Submitted by LM:
How could the Federal Courthouse and 250 Delaware and Greystone be so successful… yet the former Hotel Touraine still be partially bricked up and the Statler still mothballed?
Seriously, look at the Hotel Touraine, sitting right next to 250 Delaware, and the Greystone behind it. It is begging for those bricked in windows to be removed and 1st floor retail to be restored and turn of the century luxury apartments (like the Lafayette) to be returned to the building.
Look at what is happening around The Statler. Same thing. How could it possibly be stalled? No one is going to tell me that The Statler wouldn’t fill up if its rooms were converted to apartments.
With Harbor Center, Tishman, Avant, Hampton, Lafayette, 250 Delaware, etc., maybe there are opportunities for current hotels to become residential… such as The Hyatt?. The Hyatt will never again get a taxpayer bailout because it isn’t profitable. So maybe it makes sense to look at the building for residential purposes.
Considering all the empty office space, one would think the offices in the Liberty Building and Convention Tower could also be converted to residential. The Liberty Building and Convention Tower and Brisbane and AM&As and Hengerer’s have great bones for residential.
Why do I bring this up? in a short time, the UB medical building will be done and there will be hundreds – thousands of workers and students and teachers in those buildings. Demand for Pre-War residential buildings that are outdated for offices/hotels (commercial use) but primed for residential will skyrocket. Plus all these buildings are within one block of Light Rail (no car needed).
As the demand for residential heats up in downtown Buffalo, these types of rehabs/conversions make sense. Plus, they help to create more demand for the swank hotels that continue to come online.