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I've been meaning to post this for those that missed it, but the proposals have come in for the inner loop fill-in and I'm pleasantly surprised by them. Christa and Home Leasing would build new housing and retail complexes, and The Strong Museum would work with Indus Hospitality on a Museum Expansion, a brand new Hotel with a water feature (whatever that means), apartments and "urban" retail surrounding the expanded museum.
This has the real potential I think to completely transform this into a destination spot. We also have MLK park right there which has Party in the Park concerts in the summer, outdoor movies and a well-used outdoor ice rink in the winter. The park will now be connected to the Strong via a pathway with new retail and apartments. Also with the apartments, it will generate more after 5PM activity which will encourage visitors to the Hotel to venture out at night and visit restaurants there. I think they've nailed this right on the head.
I can just envision new development in the park now. A permanent stage for party in the park, and perhaps street performers the rest of the time. And it would also connect quite nicely to the Jazz Fest and Fringe Festival.
This is really exciting.
Quote:
An expansion of The Strong National Museum of Play to include a 120-room hotel with an indoor water feature as part of its pool and spa, 201 units of housing, "urban retail spaces" and a 1,200-space parking garage, all extending from Broad Street south. The preliminary project price tag is $105 million. The project would be done in partnership with Indus Hospitality Group and Konar Properties.
“We are pleased and honored to have this opportunity," Strong CEO G. Rollie Adams said in a statement. "We are grateful for the City’s recognition of the museum’s role in the community, and we appreciate the confidence this shows in our ability to contribute even further to the vibrancy and economic well-being of Rochester and the region.”
You know I actually had lower expectations for this and was pleasantly surprised when the renderings came out. The museum expansion looks pretty cool and the way they fill everything in with a new garage, hotel, and a mixed use building seems like it will fit the area really well. I hated that huge parking lot that they used to have and am glad to see it go while still providing a parking solution for museum goers. I don't know what "water feature" means but I would assume some kind of splash zone or water slide setup in the hotel? If so, seems like a great compromise between just a normal pool and a full blown water park. I agree with what you said, this could turn into a real destination.
As for the other buildings 4-5 story mixed use seems fine to me. The Home Leasing building will tie in really nicely with what they already have over on Charlotte St. The Christa Morgan building is a little more bland, but it's not terrible. I hope something good comes out of the remaining lot they're sitting on for now, there could be a greater demand for something a little larger there a couple years for now.
I have thought for years MLK Jr park needed to be invested in so I agree with you there as well. With all this parcel 5 park talk, I hope all this development by MLK shifts focus over there instead, it could be a great concert spot if done properly.
Overall, this is all seems pretty exciting and I can't wait to see construction start.
I completely agree with all your statements too UncleBenny. Also ironically, I'm posting the newest proposal for Parcel 5. I think Gallina and Dutton may have just nailed the perfect proposal for there. 2017-2019 is shaping up to be quite active years for development in Rochester.
I completely agree with all your statements too UncleBenny. Also ironically, I'm posting the newest proposal for Parcel 5. I think Gallina and Dutton may have just nailed the perfect proposal for there. 2017-2019 is shaping up to be quite active years for development in Rochester.
I've been a bit disappointed with development over the past five years or so. Midtown turned out to be an underwhelming lowrise office park, the Sibley Building is taking forever, Charlotte fell through, College Town is half-empty and proving to be far less successful than anticipated, Alexander Park still isn't going anywhere after almost a decade, it seems to have been constant bad news over the past half-decade.
What's been announced this Summer is very exciting though. If these Inner Loop and Parcel 5 proposals turn out as designed, Rochester is going to be a very different city by 2020. I'd love to see an uptick in urban development here. I'm staying cautiously optimistic, but I love what I'm seeing.
I share the same disappointment on some of those things, especially Alexander Park, but at the same time there is stuff actually going up right now too. WedgePoint, Charlotte St Apartments, East House project on Alexander, new builds on University and the corner of Goodman/East are all actively under construction right now. I think I actually see more progress going on than things getting stalled out, which is actually nice.
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