HTN: Wi-Fi on the Waterfront

The Buffalo Urban Development Corp. and the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. have joined together to make Buffalo waterfront more computer-friendly. Amherst-based IPLogic has awarded a 21-thousand contract to help make the site Wi-Fi accessible. The company was the only firm to respond to an open call for bids. The total cost of the project is 50-thousand-dollar project, and the system should be up and running by late May.

HTN: Waterfront War over Hotel Design

The waterfront development war over a new hotel goes on and on. More than two months after their proposal was turned down, Paul Ciminelli and Mark Hamister are upset about how City Hall chose their competitors. A plan submitted by former City Council President James Pitts was accepted, but is now going through significant changes after complaints about a "suburban style" design. The defeated developers say that the Pitts group is now submitting new designs that violate height restrictions that were used to eliminate the Ciminelli-Hamister plan.

HTN: Waterfront Hotel may be Redesigned

Specialty Restaurant CEO Howard Bell says developers are proceeding with a ten-million-dollar plan to build a new hotel, despite some resistance from City Hall. A Wingate Inn is being planned next to California company's Shanghai Red's restaurant along the Erie Basin Marina. Former Common Council President James W. Pitts is collaborating on the Wingate project, but some Common Council members object to the design. The comapny says it may revise the look of the hotel.