Clarion Hotel may rebrand as a Comfort Inn
OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen The Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Dunkirk is looking to remodel its facility and become a Comfort Inn and Suites.
OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Attorney Richard Morrisroe, left, discusses the proposed renovation and rebranding of the Clarion Hotel with county IDA project manager Kristine Morabito.
OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen The Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Dunkirk is looking to remodel its facility and become a Comfort Inn and Suites.
OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Attorney Richard Morrisroe, left, discusses the proposed renovation and rebranding of the Clarion Hotel with county IDA project manager Kristine Morabito.
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The owners of the Clarion Hotel in Dunkirk are looking to remodel and rebrand the facility.
During the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency meeting, Attorney Richard Morrisroe was in attendance on behalf of his client Gurmail Singh with Dunkirk Resort Properties, LLC, which owns the hotel located at 30 Lake Shore Drive East.
Kristine Morabito with the county IDA said the IDA received a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes application from the hotel owners.
"This is an exciting opportunity to rebrand and upgrade what is known as the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center. ... It would be rebranded into a Comfort Inn and Suites," she said.
Morrisroe said there are a lot of factories and other industries in the region that hold conferences and they need a good location.
"I don't know how many of you have spent time in the Clarion recently. It's a little dated. It needs a little love. Social media rapport kind of talks to some of that. It's a necessary cog in redeveloping the waterfront and servicing all those factories that are supplyable," he said.
The Clarion currently has a PILOT through the Dunkirk Industrial Development Agency, which had its operations suspended back in 2024. Morabito said the county IDA will examine that agreement to see if the county should take it over and see if some adjustments should be made.
Morrisroe had previously been the attorney for the city of Dunkirk. He said the Clarion may have been the only Dunkirk IDA project ever successfully accomplished.
He said it makes sense for the county IDA to take over the PILOT agreement.
"I think the time is right for a revised PILOT and for revised attention," he said.
After the IDA meeting, Morrisroe told the OBSERVER that some of the proposed work includes exterior upgrades, refurbishing some rooms, the kitchen and dining room area, and the conference room. Once that work is done, they want to host more events and do more catering.
The Clarion's improvement was one of the projects identified when Dunkirk received the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative from the state. Morrisroe said some of the work has already started.
Should the Clarion get a new PILOT agreement with the county IDA, Morrisroe said they would like to have all the work done in the next 12-15 months.
The application to the county IDA states that the Clarion is hoping to increase staffing from 13 to 26 people in the next three years. There would also be about 20 temporary construction jobs.
The county IDA unanimously approved a "due diligence" resolution, which allowed the IDA staff to begin investigating potential tax agreements.
A public hearing would likely need to be held before any final approving resolution is adopted.