Job Promises, Job Delivery - Errors By Expert Officials

The taxpayer-subsidized Hamister Hotel is drastically different as it is proposed today than when it was originally proposed - especially when it comes to job creation.

Back in February, 2012, when it was first announced that the Hamister Group was selected as the preferred developer of the city-owned lot at 310 Rainbow Blvd, in downtown Niagara Falls, USA Niagara and its parent agency, Empire State Development, evaluated Hamister's proposal to develop hotel rooms, apartments, and retail, all in one building - and estimated the development would create 130 permanent jobs.

Sixteen months later, in July 2013, while announcing that a pre-development contract was ready for Hamister, Empire State Development and USA Niagara reduced their estimate of jobs created to 70 permanent jobs.

Eighteen months later, on January 26, 2015, Daniel Hamister, vice president of the Hamister Group, in a sworn affidavit, attested to the Niagara County IDA that the proposed Hamister project will create six full time and 29 part time jobs.

USA Niagara and Empire State Development's estimates were off by 83.85 percent.