From Buffalo Rising
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For the first time in two decades, the Hotel Graystone will soon have legal occupants. Ellicott Development is putting the finishing touches on 42 market-rate apartments in the landmark building. The first apartments will be ready for tenants on September 1. Painters have been working on the outside of the building this week and the building’s appearance is dramatically improved.
Rehabilitation of the circa-1897 Hotel Graystone at 24 S. Johnson Park has been on the wish list for preservationists and others for years. The six-story building was designed by Buffalo architect Carlton T. Strong and Ernest L. Ransome, an English-born architect who first experimented with reinforced concrete construction by using twisted metal rods to strengthen the material.
Originally called the Alabama Apartments, it was designed to house 120 luxury apartments. When market conditions failed to support the upscale plan, it was redone as the Berkeley Apartments, catering to short-term tenants. The apartment/hotel hosted hundreds of visitors to Buffalo’s Pan-American Exposition in 1901 and was renamed the Graystone in 1912.
