When we moved our young family here, Rochester was a very
different place than it is now – downtown, perhaps, the most different of all.
Downtown, its bustle, the Eastman School, helped convince Bill that Rochester
was where we should live – “You won’t believe this place,” he had said, calling
me in Florida from a payphone in the Sibley’s grocery store – and once we
arrived, he couldn’t wait to show me what downtown was like.
So on our first night here, we drove downtown, parked in the
Midtown Plaza garage, rode up the escalator, and walked into Midtown’s magic,
lights blazing on a huge Christmas tree, crowds packing the stores.
That was then. Today, the crowds are gone. Midtown is gone.
Sibley’s, the National, Edward’s, Whillock Bros.: all gone.
Rochester tried everything to stanch the bleeding. We built
enclosed overhead walkways that were supposed to help downtown businesses by
keeping people warm in the winter and instead simply finished killing off the
street life. We tried converting the Edwards Building into an indoor shopping complex
called The Mill (an initiative that opened more than a year late, brought in
principally small food operations rather than the hoped-for retail shops, and
closed less than two years later.)
And for good or for ill, we failed to get Renaissance Square
off the ground. But we’re still getting a new downtown campus for MCC. We have
a transit center. And we should consider ourselves lucky that we’ve managed to
save as many of downtown’s significant old buildings as we have, to serve the
new purposes they’re being converted to now. Their age is an attribute.
Those are not the only bright spots from downtown’s decades
of decline. We tend to think that Ren Square and The Mill typify the way
Rochester operates. But when I look back, those two failures seem more like
large, painful blips in a story that contains an amazing amount of knowledge
and solid urban planning, bolstered by determination and faith in the city.
What happened to Rochester’s downtown wasn’t unique: suburban
sprawl was killing center cities everywhere. But Rochester’s situation was
particularly tough, because cities in New York State can’t annex suburbs as the
population spreads out.
In spite of that, and in spite of the decline of major
industry, downtown Rochester seems to have turned the corner and started a slow
but measurable climb back up. Over the next few months, our writers will be
looking at the progress, in housing, business, and arts and entertainment.
As we start, it’s worth paying tribute to a few of the
people, no longer living, who built the foundation for what we’re seeing now.
To Mayor Tom Ryan, who hired a professional staff and consultants whose
understanding of urban planning saved us from suburbanizing downtown.
To Gil McCurdy and Angelo Chiarella, whose personal commitment to downtown kept
Midtown Plaza alive and contributing to the city longer than seems humanly
possible. To early downtown housing promoters Mac and Anne McQuay, who preserved
the Gibbs Street Townhouses and tirelessly preached downtown’s attributes. And
to architect and Grove Place leader Bob Macon, whose vision of robust downtown
housing development we’re beginning to see come to life, and whose architecture
helps the Eastman Theatre anchor and enliven a crucial section of Main Street.
It’s a solid foundation, but no one can predict the future.
Is this growth sustainable in a region where the population is relatively flat?
Equally important: if the growth continues, will Rochester’s
future downtown serve all people in this diverse community? I can’t imagine
that we’ll experience the stratospheric real estate prices that the tech boom
has caused in San Francisco, but even moderate growth can put property out of
reach for low- and middle-income residents and small retailers.
Careful planning and development incentives can guarantee
that downtown will serve and benefit all of us. And the time to think about
those is now, before development pressure heats up.
We encourage your comments as we continue this series this
winter.
Related Stories
This article appears in Dec 23-29, 2015.
I did a lot of research on the post WWII era downtown and authored an “Images of America” book on it in 2010.
https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/97807385…
I think the G-word is going to be crossing a lot of people’s minds as we go forward. Personally, I’d love to get a place in the new Tower 280, with its concierge service and elevated dog park. But I also want to be sure to stay rooted, and support the local and small businesses in the center city. The old Chase Tower is becoming partly owner-occupied soon, so we’ll see what kind of draw that brings to the nearby area. I think most importantly, I hope they get the Inner Loop East right, and not just another generic Collegetown-type block.
