Plans were announced in November 2016 to turn the former Press Box Restaurant in Niagara Falls into a Community Beer Works Barrel House.
It seemed like a promising economic development idea when it was announced in 2016: placing a brewery and brewpub in a restored building in downtown Niagara Falls, within sight of the Rainbow Bridge to Canada.
But the project has collapsed in recrimination and litigation.
NFC Development Corp., the city economic development agency, pronounced last rites over the project last week by canceling two grants, totaling $200,000, that it had approved in 2017.
But in fact, the idea of a Falls location for Community Beer Works, the popular Buffalo craft brewer, had gone flat almost two years before the NFC vote on Wednesday.
In the fall of 2019, Savarino Development of Buffalo, which was to be the landlord for three buildings near the corner of Third and Niagara streets, had sued Community Beer Works, accusing the brewer of violating the lease it signed.
The building at 324 Niagara St. once housed the Press Box tavern. The city foreclosed on it because of unpaid property taxes but instead of auctioning it, the city issued a request for proposals, to which Savarino responded.
According to court papers, Savarino, doing business in the Falls as "324 Niagara Street Landlord LLC," signed a 10-year lease with Community Beer Works in September 2017. The brewer was to have 7,575 square feet of space for a rent of $13,000 a month.
That was 43% of the available space in the buildings Savarino had placed under a sale contract earlier that year. The one at 324 Niagara was owned by the city; the others were privately owned.
Plans for Community Beer Works Barrel House in Niagara Falls.
Savarino was to have the buildings ready by July 1, 2018, but its court papers say it ran into problems obtaining clear title and extended that date by a year.
In the meantime, the lawsuit said, Savarino and its lenders began to question Community Beer Works' commitment to the project and its financial ability to pay the rent, the court papers say.
On Feb. 27, 2019, the landlord sought a recommitment in writing, but Community Beer Works never provided it, according to the lawsuit.
Savarino then sent the brewer a notice of default, canceled the lease and sued Community Beer Works for $2.38 million in damages.
The brewer replied that the lease was not enforceable since it didn't contain a firm date for moving in. Its court papers accused the landlord of "multiple misrepresentations of material fact."
"It had neither a plan nor an intention of delivering the premises to CBW within the time frame it had represented and, in fact, had every intention of
delaying delivery of the premises by well over a year," the Beer Works' reply charges.
Beer Works allowed Savarino's company an extension of the occupancy date until July 1, 2019, but when 324 Niagara asked for an extension to July 1, 2020, the brewer said no and accused the landlord of breaching the lease.
The brewer demanded damages from the landlord in an amount to be determined in court.
"Development projects succeed or fail for many reasons," said Chris Smith, Community Beer Works' co-founder and vice president. "We'll let the legal process unfold and allow the courts to consider those reasons and make a judgment. We're confident in our position."
"The project doesn't make sense financially without the grant funds," said Samuel Savarino, the landlord. He said he has no other projects in mind for the site and has not built anything in the buildings.
He said in addition to spending $335,000 to buy the real estate, he's spent about $250,000 on preparatory work.
Mayor Robert M. Restaino said the grants were dependent on the project being completed by the end of 2019. Savarino asked for and received an extension until Sept. 1, 2020, but nothing happened with the project.
"The terms of the agreement expired," Restaino said. The same thing happened with a USA Niagara Development Corp. incentive.
Restaino said Savarino could reapply if he comes up with another project.
February 01, 2021 at 01:30AM
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Falls brewery plan goes flat as landlord, Community Beer Works battle in court - Buffalo News
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