A three-story, 60 room Sleep Inn would replace the Buffalo Tourist Lodge at 1159 Main near Dodge Street under plans approved by the City on Tuesday. The $4 million project is proposed by property owner Fouad Bou-Jaude. 7,700 sq.ft. of office space would front Main Street in a two-story section of the building.
Buffalo Tourist Lodge was built in 1965 and expanded in 1971. It contains 72 rooms in two separate buildings.
Sleep Inn, with over 400 locations worldwide, is a division of Choice Hotels.
Main Street Elevation
Silvestri Architects designed the new building.
“There is no setback along Main Street,” says Jacob Flitton, Associate AIA. “We have pulled the building towards the street to give it more of a presence along Main Street, and to locate the required parking in the rear of the building.”
North Elevation
The building exterior will be a mix of stucco, block and brick finishes.
“A requirement of the Sleep Inn chain was the ability to adapt and update the façade as time goes along,” explains Flitton. “Thus the stucco, with its adaptability.”
“The largest complaint against the building was the tower,” says Flitton. “As we consulted the Sleep Inn chain, that was another requirement of theirs. Thus we located the tower towards the back of the site further away from Main Street.”
The project’s commercial space will be marketed as medical offices and to tenants desiring to be near the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
Three years ago, Savarino Cos., working with local investors, proposed a 30,000 sq.ft, two-story office building for the Tourist Lodge site. That project, also designed by Silvestri Architects, did not move forward.