Developer plans to restore Hotel Lafayette
Downtown developer Rocco Termini has signed a deal to buy the historic Lafayette Hotel, with hopes to restore it to its original splendor and, together with his neighboring AM&A project, create an impetus for further activity on the block.
Termini would not say how much is paying for the 367-room hotel at the corner of Washington and Clinton Streets, built in 1900 for the Pan-American Exposition. He signed the contract on Wednesday.
But he stressed that he's still "kicking the tires" on the 110,000-square-foot building in a due diligence period for 60 days, and the purchase won't close for another 60 days after that.
In the meantime, "everybody's rushing to conclusions" about his plans for the hotel building, which he called "probably the crown jewel of downtown."
"I've been considering it for years, just waiting for the opportunity," he said. "My plans are not clear yet. We're working on that. That's part of my due diligence, to see what we can do with that."
In particular, that includes discussions with the State Historic Preservation Office about "all kinds of issues," such as the "structural changes we need to make in the building to make it work for us."
Termini already owns the three AM&A warehouses, which he purchased earlier this year and is now spending $80 million to $100 million to convert into 48 apartments and 15,000 square feet of office space for collections agency P&B Acquisitions. If he completes the Lafayette purchase, Termini will control the two major properties on that block of Washington Street.
"It's a premier building, and that along with the AM&A's warehouse, we'll make critical mass on that block and it'll be an oasis in downtown. It'll be the crown jewel of downtown, on that block," he said. "What you're doing is really creating a 24 by 7 block there, which you hope becomes contagious and spreads through the rest of downtown."
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