(Rochester, N.Y.) – PAETEC Communications may not build a new headquarters downtown and instead move into Midtown Tower.
The city approached CEO Arunas Chesonis two weeks ago.
“They said, ‘Would you consider remodeling and renovating Midtown Tower?’” Chesonis said.
The move would save $15 million. A brand new building is expected to cost about $100 million.
“That's $15 million that can be saved for the project. That means $15 million PAETEC shareholders can save, or the city and state can save,” Chesonis said.
Moving into the tower would also save time. The project is about six months behind the original schedule.
“I think if we do Midtown Tower, I think it's three years, and I think if it's going from scratch it's going to be four and a half,” he said.
Chesonis said his preference is to build a headquarters from scratch, but he is seriously considering the Tower plan.
“We're all pretty realistic about what has to happen and that's why I thought it was a really good suggestion by the mayor and his team to use Midtown Tower to move the project faster and save some money,” Chesonis said.
“It represents a very significant way to redirect costs and speed it up and utilize a Rochester landmark,” said Heidi Zimmer-Meyer of the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation.
“The city thinks it makes a lot of sense. Our goal from day one is to take Midtown down and put PAETEC on that site,” said city spokesman Gary Walker.
"We support PAETEC with their prudent decision to consider the option of redeveloping the Midtown Tower for their new headquarters, given the difficult economic climate we are in," said Dennis Mullen of Empire State Development. "The State and City will continue to work with Arunas Chesonis and his team to bring this important private investment to the Midtown site."
If PAETEC moves into Midtown Tower, it would be a dramatic change of plans. In the fall of 2007, PAETEC announced it would build the tallest building in Rochester on the Midtown site. Less than a year later, the design was scaled back, after PAETEC’s stock took a nosedive, along with the economy.
The state has committed up to $65 million to demolish the Midtown complex and clean it up.
There would still be a great deal of construction needed on Midtown Tower. The building is riddled with asbestos and would have to stripped to its steel girders. The state would pay for the abatement.
“Think about when you're growing up playing with tinker toys and erector sets, it would look like just a shell of a building potentially,” Chesonis said, adding that stories could be added or removed.
Chesonis said the company is considering building a smaller two or three-story building next to the tower.
If PAETEC utilizes the tower, it would mean the city would have an additional parcel of land to develop. So far, no developers have signed on, something that does not worry Chesonis.
“Once it is shovel ready I think you'll have people very excited about that site,” he said. “If you drive by there now it's not the most exciting place to drive by, and I think they just need to see momentum.”
