Leaky roofs, missing downspouts, water-damaged ceilings and strands of hanging mesh that once bonded plaster make up part of the crumbling surroundings that can be seen from inside and outside at the Richardson Olmsted Campus.
The most acute case of water damage is a collapsed section of floor, about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, in one of the brick buildings developer Douglas Jemal plans to build out for apartments.
A team working for Jemal noticed the damage while clearing the building of asbestos and lead.
“I would have walked into this room, seeing as there is plaster on the walls, thinking the floors are fine,” said Paris Roselli, president of the Richardson Center Corp., the nonprofit that owns the 463,000-square-foot campus and has leased it to Jemal for redevelopment.
The damage, Roselli said, was the result of water that infiltrated the building through the roof and ran down the walls, rotting the floor joints and weakening the floor over the years to a state of collapse.
“I think the damage will come as a surprise and shock to the community,” he said. “As the not-for-profit steward of the campus, we are obviously thrilled and excited over Douglas Jemal’s efforts, but we want to make sure he has buildings still standing to redevelop.”
To that end, the Richardson Center seeks $12 million in state money to seal the five most vulnerable vacant and dilapidated structures, and prevent further damage before they’re redeveloped.
Most of the funds would be used be to affix new slate roofs for the historic property, restore gutters and stabilize buildings.
It is a small down payment for the amount of economic development the reopened campus will generate, Roselli said.
Jemal was the only developer who responded to a national solicitation to redevelop the National Historic Landmark, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson as the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, which opened in 1880.
Asbestos…
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