By Mark Scott
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-888602.mp3
Buffalo, NY – Another downtown landmark is being mothballed. The Lafayette Hotel will close on April 1st and will be boarded up, much like the Statler Towers.
Developer Rocco Termini is proposing a major renovation at the Lafayette Hotel. He's planning to spend $35 million to convert it into a boutique hotel, apartments and restaurants. But first, the state must reform its historic tax credit law so that Termini can take advantage of it. And that's not happening.
So, Termini told the Buffalo Planning Board Tuesday that the building's current management will begin mothballing the landmark.
Termini says the Lafayette Hotel's 40 remaining tenants have received eviction notices. The Lafayette Tap Room is not one of them. The popular club's owner closed it last Saturday. Mark Alfieri says his decision has nothing to do with the fate of the building. He says he was forced to close because of the closing of Washington Street in front of his establishment for a construction project.
Alfieri says if he does relocated, it will be to a suburban location. He chastised city officials for not doing more to help small business owners like him.
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