BUFFALO, NY— A 75-year-old former office building here, which lay dormant for many years, has reopened as a 138-unit Hampton Inn & Suites. This Hampton property does not fit into the usual brand segment— midscale without food and beverage— as it features 30 different room types, some floor-to-ceiling windows, whirlpool tubs and fireplaces. In addition, the hotel has 10,000 square feet of space for retail shops and restaurants, as of yet unfilled as the developer chose to wait until the conversion to a hotel was completed. The property was transformed into a hotel by Benderson Development Co. and Buffalo Lodging Associates as a part of the current revitalization process underway for the downtown area. The cost of the conversion was between $9 million and $11 million, and was completely financed by the developer. According to Scott Parker, vp/operations for Benderson, the retail and restaurant space was added because “winters can be soft, so we needed the extras to attract people.” Parker noted that the area around the hotel, including the theater district, is being spruced up and sidewalks are being repaired. “The community has been very excited,” he said, adding that the “whole corner [where the hotel sits]has been cleaned up to look new.” The new Hampton hotel will be the flagship for the development company, according to Parker. He estimated that an extra 4,000 guests per month will visit the city as a result of the revitalization. The 32 suites at the hotel range in size from 750 to 1,500 square feet and feature amenities such as fireplaces, whirlpool tubs, full kitchens and floor-to-ceiling windows. The floor in front of the fireplaces are lined with marble and the mantles are more than two feet wide, noted Parker. Additionally, the largest suites feature six floor-to-ceiling windows in the bedroom as well as large-screen televisions. For those suites that feature a full kitchen, shopping and dishwashing services are provided. All rooms feature high-speed Internet access, two telephones and six telephone jacks so that guests can be on the phone from anywhere in the room. “Our bread and butter is going to be corporate business,” Parker said. However, he added that, “The leisure, romantic and school markets have not been forgotten.” Parker noted that basic standard room rates will range between $109 and $179 per night, though they may vary during different seasons. Although the hotel has only been open for a month, Parker reported that occupancy has grown every night. “The phones haven’t stopped ringing since we opened,” he said. He added that once the banners for the hotel were up, many potential customers— particularly those from the adjacent Federal Building— came in for tours of the property, and some even booked rooms on the spot. He said that on opening night, the hotel had 10 rooms booked and by the weekend 90 rooms had been sold.
