The Lodge Condominium project

This is according to a lawsuit filed by Lake Shore Paving in Chautauqua County Supreme Court against The Lodge at Chautauqua Lake, The Estate of James K. Webb, Sally Webb, Executrix and Webbs Harbor Restaurant & Bowling Lanes, Inc. for lack of payment.

The lawsuit states in the complaint that when Lake Shore Paving Controller Ryan Rambacher spoke with Benjamin Webb on or about February 25, 2022, Webb informed him that the Bank of Erie would not be issuing a loan for construction and, therefore, would not be moving forward with the project.

Lake Shore Paving is suing for $127,155 for work they had completed related to the condominium project.

The Webb Hospitality Group, headed by Ben Webb, held a groundbreaking ceremony in July 2021 for The Lodge condominiums which was to have included 21 units.

The project had received $450,000 in Altech Revolving Loan funds as well as IDA tax lease program benefits such as mortgage tax rebate and sales tax relief on the construction from the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency. It also had received from the Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation a $217,000 term loan and $217,000 deffered loan.

WRFA reached out to Webb Hospitality for comment but did not receive a response.

The Webb Hospitality Group, headed by Ben Webb, is building The Lodge condominiums which will include 21 units. The facility will feature traditional year-round ownership, as well as fractional ownership.
Webb and his father, the late Jim Webb, had started planning the project together until Jim’s death in June of 2020. Webb said he was humbled by the support for the project and said he realized he wasn’t alone and that you can’t do anything by yourself at all, “Everybody who stepped up to the plate, who has invested in this project as an owners, who supported with a lending comment at a time when it was needed, to the County officials and everybody who stepped up at times when it wasn’t popular. It’s been an unbelievable journey and we really look forward to the future and what’s to come.”

Deputy County Executive and IDA CEO Mark Geise says this project has been worked on for 15 years and said it fit with the County’s Comprehensive Plan done in 2011, “And it talked about capitalizing on our assets. You know, we have this beautiful waterfront and beautiful water resource. How do we take those attributes and build upon them? And that’s what this project has done.

The project received $450,000 in Altech Revolving Loan funds as well as IDA tax lease program benefits such as mortgage tax rebate and sales tax relief on the construction from the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency. It also received from the Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation a $217,000 term loan and $217,000 deffered loan.

The IDA approved the loan for The Lodge At Chautauqua Lake during its monthly meeting on Tuesday.

The loan is being given to the project at 4% interest and will be paid back within 20 years.

Project Developer Ben Webb said the 27 condominium project is being built based on research that found there was significant interest by people who would want to stay and live there.

The estimated cost of the project is expected to be $18.3 million.

The board also gave preliminary approval to a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement with S. St. George Enterprise Inc., a company that is looking to expand its Webster Road facility in Fredonia from 20,000 to 40,000 square feet. The PILOT agreement would be for 10 years and would save the company $167,000. A public hearing on the PILOT will take place at a later date.