HH Richardson Towers, now 'Hotel Henry' focus on "Buffalo Living Tour" (New York: 2013)

[videobruce]

A little recent history on the complex.
Note the opening comment and associated stupidly from a suburban Republican (no less) state senator. One would think they would of woke up by then.

From the Buffalo News;

The Richardson complex's long, bumpy road to salvation
By Mark Sommer Thu, Mar 30, 2017

It may be hard to believe now, but the Richardson Olmsted Complex was going to be put up for auction in the summer of 1997. The Pataki administration wanted to sell the National Historic Landmark's deteriorating and vacant hospital buildings and unused land to save millions on maintenance and make it available for private investment. "It should be done," Sen. Dale Volker of Depew, a Republican member of the Senate mental heath committee, said in May 1997. "We're never going to use some of those buildings." That didn't happen, of course. It took a lawsuit by preservationists, the persuasion of an architecturally minded publisher, the efforts of volunteers, a lot of taxpayer money and a private hotelier to find a new purpose for the site.

On Friday, InnVest Lodging's 88-room Hotel Henry Urban Resort and Conference Center becomes the first tenant at the Richardson Olmsted Complex in nearly a quarter century, with its opening day set for April 30. The project, under the direction of New York City architect Deborah Berke Partners and local firm Flynn Battaglia Architects, puts the property on the tax rolls for the first time. "This was an extraordinary, monumental effort," said Howard Zemsky, a former Richardson Center Corp. board member who now leads Empire State Development Corp. "It's a testament to the conviction of the people who made this happen, and a whole community that supports projects like this." The hotel will be in the main Towers Building and the buildings that flank it, occupying one-third of the complex's 463,000 square feet. The 100 Acres Kitchens at Hotel Henry also will open, with an architectural museum expected to open in December.

The complex – with the buildings designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and the grounds by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux – is considered one of Buffalo's most acclaimed architectural masterpieces. The Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane – later the Buffalo Psychiatric Center – opened in 1896. With changes to psychiatric services, use of the complex ended in 1974, with the exception of the Towers Building, which remained open until 1994.
Buffalo Public Schools considered putting its Olmsted school at the site, and SUNY Buffalo State also considered using the buildings. But both ideas were shelved. With the buildings in disrepair, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed the complex on its list of the 11 most endangered buildings in the United States.

Frustrated by the failure of the state Dormitory Authority to take action, the Preservation Coalition of Erie County went to court – and won. "There had been 10 years of besieging public officials to do stop-gap repairs to plug leaks, fix downspouts and even to cut the grass," recalled Tim Tielman, who was executive director. In November 2002, the state Supreme Court ruled in the preservationists' favor, citing the little-used Public Buildings Law. "That established that New York State had to maintain its historic landmarks, and it really changed the public perception of these buildings as savable," Tielman said. "It also set in motion Buffalo getting 100 million for the repair of the Richardson and other historic buildings." 'Made everybody believe' The Pataki administration agreed to spend $7 million to stabilize buildings shortly before the decision was rendered, but it took Buffalo News Publisher Stanford Lipsey, who was also involved in restoring the Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House, to persuade the governor to go all-in on saving the historic complex.

Monica Pellegrino Faix, the Richardson's executive director, recalled a story told to her by Judith Lipsey, Stanford's wife, after she and her husband were driving away from a ribbon-cutting for the Martin House. "Judi said she thought they could rest and have a little time to themselves, but Stan said, 'Now, we have to do the H.H. Richardson Complex,' Faix said. "When he got his sights on something, he wouldn't let go of it. He made everybody believe that this could happen, when no one believed it before him." Zemsky, who worked closely with Lipsey on the Richardson and Darwin Martin House projects, praised his late friend. "Stan brought a unique, sort of singular level of passion and commitment and determination, which then translated itself into extraordinary philanthropy on this project," Zemsky said, noting the couple also gave $5 million for the Richardson's renovation. Eight of the complex's 11 buildings remain to be developed.

Money and experts
With Pataki's backing, the State Legislature in 2004 authorized $100 million to rehabilitate the complex, later reduced to $76.5 million after $16.5 million was used to help fund the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, and $7 million went to the Martin House project. Lawmakers two years later created a not-for-profit board to oversee its turnaround, and another to create an architecture center, both of which Lipsey chaired. The state funds were first released in increments starting in 2007. The newly created board brought the Urban Land Institute – experts in architecture, urban planning , land use and economic development – to Buffalo to help decide what should occur. To expedite the process, board member Howard Zemsky loaned the not-for-profit the $115,000 needed to bring the group in when government dollars were still tied up.

