Developers Selected for Valley Court Project

News Release - Developers Selected for Josh Lofton, Valley Court Projects

City of Rochester

News Release

(Friday, March 25, 2011) – Acting Mayor R. Carlos Carballada announced today that developers have been selected for the former Josh Lofton Alternative High School building in downtown and for the former Valley Court apartment complex in the 19th Ward.

“The successful redevelopment of these two properties will play a critical role in the continued revitalization of the west side of downtown and southwest Rochester,” Acting Mayor Carballada said. “They are both strategically positioned to augment existing development projects around them and accelerate the economic progress that is well underway in these areas.”

Josh Lofton Rendering

Lofton Lofts LLC has been selected as the developer of the former Josh Lofton Alternative High School building located at 242 W. Main St. The development company is a partnership of the Passero Group LLC and the Spoleta Group LLC. The building will be renovated for a mix of office, retail and residential uses, including the new headquarters of Passero Associates, an architecture and engineering firm that expects to move about 65 to 70 employees into the building.

The Josh Lofton development dovetails with several other nearby developments, including the Nothnagle headquarters at the corner of West Main and West Broad streets; the Monroe County Crime Lab at the corner of South Plymouth and West Broad streets; new lofts in the Daily Record and Cascade buildings in the Cascade District; and the Buckingham Commons mixed-use development at the corner of South Plymouth Avenue and Allen Street. Other projects on the west side of downtown that will soon get underway include townhouses at 116 W. Main Street and loft apartments in the Academy Building at 13 S. Fitzhugh .

The Josh Lofton project calls for Passero Associates to relocate its corporate headquarters to the basement and bottom two floors of the four story building and create approximately 4,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor. The third and fourth floors will be converted into 20 market rate loft apartments.

Lofton Lofts LLC plans to begin construction in the spring and begin occupying the building by the summer of 2012. The purchase price will be $285,000 based on an independent appraisal of the property.

Valley Court Rendering

The Acting Mayor also announced that the City has selected Woodstone Custom Homes Inc. as developer for the former Valley Court Apartment Complex, a 4. 5-acre parcel located at 1170 Genesee St., within walking distance from the University of Rochester and Strong Memorial Hospital.

The developer selection was based on a Request for Proposal, which, at the request of 19th Ward neighborhood leaders, specified that the property must be used for owner-occupied market-rate housing. Woodstone was selected from seven submissions to the RFP and plans to build a new subdivision of 29 single-family homes on the site.

This re-development of the Valley Court site will further enhance ongoing development in the already successful Brooks Landing area. This project includes the Staybridge Suites hotel and a new a public waterfront promenade and boat landing located near the crossing of the Genesee River and Erie Canal, linking into the existing Genesee Riverway Trail system as well as Genesee Valley Park.

Directly across the street from the hotel, on the northeast corner of Brooks Avenue and Genesee Street, is a new, two-story, 28,000 square foot building, offering a mix of office space on the second floor and a minimum of 6,000 square feet of retail on the first floor. The University of Rochester is a tenant in this building. The City has invested more than $6 million in public improvements for this area, with more than $1 million in additional funding planned for parkland and gateway improvements between Elmwood Avenue and Brooks Avenue.

The Valley Court development project completion is anticipated for completion in 2013.

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Comment by Mark Sweetland on April 25, 2011 at 11:47pm: Interesting point, and one of which I was unaware. Thanks for pointing this out, DeWain. It is unfortunate. Apparently at this point, though, it may be positive in the long run, although I always favor maintaining historic buildings over this kind of treatment. We can only hope now that there will be positive results, although what you suggest may have been a better way to go.

Comment by DeWain Feller on April 25, 2011 at 10:28pm: It would have been easy to include both houses and at least one of the historic buildings. It was senseless to insist that the development be exclusively houses. The project would have been much more positive if it included both.

