Dec. 11, 2007 - The $13.3 million renovation of the Hyatt Regency Buffalo got a further boost Monday when the Erie County Industrial Development Agency approved $1.16 million in tax breaks for the project.

The agency voted unanimously to approve $962,000 in sales tax breaks and an additional $196,000 in mortgage tax savings for a project that the hotel's owners said is needed to bring the 23-yearold hotel up to the standards set by the Hyatt chain. The hotel received a $5.1 million state grant in May to help pay for the renovation work.

The hotel's owner, West Genesee Hotel Associates, and its majority partner, businessman Paul Snyder, have said the 396-room Hyatt has not made a profit since it opened in 1984. The IDA issued $19 million in bonds in 1982 to help finance the hotel's construction.

The Buffalo Urban Development Corp.'s board of directors voted last week to "forgive" $8 million in city-backed construction loans in exchange for a cash payment of $400,000 from the hotel group, along with a note for an additional $300,000 to be paid over the next two to five years.

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