Rochester City Council members have approved a $5-million
deal to sell the Sibley building to the Sibley Redevelopment Limited
Partnership, an entity to be formed by Boston-based Winn Development. Winn
plans to invest up to $150 million over 10 years to renovate the building for
retail, offices, and housing.
Council members were initially skeptical of the deal. They
said they worried that the proposal was too similar to the one that has trapped
the city and the Sibley building in limbo for many years. But Mayor Tom
Richards says that is not the case. The agreement with Sibley Development is
different than the previous deal with Rochwil, current owner of the Sibley
building, he says. The city will be in a better position to collect, Richards
says, if Sibley Development defaults on any payments
owed.
Rochwil owes the city more than $20 million as a result of
defaulting on payments due from a tax agreement, but the city does not expect
to recoup that money.
Sibley Redevelopment will seek a tax-abatement for the
project through COMIDA.
This article appears in Sep 19-25, 2012.
