The Hotel Live! project that plans to transform a former Howard Johnson hotel into a rock-themed experience missed its first opening deadline and needs funding extensions to continue.
The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency granted six-month extensions to its $2.25 million in tax incentives and $450,000 in Cataract Tourism Funds, granted last July and August respectively. The Canadian-American company Live! Inc. proposed the $16 million project in June 2024, featuring themed rooms, a $1.5 million celebrity-endorsed restaurant and $2.8 million indoor music venue at the former hotel on Main Street in downtown Niagara Falls.
Hotel Live! was initially planned to open last month but the opening date is now unclear.
Agency counsel Mark Gabriele said the company did not give reasons for the delay beyond getting its financing in place. Live! Inc. representatives did not return a request for comment.
“It’s our understanding that the project will still be moving forward,” Gabriele said.
The tax incentives granted include $1.52 million in property tax exemptions, $660,000 in sales tax exemptions, and $75,000 in mortgage recording tax exemptions. This is the first six-month extension that Live! Inc. has asked for.
The Cataract Tourism Funds are meant to be used for the music venue and restaurant inside the hotel. This reimbursable grant only provides funding then the recipient provides proof of expenditures.
Other funding sources included $11.65 million of bank funding, $2.4 million in equity, and $1.5 million from Empire State Development. It had planned to create 52 new jobs within three years of completion, 32 full-time and 20-part time, with an annual payroll of $1.8 million and a salary range of $45,000 and $65,000.
Live! Inc. also operates helium balloon rides next door to the site at 454 Main St., which opened last August.