Rochester, N.Y. – The city is green-lighting a massive mixed-use development planned for the former Iola campus.
The mayor sent City Council legislation to approve zoning changes that would allow CityGate to move forward. The city has accepted the developer’s final environmental impact statement, finding the project would benefit the community.
According to documents on file with the city zoning office, the scope of CityGate, proposed by Anthony J. Costello and Son Development, is staggering. It calls for spending $258 million to build an “urban live-work community on the Erie Canal the likes of which is unequaled in Rochester.” The project spans 63 acres in Rochester and Brighton, with two-thirds of the property in city limits.
There would be 1.2 million square feet of offices, retail, a hotel, and 1,035 housing units. The proposal says it would create 1,500 construction jobs and 700 permanent jobs. There would be two parking garages and off-street parking with 2,700 spaces.
“I think it's wonderful. It incorporates a lot of green technology. It's a place to live, work and become part of a new community,” said Albert Antonez, a member of Brighton Informed, which has closely watched the project.
Renderings show an urban environment, with multi-storied buildings with brick facades. The developer agreed to incorporate a more traditional street grid to make getting in and out of CityGate by foot and car easy. Parking will also be on the interior of the complex. Access to the Erie Canal would be improved. There would be an RGRTA satellite station.
The final environmental impact statement calls for tearing down the historic buildings that used to serve as the county’s tuberculosis sanitorium. The developers argued the buildings were not economically feasible to repair and did not fit into their concept. The power plant and smokestack would remain. Monroe County would move the children’s detention facility by the end of 2013.
The project would be done in phases, with the northwest part of the property at Westfall and East Henrietta roads to be developed first. That phase calls for a mixed-use neighborhood with offices and residential.
The developer has said the entire project could take a decade to finish. Two calls to Costello and Son were not returned.
The zoning would change from institutional to a planned development district. The City Planning Commission recommended the project in a unanimous vote in September. City Council votes on the project in two weeks.
