City of Rochester
News Release
(April 25, 2022) – Mayor Malik D. Evans is strengthening his support and commitment to the City of Rochester’s “Buy the Block – Greenlining for a Better Rochester” program by announcing today the next steps in the initiative.
The City has selected the Greater Rochester Housing Partnership as the developer who will work in tandem with Atlas Contractors, LLC, Ibero American Development Corporation, and Howard Hanna’s Garcia Team to construct up to 24 single-family homes on vacant city-owned parcels for the program. The recommendation is pending City Council approval and will be considered next month.
“The Buy the Block program is about equity,” said Mayor Malik Evans. “It’s about righting the wrongs of decades of housing discrimination by turning redlined areas in the city into “green lined” opportunities, where Black and Brown families can accumulate wealth through homeownership, and create a prosperous future for generations to come. I am truly grateful for the continued support of our government partners Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Joseph Morelle so we can provide affordable and adequate housing to city families.”
The Buy the Block program is designed to encourage homeownership, and the first phase will uplift and strengthen a formerly redlined neighborhood between Clifford, Clinton, and Hudson Avenues, and Upper Falls Boulevard. The program consists of three distinct initiatives:
- Building new, single-family, high-quality homes for qualified city residents to purchase with affordable mortgages;
- Assisting homeowners in the neighborhood, through grants and free consultation, to implement home improvements including roofing and exterior façade repairs on existing properties; and
- Supporting owners of mixed-use properties in the neighborhood, including buildings with first-floor retail and upper housing units, to make similar exterior improvements.
In the first phase of the project, which will span from 2022 through 2024, the City will spearhead the building of up to 24 single-family, high-quality homes on vacant, City-owned lots. Buyers will have the opportunity to choose from six model homes to meet the needs of diverse households. Overall, the goal of the Buy the Block program is to build 100 homes in under-invested areas of the City.
The estimated sales prices for the homes range from $89,000 - $139,000. The housing costs are on a sliding scale so that the buyer spends no more than 30 percent of their income on housing.
Buy the Block is supported by $13.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
City Council will take up the measure for consideration on May 10.