The flash cube lives.
December 31 is the target date for completing the renovation of the Niagara Falls Center for Tourism, in one of the city’s landmark buildings.
Much work already has been done in the nine-story green glass building near the Rainbow Bridge, managing partner Paul A. Grenga said Thursday. But he said more work is on tap this year, including the replacement of the green glass with “sky-blue glass, which will be beautiful.”
“We are in the process of negotiating with a couple of contractors to replace the glass facade on the building,” Grenga said. “The facade now does what it’s supposed to do, protect the building from the elements, but the appearance is awful.”
The building at 360 Rainbow Blvd., originally constructed as the Occidental Chemical Center by a chemical company that no longer operates in Niagara Falls, is sometimes called the “flash cube” by Falls old-timers.
As far back as 2000, Reger and his father Larry Reger had invested in the abortive AquaFalls aquarium project that produced nothing more than a giant pit in front of the building. Its name was changed to One Niagara in 2004, when a group headed by Frank Parlato purchased the building.
In 2010, Grenga, who had been Parlato’s attorney, led a group, including Gordon Reger, that bought the building from Parlato.
The building contained a welcome center and some small-scale retail stores.
In 2019, the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency approved tax breaks and a $1 million grant from its Cataract Tourism Fund toward the makeover of the building into a tourism center with multiple new attractions.
However, the work hasn’t been completed because of delays tied to the Covid-19 pandemic and economic issues, Grenga said.
Wednesday, the NCIDA board extended the expiration date for the grant to Dec. 31. The Reger-Grenga group can access the money only through reimbursements after submitting receipts for construction work and purchases of furnishings.
“We’re moving forward, and we’re excited about it,” Grenga said.