Hotel at the Lafayette officially opens

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Another of Buffalo's grand old hotels has sprung back to life, thanks to tax credits, and the dogged persistence of one developer.

Hotel at the Lafayette is once again bouncing with people, many whom remember it from years past.

Gerri Dire said, "I was amazed then and I am amazed today."

Anne Privitera was married more than half a century ago at the hotel. This year would have marked her and her late husband's 62nd wedding anniversary.

"Ah yes, and feelings happiness, joy," she beamed.

The 110-year-old building is the spitting image of the day it first opened.

Developer Rocco Termini said, "Because this was the first female architect in the U.S. who designed it was very well documented by the historical society."

Termini and his team used photographs to recreate the building to its original state.

"Thank God for the internet," Termini said. "I think without the internet we wouldn't have done it, but with the internet you can find anything."

It took $43 million to restore the Hotel at the Lafayette, with $14 million of that coming from tax credits.

Mayor Byron Brown said, "This is an absolute wonder; this is a triumph in terms of the success of this project."

For those who made it happen, they say it's a project of a lifetime.

Carmina, Wood, Morris Head interior designer Pam Timby Straitiff said, "There was a lot of uncovering of treasures and every once and a while we would come over and see something else that would be uncovered from a ceiling they tore down or a wall that they opened up."

Jonathan Morris, an architect at the same firm, said, "It's fun to see people's faces when they come in and see it for the first time."

The hotel features 115 apartments. Only seven are left to rent. It also has 34 boutique hotel rooms, a steakhouse, bakery, and flower shop - just to name a few things the building now offers.