Owners of the former Richford Hotel in downtown Rochester are making a last-minute push to save the century-old building from demolition.
The city has declared the building at the edge of the Midtown block unsafe and a public nuisance. At a hearing set for Thursday, an administrative judge could give the go ahead to raze the nine-story structure.
But owner Midtown Reborn LLC – registered to Judith Hain of Irondequoit – has another idea.
The company wants to convert the building into 64 market-rate and affordable apartments, along with offices, street-level retail, and a rooftop patio. And it recently hired developer Patrick Dutton to lead a team that will assess the building’s structural integrity and prepare a plan for the estimated $20 million renovation.
“There's a ton of reasons why you would proceed with this project,” Dutton said in an interview. “And very, very few — if any — why you'd knock it down. The only reason you knock this thing down is if there are some major, major structural issues with it. And I don't believe … the results are going to tell us that.
“I think it's going to come out fine.”
The building has been vacant for well over a decade and has sat behind barricades since its metal siding began falling off during a windstorm last year. The city ordered the building owner to remove the rest of the metal siding.
“This facade falling off was the best thing to happen to this building,” Dutton said, describing the old cladding as “this urban renewal-era ... terrible, terrible, white metal.”
Removing the siding exposed “this gorgeous brick with beautiful window openings, and they're all in good shape. The masonry has been protected. For the last 50 years, the masonry of this building has been protected by this terrible facade that was covering it up.”
Dutton described the location as “killer,” with views of Parcel 5 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, and proximity to the Sibley Building, the East End, and Geva. The building was converted to office use in the late 1960s. And Dutton said the inside looks rough.
“Envision a 1960s, 70s office building that has come apart,” he said, with water damage, collapsed drop ceilings and “remnants from pigeons and vandals, and just years and years and years and years of neglect.”
It was the first building sold in the days after plans to raze and redevelop Midtown first were announced in 2007. It was already long vacant at that time. The current owners bought the building in 2015.
In a statement, city Neighborhood and Business Development Commissioner Dana Miller said the demolition hearing will proceed, as scheduled.
“This is a privately owned building in seriously deteriorated condition," he said. “We understand that detailed plans from a developer may be presented at that hearing. Ultimately, the hearing examiner will decide whether or not the demolition is approved, but the city is always willing to work with a developer that has solid plans and finances to quickly address a concerning property.”
If allowed to proceed, Dutton said, the goal is to tap into state and federal historic tax credits that could offset up to 40% of project cost. That planning and approval process involving the State Historic Preservation Office could take a year or more to complete.
Dutton has led or assisted with renovations of the Glenny Building and The Metropolitan downtown, as well as Hotel St. Andrews (formerly Calvary St. Andrews Church), Woodbury Lofts (formerly Merkel Donohue), Geva Lofts, and Capron Street Lofts. He currently is working on the former Edwards Building on St. Paul Street.
The Richford development team also consists of Herrick-Saylor Engineers and Lozier Environmental Consulting.
