BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The next phase of development is taking shape at Buffalo's historic Richardson Complex.
On Tuesday, campus leaders announced the selection of two Buffalo-based development partners to help rehabilitate the local landmark. McGuire Development and Savarino Companies were selected to bring new life to five of the ten remaining historic buildings on-campus.
McGuire Development Company will partner with the Richardson Complex to rehab three buildings in the western wing. According to campus leaders, these buildings will be transformed into the nation's newest University-Based Retirement Community (UBRC).
“After serving as a consultant during the Richardson’s first redevelopment project, we are excited to continue our involvement in the complete rehabilitation of the Richardson Olmsted Campus,” said Megan Tafelski, Vice President of Marketing for McGuire Development Company. “We are passionate about this community and look forward to contributing as a catalyst to create a sustainable destination.”
Savarino Companies will oversee changes on the eastern side of the campus. The plan here is to transform two buildings into live/work spaces , which combine professional work spaces and apartments for artists.
“All of the members of our project team – from our employees to our designer and consultants – are excited to be part of the next phase of the adaptive reuse of a such an iconic community treasure,” said Sam Savarino, President and CEO of Savarino Companies. “There are many restrictions in any effort to repurpose a landmark structure without compromising its historic integrity. But sometimes – with a little ingenuity, perhaps, but certainly with a lot of luck – those very restrictions guide you towards the highest and best use for those structures. Such is the case here. The decision to develop an affordable artist live/work/exhibit community in two buildings at the Richardson now seems to have been inevitable. We have much to do in order to get the project planned out, financed, and built, but we are already working on it.”
Three buildings have already been renovated on the campus as Hotel Henry Urban Resort Conference Center, 100 Acres: The Kitchens at Hotel Henry, and the future Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo.
The Richardson Olmsted Campus is set to present renderings and more details about the proposed projects during a public meeting later this year. To check out a schedule of upcoming meetings,click here.
About the Richardson Olmsted Campus:
"One of Buffalo’s most iconic buildings and a National Historic Landmark, the 145-year-old Richardson Olmsted Campus is being renewed after years of neglect. Designed by great American architect Henry Hobson Richardson and the famed landscape team of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the building incorporated a system of enlightened treatment for people with mental illness."
To lean more about the campus' fascinating history, click here.
