Council approves Richardson Hotel’s porte-cochere, reversing Preservation Board

The vote, taken without debate, came after the Buffalo Preservation Board denied the porte-cochere in April 2022 and again last month on the grounds that the size and scale of the steel structure was too large for the Richardson Olmsted Campus, a National Historic Landmark.

Among their concerns was that the structure blocked the view of the iconic twin towers when looking up near the hotel’s entrance, located on the back side of the complex.

“Preservation is an attractive attribute for visitors to Buffalo, but should not be the holy grail that can hinder any development,” University Council Member Rasheed Wyatt told The News after the vote.

“There’s a balance to this. I do understand that when people come to Buffalo – even my family, who live in Virginia – they want to see the architecture. That’s important, but you can’t take it to the extreme,” he said.

Wyatt experienced a “sense of awe” as he walked around the hotel on a recent visit while observing people with their “mouths wide open” as they looked about. He wondered why there was so much fuss about a structure in the back of the building.

“I was like, what are we talking about here?” he said.

At a legislative hearing two weeks earlier, a half dozen critics called for reducing the size of the porte-cochere, three of them from the Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture. A few speakers, including Paul Hojnacki, chairman of the Richardson Olmsted Campus, spoke in favor of the covering.

“After a nationwide request for a new operator, the only person willing to take a shot and reopen the hotel and restaurant was Doug Jemal,” said Delaware Council Member Joel Feroleto, whose district includes the hotel. “He believes the porte-cochere, which can be removed,…