Lafayette Hotel, it's time for your comeback.

Thanks to Rocco Termini, the Lafayette Hotel might not be a lost cause after all. He recently bought the property, which opened in 1904, and although he isn't saying what he's doing with it quite yet, anything will be better than the waste of space it is right now. Termini has a unique talent for restoring old, seemingly decrepit buildings into gorgeous living spaces that still retain the charm and character of the building's former self. Anyone who has seen his work on other buildings in downtown Buffalo knows that he works hard to make sure the building’s character stays intact, but the building itself becomes useful again, rather than being another reminder of what Buffalo used to be. That gift for finding the balance between restoration and renovation seems to be key in making the Lafayette Hotel another building to be proud of in this city. Back in the day it was quite an impressive hotel, one of the 15 best in the country (think back to the Statler, anyone seeing a trend?) and its amenities and grandeur were certain to cement its place in history. Many of the timeless features of this hotel still stand, in terms of architecture and decor. The pillars are from its opening, the original chandeliers still hang, and the once-grand ballrooms can be restored to their original designs. While the previous owners didn't do much to keep the hotel in good shape, they did leave everything intact that it came with, which means the Lafayette Hotel still holds many of its beauties from 1904. That's a key selling point for a building that, now, is something most people haven't even heard of.

Termini plans to keep the original antiques and restore what he can of the things that need to be fixed. He wants to bring back the Lafayette Hotel of the 1900s glory days, rather than gut it and start from scratch. Calling it, "the crown jewel of downtown," it's obvious that his intentions are to bring back the pride of the hotel in its origin. As I mentioned before, he hasn’t said specifically what his plans are for the building, but he has said he’s considering restoring it as a running hotel or possibly converting the rooms to apartments. Either way, the space will become functional and attractive, rather than an unoccupied eyesore that really serves no purpose. It's refreshing to hear that someone wants to restore the things that made Buffalo what it is today, and Rocco seems to be doing all he can to revitalize our city and save our history.


Source:
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/837702.html