Rochester, N.Y.- Rochester’s mayor announced Friday the Sibley building downtown will be sold and redeveloped.
Mayor Tom Richards is submitting legislation to City Council that would allow for the sale and transfer of ownership of the Sibley Building to a Winn Development LLC (Winn) company, Sibley Redevelopment Limited Partnership, to redevelop the building for educational, residential, office and retail use.
In a statement Friday Mayor Richards said, "It is time we break with what was and move on to what will be. The redevelopment and use of the Sibley Building is vital to our ongoing Downtown revitalization efforts. With the Midtown Rising project in full swing and the development of the Sibley Building about to begin, the anchors of our future City Center are in place."
Under terms of the deal, Winn will purchase the property for $5 million.
As part of the sale price, Winn has agreed to assume the City's $3.1 million loan to the current owner of the building, Rochwil Associates L.P.
An application will be made to the County of Monroe Industrial Agency for a 20-year Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement. The agreement will set a baseline tax payment that would increase as the Sibley Building is redeveloped and leased. The City would also collect embellishments and service charges from Winn.
Richards says the current owner of the Sibley building will not be released from all outstanding obligations totaling approximately $19.9 million.
"For 20 years this building and its impact on Downtown has been held hostage to a well intended plan that failed and a debt burden that was not going to be paid," said Mayor Richards. "We didn't need a lament about the past we needed a solution for the future. This proposal frees at long last, the Sibley Building and Downtown from this legacy and directs our energy and funding to the future."
