shift over to the Statler."

The City of Buffalo has pledged $5.3 million in aid to help stabilize the Statler.

Croce said he would like to fast- track some of the Statler work so it can host events when the National Trust for Historic Preservation holds its annual convention in Buffalo this October.

"That would be a real coup to do that," he said.

He decided to buy the Statler last summer when it looked like the building was headed toward abandonment.

"I was concerned that we would have another AM&A's - in this case, sitting in my backyard," Croce said, referring to the long-vacant former department store building on Main Street.

His inspiration came from fellow developer Howard Zemsky, who took a series of older buildings on Seneca Street and transformed them into "Larkinville." The area is now one of Buffalo's choice commercial addresses.

"If Howard can do what he did in the Larkin District, there's no reason I can't turn around a property that sits at the best corner in downtown Buffalo," Croce said.