Committee recommends approval for adaptive reuse of Richardson-Olmsted kitchen as Lipsey Architecture Center visitor space

Paris Roselli, executive director of the Lipsey Architecture Center, told the Committee on Legislation on July 1 that the center seeks to adaptively reuse the Richardson-designed kitchen on the Richardson-Olmsted campus as a visitor center and add a glass addition.

Roselli said the project has worked with preservation architects, the National Park Service, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Buffalo Preservation Board and that plans will be respectful of the Olmsted landscape. “We are adaptively reusing 1 of the, historic buildings on the campus for an architecture center for Western New York,” Roselli said. He added the center will provide orientation, programming and work with local partners to bring tour groups to the area.

The committee opened and then closed the public hearing; Roselli was the only speaker at the microphone. After the public hearing closed the committee moved to recommend approval; the motion to approve was seconded by Council Member Rivera, per the transcript.

The motion to recommend approval appears in the committee record; the transcript does not include a roll-call vote. Implementation steps such as building permits, final preservation approvals, and construction timelines were not specified in the committee discussion and will be handled through normal permitting and preservation-review processes.