Two developers have pitched City Hall on renovating the historic, dilapidated structure. One would house the hostel, while the other calls for market rate apartments. The city is seeking more proposals.
The former home of the Hostel Buffalo-Niagara. Photo by Geoff Kelly.
Two-and-a-half years after booting Hostel Buffalo-Niagara from its longtime home in the Theatre District, City Hall is still debating what to do with the building.
The city ordered the hostel closed in the spring of 2024 after deeming the vacant, back half of its building at 667 Main Street unsafe. City inspectors also cited an electrical issue, resulting in National Grid cutting the hostel’s power that April. A contractor for the Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency said at the time that part of the building was deteriorating so badly it threatened the hostel…