After meetings with various stakeholders and the public, the panel of experts made recommendations in May 2006 that turned into the blueprint the board has largely followed over the past 11 years. Among the recommendations were reclaiming green space by consolidating parking away from the complex; restoring or rehabbing as much of the grounds as possible; putting a hotel into the renovated buildings; changing the site's name from the H.H. Richardson Complex to the Richardson Olmsted Complex; and stabilizing some of the buildings for future use. All came to pass. "When you look back at that five-day panel process, here we are 11 years later cutting the ribbon on a project that's remarkably similar conceptually to what they imagined," Zemsky said. Comprehensive studies commissioned by the board helped bring these goals to fruition. "Every meeting we always moved the ball down the field," board member Paul Ciminelli said. "There was always progress." A recommendation to put in housing hasn't happened, but board members say that remains a possibility.

Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz joined a line-up of speakers Thursday who praised the Richard Olmsted Complex's staff and volunteer board for making the building's opening a reality. "When people walk through the doors and look at this place, they are not going to realize what it was," Polancarz said. "They're just going to realize what it is."

[videobruce]

Looking back when the initial restorations were done.

From the Buffalo News;

By Mark Sommer Apr 1, 2016

Walking through the Richardson Olmsted Complex inspired New York City architect Deborah Berke this week. It wasn’t always that way. “When I first walked through when we were going after this job, the condition was heartbreaking because it is a great work of American architecture,” Berke said. “It’s socially important, architecturally important, and the fact that it was let go like that was sad.” Back in Buffalo three years later – and looking over the progress as the design architect for the Richardson project – Berke liked what she saw at one of the most highly anticipated restoration projects in the region.

A new slate roof with copper flashing extends over the Towers Building. Red sandstone, shipped from India, covers the scarred stone in an elevator shaft where patients were once transported in the former psychiatric center. Interior walls are freshly plastered and painted. A curved connector hallway – stripped to its wood frame – is being restored, with naturally lighted hallways springing to life and hotel rooms with 15-foot ceilings taking form. They’re among the telltale signs showing the once-moribund and deteriorating National Historic Landmark appears on track to reopen in April 2017.

The $70 million, 88-room Hotel Henry Urban Resort and Conference Center is the centerpiece of the project at 400 Forest Ave. in the Elmwood neighborhood. “So this is good news,” said Berke, who will become dean of the Yale University School of Architecture in June. She called it “an honor” to work on restoring the Richardson complex. “Richardson was obviously one of the great American architects,” Berke said. “Buffalo is very fortunate in its architectural history. It was a rich and vibrant city when it was a good time to be one.”

The Richardson Olmsted Complex opened in 1880.
The 180,000-square-foot space – designed by famed architect H.H. Richardson, with the grounds designed by landscape architect titans Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux – will also include a 3,000-square-foot Buffalo Architectural Center later that year. “We are extremely excited about saving this majestic old building, and giving it a 21st-century program and revitalization,” said Berke of Deborah Berke Partners. “I think all of Buffalo should be very proud that years and years of hard work by a lot of dedicated people made this possible.”

The project centers on the Towers Building, also known as Building 45, where a public gathering space including the restaurant and architecture center will be on the first floor, with the hotel lobby on the second. Event and conference activities will be on the third and fourth floors. The two wings, Building 10 to the east and Building 44 to the west, will house the hotel rooms. “When I go through the building, I’m really amazed at the skill that the design team has used to create a hospitality venue, while still preserving the sense of place,” said Monica Pellegrino Faix, Richardson Center Corp.’s executive director.

Preserving the past
Inside Building 44, original features are being protected and restored. They include decorative encaustic tile, pocket doors, a sandstone fireplace, colored glass transom lights and a curved cove ceiling, but also plaster walls and corridors. Those are the kinds of details the National Park Service and the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation want preserved. So does Flynn Battaglia Architects, the local firm designated as executive architect for the Richardson project. The firm has worked on several of Buffalo’s architectural gems, including the Guaranty Building, Erie Community College City Campus, the Roycroft Campus and Asbury Delaware Church, now known as Babeville.

The Richardson-designed building was once part of the nationwide network of Kirkbride hospitals that started in the 19th century to help people with mental ailments. “Kirkbride believed light and openness and space would be good for the patients, and be restorative,” Flynn said. “So we hope what we are doing is historically interesting, and offers restorative qualities for the people who stay here as well.” The largest room is on the Tower Building’s fourth floor, in the former chapel of the one-time Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane. The space, which has been structurally reinforced and now has upgraded mechanicals, will double as a ballroom and main conference space that can seat 350.

