Owner of Erie's tallest building plans a $50 million facelift to include upscale hotel

Christian Siembieda has big plans for Erie's tallest building.

And Siembieda, the California-based investor behind 1001 State OZ Operator LLC, which bought the 198-foot Renaissance Centre at 10th and State streets this past June, is looking for help from the state to make his plans a reality.

Siembieda, who met recently with the Erie Times-News, said he plans a top-to-bottom reinvention of the 160,000-square-foot building.

At the center of his plan is an upscale hotel with 150 or more rooms, along with space for offices, retail, restaurants and both public and performance space.

He's planning on an independent hotel, not associated with any of the national or regional brands.

That way, he said, "We can better serve our customers and honor the building in terms of historic renovation."

More: 'Dynamic retail' space planned for first floor of renovated Avalon Hotel in downtown Erie

The role of RACP

His company is among 19 Erie applicants that seek funding in the current round of the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

In the past, RACP has helped fund a range of projects in Erie, including money for the Erie Zoo, Erie County Community College and International Recycling Group.

More: Another $8 million in RACP money coming for 2 notable Erie redevelopment projects

Now, Siembieda is hoping the state program can provide a $5 million boost to his project.

Erie developer Tom Kennedy, who had owned the former G. Daniel Baldwin Building since 1996, sold it in June for $2 million.

More: Investment group buys Erie's Renaissance Centre with plans to enhance downtown landmark

That sum represents only a small fraction of the roughly $50 million the new owner hopes to invest.

According to Siembieda's application, this isn't a pie-in-the-sky dream. Most of the money is already in place, much of it from outside Erie, he said.

According to the application, "Despite a very challenging financing market, 1001 State OZ Operator, LLC has been successful in securing equity and private bank loans totaling approximately $45 million of the $50 million budget due to excellent local support for the project."

Siembieda said he's investing some of his own money through an Opportunity Zone fund. Those funds provide investors with special tax advantages when they invest capital gains in federally designated low-income areas.

His RACP application identifies an unfunded gap of $5 million.

That amount would cover about half of what he's calling early construction costs, including money for internal demolition, electrical and fire improvements, technology upgrades and exterior renovations.

Who is Christian Siembieda?

Siembieda, who is 50 and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, held a corporate advisory position early in his career with what was then Jones Lang Wooten, where he was responsible for single asset and portfolio valuation.

Today, he describes himself as an investor who buys companies and assets and tries to improve them.

Over the years those assets have included New York City residential properties, power plants, grain silos, cell towers and a historic Main Street-style property in New Hampshire.

Chuck Peters, managing partner of Altair Real Estate, which manages the Renaissance Centre, said he's seen plenty of people come to town with big ideas that went nowhere.

"He's the real thing," he said of Siembieda.

The search for the right project

Siembieda first came to Erie about 2½ years ago to meet Peters, who was working at the time to sell the building.

"I was looking for an historic project to get involved with. That appeals to me from an esthetic standpoint," Siembieda said.

He also was looking for an opportunity to work with his father, Don Siembieda, a hotel designer who has been involved with dozens of projects around the world.

Christian Siembieda remembers the first time he saw the building.

"It was the beauty of the building that really struck me," he said. "I loved the way it looks and where it is in Erie."

He also was taken with Erie.

"I am not particularly snooty," he said. "I was not looking for it to be Manhattan or Hollywood. I took it on face value and I thought it was great."

He said he was impressed by the development on Erie's bayfront as well as the work of the Erie Downtown Development Corp.

"I just connected the dots and the next dot is the Renaissance Centre," he said.

What the future looks like

While some of the building's existing tenants would remain in the building, Siembieda and Peters plan to work with others to help them find space, preferably in the same neighborhood.

"We are talking with occupants of the building and will continue to do that," Peters said.

According to the project's RACP application, "By consolidating approx. 80,000 sq. ft. of office space into the surrounding buildings and transforming 1001 State into a multi-use building, it will become a key economic driver for blight elimination, follow-on development and will directly improve the local economy."

Siembieda said he doesn't want to drive existing tenants out of the neighborhood.

"There may be some change in where the tenants are going to be ultimately," he said. "We have engaged with them to start the process of finding them either a place within the building or space in the surrounding areas that appeal to them. We want people to be happy and we want them to be around us."

Is this a good investment?

Siembieda said hotel occupancy levels and average rates make the case that Erie's tourism sector is healthy and that there's room for more hotel rooms, especially in the summer.

"You have a ton of attractions for a city this size," he said. "That is not just an opinion, that is a fact. And you invest based on facts."

The state is yet to announce its funding decisions on RACP requests.

But both Peters and Siembieda said they feel good about their chances.

"We are shovel-ready and we are using RACP as it was intended — which is to fill a small gap," Peters said.

While the funding request represents a relatively small part of the project, it's an important part, Siembieda said.

He's hopeful that construction on the project could get underway this summer and be complete in about two years.

"I have no patience. It's hard for me to wait," he said. "I am going to be so excited to have that building shining like it was new."

What should people expect?

"I think it will exceed expectations," he said. "People have forgotten how much detail was in that building, how much beauty was on the outside. It's been torn off, it's been thrown away. I'm going to put it back and it's going to look great."

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: $50 million facelift planned for Erie PA Renaissance Centre