Buffalo, NY – Efforts to spiff up the Hyatt Regency Hotel at Fountain Plaza in downtown Buffalo will be aided by a $203,000 sales tax abatement approved today by the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.  West Genesee Hotel Associates, the Hyatt’s ownership group which is led by Paul L. Snyder Sr., is in the midst of a three-phase, $15 million upgrade of the 26-year-old hotel.

In the current $2.3 million phase, work is focused on installation of an energy-efficient heating and cooling system, build-out of a new salon/spa and Starbucks Coffee kiosk, swimming pool and convention facilities renovations, and general technology improvements.  The incorporation of ‘green’ materials and systems is expected to make the hotel more marketable to convention groups.

When complete, upgrades to the 396-room hotel are expected to boost its staff by 60 full-time workers, up to 273.

New York State Sen. Antoine Thompson and representatives from Solar Liberty and the Buffalo City Mission “flipped the switch” today on a new solar energy system that provides a valuable source of electricity for the area’s largest homeless shelter.

The 204-panel rooftop system is expected to produce 53,600 kWh of electricity per year, approximately 16 percent of the building’s electrical usage. At current electrical rates, the system will save the Mission an estimated $6,700 in utility costs in its first year and is expected to increase each year if energy prices rise.

“Aside from the immediate cost savings, the City Mission is now a much greener building,” said Solar Liberty CEO Adam Rizzo.