How many more millions of tax dollars are going to be spent on the Sibley Building. City taxpayers lost $20,000,000 when RochWil, the Wilmot’s shell company stiffed us over a 15 year period of failing to pay back PILOT incentives. Now another $40,000,000 is going to be blown on the hopes that the new owners will be a little less dishonest.
Rochester, NY’s downtown future during Climate Change
The foundation of a thriving downtown Rochester encompasses more than a desirable housing market. Consider the case of Flint, Michigan where a bad official decision to save money on public water infrastructure has resulted in the lead poisoning of many children and a drinking water crisis. When you cannot drink the water, breath the air, or if your built infrastructures (transportation, water, waste, telecommunications, and energy) are crumbing, even a cheap McMansion will be undesirable.
In a changing world, where the past we knew is not an indication of our future prospects, one of the most dramatic changes Rochester and its downtown hub will experience is Climate Change. Our housing market, our job prospects, our public health, and everything else we hold dear will not thrive if our environment (our life support system) is collapsing. In the past we developed and advanced under the delusion that our environment would take care of itself despite our environmental interference.
Things have changed. Or rather, our recognition of our incredible negative effects on our environment has improved—culminating in our growing awareness of Climate Change. Our environment is a much more sensitive biological system that we previously thought. The Paris Agreement, agreed to by almost every nation in the world, should if nothing else remind everyone everywhere that sustaining a viable future must include an urgency to act at every level.
A year ago City Newspaper reported “Rochester to undertake citywide climate inventory” (January 21, 2015) and it looks like the city is finally getting around to it. How robustly the city embraces the community-wide Climate Action Plan (CAP) and other ‘green’ initiatives could determine whether we remain a desirable place to live regardless of downtown development. Rochester is and will be experiencing many changes due to the great warming but not as much as many other areas whose ability to get enough fresh water, maintain farm productivity, and protect themselves from extreme weather will fail long before these vital elements fail here.
Rochester has been slowly addressing Climate Change, although we have yet to reach the degree of concern equal to the threat. And the public has not been engaged.
• Rochester’s OFFICE OF ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.asp… You can download the Energy Management and Climate Action Status Report here!
• Rochester was first to join Compact of Mayors http://www.compactofmayors.org/
• Rochester’s CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION RESOLUTION http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.asp…
• Rochester has joined the state’s Climate Smart Communities program http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.asp…
• Rochester is one of five New York State cities with its own energy plan: http://www.nypa.gov/RochesterEnergyPlan.ht…
• In the NYSERDA’s Cleaner, Greener Community’s program, this is the Finger Lakes Region sustainability plan for (counties of Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates) http://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Pro…
In other words, Rochester government is changing its energy profile, assuming I suppose that if they lead on energy efficiency, conservation, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions the public will follow. But if the public doesn’t know that Rochester is leading, the message is lost.
Rochester has increased their focus on active transportation (walking and bicycling), which not only increases the likelihood that more folks will want to live downtown, but also decreases our fossil-fuel transportation system’s effects on our health and greenhouse gas emissions. But we have not educated the public about the importance of active transportation in combating Climate Change, we see the same old conversations about different transportation modes while the elephant sits in the room ignored.
Rochester has talked about its commitment to addressing Climate Change. But it has not demonstrated its concern to the public in a consistent manner that engages the public or the local media. Climate denial and its devastating obstructionism is still rife in our community. This means we are still talking about solving our existing problems and orchestrating our future development as if Climate Change doesn’t exist. Other areas, including other cities in our country, do not have this problem because they’ve presented their communities with strong climate action plans.
Because of climate refugees, downtown Rochester will probably grow in numbers—one way or the other. The best way would be to ready ourselves by planning and educating the public to gain their support. The other way, business as usual, will be madness.
Ultimately, the most important attraction for a city will not be its snazzy architecture. It will be the likelihood of its prolonged sustainability, and its perception among the affluent that it will flourish.
Time passes.