Berke came to Buffalo on Wednesday to give the Louise Bethune Lecture at the University at Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning. She cited the challenges of adapting the former psychiatric center into a modern hotel. The buildings didn’t naturally lend themselves to becoming public spaces or guest rooms. And the thickness of the walls, the wide width of the hallways and the buildings’ size relative to the amount of usable space posed major challenges.

Solutions followed. Former patient rooms were combined to make contemporary hotel rooms. Space for the bathrooms in some cases was expanded slightly into the corridor, and made to resemble an armoire-like piece of furniture. A new north entrance for the Towers Building rises above the lower level used for the architecture center and kitchen. Now, a modern, glass entryway with a dual stairwell will lead guests to the main floor.

Started under Pataki
The Richardson Center Corp. was formed in 2006 by then-Gov. George E. Pataki to come up with a plan for the Richardson complex. The State Legislature approved some $76 million for the 463,000-square-foot West Side site, spanning 42 acres. M&T Bank’s $16 million in historic tax credits proved critical. And the public offered input at 10 public meetings.

The money has been used to stabilize buildings, restore 600 windows, renovate the South Lawn, update mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and install a five-story elevator shaft. The funds will also pay for new electric, water and gas services, a new landscape and circulation system on the north side of the site and other costs for the hotel and architecture center. The slate roof and copper flashing was paid for in part by a Save America’s Treasures grant that Sen. Charles E. Schumer and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton secured. Innvest Lodging Services announced in January 2013 that it would operate the hotel. After 10 years, there’s just one more year remaining before the Richardson Olmsted Complex reopens.

Richardson Center Corp. board member and architect Kelly Hayes McAlonie is excited about the Richardson’s transformation. “The hotel is going to be beautiful, and the rooms will be exquisite,” McAlonie said.

[videobruce]

These tours have been held for the past few years in the city of Buffalo. Conssidering the intense development of new housing rentals, there is always more to see each year.

From the Buffalo News;

Buffalo Living Tour to showcase Hotel Henry, newest lofts
By Jonathan D. Epstein Wed, Jun 7, 2017

Two high-end boutique hotels will join several apartment buildings in an upcoming showcase of Buffalo residences, as the 6th annual Buffalo Living Tour offers a sneak peak this month inside the city's newest lofts, condos and hotel suites.

Besides insider looks at old commercial or school buildings that have been turned into apartments, this year's tour will feature the new Hotel Henry at the Richardson Olmsted Complex, along with the Mansion on Delaware. The tour will take place starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 17, with participants guiding themselves or riding one of three full-size trolleys. Maps can be downloaded online or they are available from 80 downtown locations. It will end with a happy hour on the Hotel Henry south lawn, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with craft cocktails, beer, wine, music and a special exhibit of of high-end cars from Towne Automotive Group.
“The masterpiece of Henry Hobson Richardson couldn’t be a better venue to conclude the day’s visits to other historic locations that have been given new life as cool living spaces,” said tour organizer Paul D. Maurer.

Among the stops:
-Ellicott Development Co.'s 905 Elmwood Ave., where a former gas station has been replaced by a multi-story new building with high-end apartments ranging in size from 900 to 1,900 square feet. This will be the "headquarters" for the tour.

-Iskalo Development Co.'s The Cornelius at 1391 Hertel Ave., in which the developer renovated the former St. Margaret's elementary school into apartments with luxury finishes, large windows and tall ceilings. The building is named for a creek that used to run along Hertel Avenue.

-Savarino Companies' Buffalo River Landing, at 441 Ohio St., an 80-unit apartment building along the river that was constructed on the remnants of a historic industrial freight house. The five-story, 125,000-square-foot building includes portions of the original structure, dating to 1868.

-Frizlen Group's conversion of the former St. Thomas Aquinas school at 31 Tamarack St. in South Buffalo into the School Lofts at Abbott, with 32 luxury loft apartments featuring 12-foot ceilings, large windows and historic elements such as slate blackboards.

-Buffalo Management Group's Amherst Woods at 1394 Amherst St., encompassing a group of buildings, homes and a carriage house that feature one- and two-bedroom apartments.

-Tony Kissling's 298 Main St. mid-rise building, with 24 live/work lofts and two penthouses on the top five floors, ground-floor retail space and office space in the middle.

-Glendale Development's 1217 Delaware, a high-rise building on Delaware Avenue between West Ferry Street and Lafayette Avenue, with cantilevered balconies and close proximity to Elmwood Village and Mansion Row.