The site had been decaying for years because the city allowed it to decay. The city failed to enforce code and other problems when the orphanage site was used as Valley Court Apartments. After the City took ownership of the property, it failed to stabilize and maintain the property. What's worse, the city directly damaged the buildings by using them for police and fire training. Absolutely disrespectful and disgraceful.

Comment by Mark Sweetland on April 22, 2011 at 3:14am: This has been in the works for a long while. It is actually a good economic developement for our area, and although a historic loss, that site has been sitting in decay for years. This is a positive sign. And good growth for our area.

Comment by DeWain Feller on April 21, 2011 at 11:16pm: I'm afraid that it is a done deal (I did get the same email, and I was at the City Council meeting when they approved the demolition). I am trying to diagnose how we got to this point in order to make sure that we don't lose any more historic properties. However, I am not sure that (after the loss of the Claude Bragdon Arnett YMCA and now the Jewish Orphan Asylum) that we have any historically-significant buildings left. We do have several historic churches, and I would hope that they would be safe, but then again I did not think that anyone would push to demolish the orphanage.

Comment by Margy Meath on April 20, 2011 at 11:40am: I am pretty sure that Valley Court is a 'done deal' - work to dismantle the buildings has started or is about to start.... An email went out today and said the following:

The purpose of this email is to inform you of work that will be commencing at the former Valley Court Apartment Complex located at 1170 Genesee Street. This work involves the asbestos abatement/demolition of the three remaining apartment buildings and site clearance in preparation for a planned new housing subdivision.

We have entered into a contract with Frederico Construction & Demolition Inc. (FCD) to perform this work. Over the next two weeks, they will begin interior salvage work and the removal of trees from the front & center of the site. There will be a substantial number of trees removed in order to clear the land for new housing. None of the trees are of any substantial value, being primarily locust and pine.

On April 27, 2011, asbestos abatement of the buildings is scheduled to begin. That work is expected to take 4-6 weeks. Immediately following the asbestos abatement, demolition will start. Demolition is expected to last 30 days. It is our plan for the demolition project to be complete by the middle of July.

Due to the age of the buildings, we are working with the contractor to salvage as many building components as is economically feasible. FCD is currently assessing which building materials to salvage. The list is not yet complete, but at present, they will attempt to save:
·         Front entrances with the lead glass

·         Exterior brick

·         Radiators

·         Interior doors (remaining non-damaged)

·         Light fixtures

·         Plumbing fixtures (tubs, sinks etc.)

·         Slate roof

·         Floor joists (if can be separated without breaking)

An informational letter detailing these events was mailed to all residents on Arvine Heights, Oak Hill View and the section of Genesee Street between these two streets.

Upon completion of the demolition and City Council approval, we intend to turn the parcel over to the developer – Woodstone Custom Homes. Though a schedule is not yet in place, it is the developer’s plan to begin preliminary site work this year.

_____________________________________
Curt Colombo
Principal Staff Assistant
City of Rochester
Dept. Neighborhood & Business Development
City Hall, 30 Church St., Room 005A
Phone: (585) 428-6922 <tel:%28585%29%20428-6922>
Fax: (585) 428-6229 <tel:%28585%29%20428-6229>

Comment by MacClurg Vivian on April 20, 2011 at 11:11am: DeWain, has anyone told the Jewish Community Federation, Larry Fein, ceo of this?

JCF Fine, Lawrence W.
E-mail Address(es):
lfine@jewishrochester.org
Business Information:
Phone: 461-0490 x 229

Comment by DeWain Feller on April 19, 2011 at 11:43pm: Many people may not be aware that the three remaining structures on the site were formerly the historic Jewish Orphan Asylum. The demolition of these irreplaceable buildings will be a huge loss to our neighborhood, the city and Jewish history in Rochester.

The Jewish Orphan Asylum was identified by the Sector 4 CDC as one of Sector 4's unique cultural assets.

We will be losing our history, and beautiful brick buildings, for a suburban-style housing tract, complete with a cul de sec and vinyl siding.

This project does not represent a victory for our neighborhood, but rather a major loss.