City of Rochester
News Release
(Friday, March 25, 2011) – Acting Mayor R. Carlos Carballada announced today that developers have been selected for the former Josh Lofton Alternative High School building in downtown and for the former Valley Court apartment complex in the 19th Ward.
“The successful redevelopment of these two properties will play a critical role in the continued revitalization of the west side of downtown and southwest Rochester,” Acting Mayor Carballada said. “They are both strategically positioned to augment existing development projects around them and accelerate the economic progress that is well underway in these areas.”
Lofton Lofts LLC has been selected as the developer of the former Josh Lofton Alternative High School building located at 242 W. Main St. The development company is a partnership of the Passero Group LLC and the Spoleta Group LLC. The building will be renovated for a mix of office, retail and residential uses, including the new headquarters of Passero Associates, an architecture and engineering firm that expects to move about 65 to 70 employees into the building.
The Josh Lofton development dovetails with several other nearby developments, including the Nothnagle headquarters at the corner of West Main and West Broad streets; the Monroe County Crime Lab at the corner of South Plymouth and West Broad streets; new lofts in the Daily Record and Cascade buildings in the Cascade District; and the Buckingham Commons mixed-use development at the corner of South Plymouth Avenue and Allen Street. Other projects on the west side of downtown that will soon get underway include townhouses at 116 W. Main Street and loft apartments in the Academy Building at 13 S. Fitzhugh .
The Josh Lofton project calls for Passero Associates to relocate its corporate headquarters to the basement and bottom two floors of the four story building and create approximately 4,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor. The third and fourth floors will be converted into 20 market rate loft apartments.
Lofton Lofts LLC plans to begin construction in the spring and begin occupying the building by the summer of 2012. The purchase price will be $285,000 based on an independent appraisal of the property.
The Acting Mayor also announced that the City has selected Woodstone Custom Homes Inc. as developer for the former Valley Court Apartment Complex, a 4. 5-acre parcel located at 1170 Genesee St., within walking distance from the University of Rochester and Strong Memorial Hospital.
The developer selection was based on a Request for Proposal, which, at the request of 19th Ward neighborhood leaders, specified that the property must be used for owner-occupied market-rate housing. Woodstone was selected from seven submissions to the RFP and plans to build a new subdivision of 29 single-family homes on the site.
This re-development of the Valley Court site will further enhance ongoing development in the already successful Brooks Landing area. This project includes the Staybridge Suites hotel and a new a public waterfront promenade and boat landing located near the crossing of the Genesee River and Erie Canal, linking into the existing Genesee Riverway Trail system as well as Genesee Valley Park.
Directly across the street from the hotel, on the northeast corner of Brooks Avenue and Genesee Street, is a new, two-story, 28,000 square foot building, offering a mix of office space on the second floor and a minimum of 6,000 square feet of retail on the first floor. The University of Rochester is a tenant in this building. The City has invested more than $6 million in public improvements for this area, with more than $1 million in additional funding planned for parkland and gateway improvements between Elmwood Avenue and Brooks Avenue.
The Valley Court development project completion is anticipated for completion in 2013.
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News Media: For more information, contact Acting Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development Bret Garwood at (585) 428-6150.