and Siefker had started almost 25
years earlier. At the time of the sale
to Richbell, it was estimated that it
would cost between $6 million and $8
million and perhaps a year or so to re-
habilitate the hotel and its grounds. It
quickly became apparent to Richbell
that it would take multiples of time
and money to reach its objective.
"When we first bought the hotel,
we knew we wanted to preserve the
building," Milde said. "You don't real-
ly know what you're going to encoun-
ter until you start looking in the walls.
What we realized pretty quickly was
that the building was structurally not
sound."
The Adelphi did not open for the
2013 season while Richbell was search-
ing for solutions. It settled on apply-
ing for historic tax credits from New
York State and the federal government
to help manage the massive costs.
"The one thing that we found out
pretty quick was that the building
could have been demolished because
it was structurally unsound," said Mil-
de. "We then knew it was going to be
quite expensive to keep that building
standing on Broadway, but we ob-
viously are big fans and we love the
building and deserves the preserva-
tion we have given it. Let's just say
that the building will be on Broadway
for another 140 years. This is the jew-
el of downtown Saratoga, right in the
middle of Broadway. It is a very spe-
cial building because it is the last of
T H E A D E L P H I
U N D E R C O N S T R U C T I O N
T H I S S P R I N G
