Termini signs deal to buy Lafayette Hotel

By Jonathan D. Epstein

NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER

Updated: October 23, 2009, 3:59 PM /

Story tools:

Developer Rocco Termini has signed a deal to buy the Lafayette Hotel building, with hopes to restore it to its original splendor.

Termini would not say how much he agreed to pay for the faded 367-room hotel, built for the 1901 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.

"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 the meantime, "everybody's rushing to conclusions" about his plans for the hotel building at 391 Washington Street, which he called "probably the crown jewel of downtown."

The Lafayette is currently owned by Alphonse Hotel Corp. of New York and Tran Dinh Truong, who has owned the building for 30 years and also owns Hotel Carter in Manhattan. He could not be reached to comment.

The Lafayette Hotel — once considered one of the nation's 15 finest hotels and site of numerous balls, dances and weddings — was designed by Louise Blanchard Bethune, the first professional woman architect in the country. Built in a French Renaissance style on the site of a former Catholic church, it was slated for the Exposition but didn't open until 1904.

Reader comments

There on this article.

Rate This Article

Reader comments are posted immediately and are not edited. Users can help promote good discourse by using the "Inappropriate" links to vote down comments that fall outside of our guidelines. Comments that exceed our moderation threshold are automatically hidden and reviewed by an editor. Comments should be on topic; respectful of other writers; not be libelous, obscene, threatening, abusive, or otherwise offensive; and generally be in good taste. Users who repeatedly violate these guidelines will be banned. Comments containing objectionable words are automatically blocked. Some comments may be re-published in The Buffalo News print edition.

Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment

Forgot your password?

What is MyBuffalo?
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.

sort comments: