DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT
First steps taken to aid Termini plans
Buffalo’s Planning Board took preliminary steps Wednesday in a lengthy process that could see a downtown developer revitalize the former AM&A’s department store and the Lafayette Hotel building.
The board agreed to serve as the lead agency for environmental reviews of the projects proposed by Rocco R. Termini.
Two members of the Planning Board acknowledged that it’s too soon to say whether Termini’s proposals for the two downtown icons will pan out. But they said the fact that he has submitted requests that the board serve as the lead agency to review the big-ticket projects is a hopeful sign.
“I’ve spent 30 years longing for someone to come along and [renovate] the Lafayette Hotel,” board member Cynthia A. Schwartz said, adding that the current owners have done little work in the Washington Street structure.
As for the long-vacant AM&A’s building at 377 Main St., board member Susan Curran Hoyt noted that previous developers have floated trial balloons that involved “grandiose” reuse plans. All fizzled before they moved into the early Planning Board stages.
“We’re hoping this project pans out,” Hoyt said.
If Termini can secure financing, including substantial public subsidies, he hopes to convert the AM&A’s building into a 117-room “national flagged hotel,” banquet facility, food court, 55 upscale apartments and office space.
Termini has been less specific about what he has in mind for the 110,000- square-foot Lafayette Hotel building, assuming he purchases it. The historic structure situated on Lafayette Square is currently a single-room occupancy building, mostly for short-term emergency housing clients of social services agencies or organizations.
One longtime resident of the Lafayette Hotel told The Buffalo News on Wednesday that the current owner has recently informed tenants that they should start looking for new lodging because there’s a good chance the building will be sold.
Planners said they realize that a lot could happen to derail the work, “but Rocco has tackled other projects that many people were skeptical about,” Schwartz said. “They didn’t think he was going to be able to pull them off, but he did.”
Termini’s development companies have transformed many old downtown buildings into loft apartments and commercial space.
The new proposals involving the AM&A’s and Lafayette Hotel buildings will likely take a long time to develop, some observers predicted Wednesday.
“I think we’re probably going to be studying these for months, because they’re big projects,” Schwartz said.
Board members said they’re looking forward to learning details about the projects during later phases, including the type of housing that Termini envisions.
In other action, the Planning Board approved a revised plan for a condominium project in the 300 block of West Utica Street. The two buildings proposed by architect Karl Frizlen and attorney Michael
E. Ferdman would house 16 two-bedroom apartments and two studio apartments.
The board also approved two proposed expansions of Community Charter School on Edison Street. Council Member Bonnie
E. Russell, who represents the area, expressed support for the projects, including a two-story addition and classrooms.
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