Plans to renovate the former Trico factory, in downtown Buffalo, could be shelved without more taxpayer help as the cost of the proposed project has nearly doubled.
The original $50 million estimate has shot up to over $90 million. Krog Corp. is now seeking more than $3.6 million in tax breaks from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.
Mayor Byron Brown points out the Trico complex has sat vacant for quite a long period of time.
"Others who have looked at have been unable to move a development forward at that site. So I think part of what Mr. Krog is saying is very valid, that it has been very difficult to develop. He has the know-how. He has the experience," Brown said.
As an ECIDA member, Brown says he would vote in favor of the tax breaks. Krog says without the subsidies its project, which includes a 138 room hotel, a new Culinary High School, apartments and commercial space, will not move forward.