Hotel Henry will close, the victim of a 'pandemic body blow'

The hotel occupied three buildings centered around the notable red sandstone towers that are part of the historic Richardson Olmsted Campus on Forest Avenue. It fell victim to Covid-19, co-owner Dennis Murphy of INNVest Lodging Services said.

"The pandemic body blow to our community was overwhelming for Henry," Murphy said. "That was the summary of it."

Murphy entered 2020 expecting it to be Hotel Henry's "best year ever." Instead, the pandemic slowed business to a crawl with a loss of 75% of projected revenue – and little relief in sight.

Murphy speculated in October that the 88-room hotel could have to temporarily close because of the pandemic.

But the hotel ran out of time.

"The miracle hasn't shown up yet," he said.  

Hotel Henry opened in April 2017, the first business on the Richardson Olmsted Campus since the state provided an initial $76.5 million to revive the abandoned, colossal-sized 19th-century asylum and National Historic Landmark.

An additional $10 million was raised through grants and fundraising, with $16 million coming from state and federal tax credits.

Most of the funds were used to rehabilitate the three buildings used by the hotel so that they could be put to use again, whether for a hotel or other establishment. The cost also included furnishings, fixtures and equipment costs for the hotel.

In 2018, the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave the Richardson Olmsted Campus its top preservation honor, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation National Preservation Award. Hotel Henry was named that same year to Time magazine's list of the "World's Greatest Places," and it earned four preservation awards in New York from state government, architectural design and preservation organizations.

The pandemic has hit the whole campus hard.

Besides the closure of the hotel, a university-based retirement community planned for three buildings that have been empty since the 1970s was shelved due to funding challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. 

An 80,000-square-foot residential project, however, by developer Sam Savarino is moving forward on the eastern side of the campus. 

"This means our top priority is to find a new tenant for the hotel property," said Mark Mortenson, president of the Richardson Olmsted Corp., which owns the campus. 

He said Tuesday that developers are also being sought for the property's western buildings.   

Mortenson said the hotelier was forthright all along about the hotel's economic circumstances.

"They have been really trying with every ounce and effort to figure out how to keep the hotel going," Mortenson said.

He said he is optimistic that another hotel will give it a go once the pandemic is in the rearview mirror. 

"It's disappointing for us, as well as for the entire region, but given the notoriety of the campus and what people have seen it can be, I think this is just a temporary situation before we get a new tenant in the hotel property," Mortenson said. 

Tuesday's announcement ends the confusion among some who have tried to find out about the hotel's plans.

Two event planners told The Buffalo News that they had not been able to get answers from Hotel Henry about event reservations, reserved room blocks or other essential event details. They said their calls and emails went unanswered.

Prior to Tuesday, travel sites such as Expedia still allowed customers to book the hotel.

Emlyn Flanigan found out she didn't have a reservation Friday when she arrived via plane and rental car from Baltimore to gaze at the dark, foreboding structure.

She noticed unplowed parking lots. While she researched options, Mortenson came over to her parked car. He asked if he could help, and ended up sending her to the Principes' and Murphy's other hotel, the Mansion on Delaware.

“I knew that the hotel was on a hiatus,” Mortenson said Monday, before the official announcement Tuesday. “So in that case, my first call was to the Mansion, because I know that they've been fulfilling, moving reservations from the hotel to the Mansion while the hotel is on hiatus.”

Why was the closing not communicated on the hotel’s website or social media?

“They said that they've communicated that pretty openly on the internet, you know,” Mortenson said. “So I certainly trust that they've done that.”