The discount grocer Aldi has work to do to convince some
North Winton Village residents and City Hall that a store belongs on the corner
of Blossom and Winton roads in southeast Rochester. Paperwork from the city’s
planning and zoning office says that the project as originally presented would
need at least 15, and possibly as many as 17, zoning variances to proceed.
“There’s a lot that needs to be resolved,” says City Council
member Elaine Spaull, who represents the southeast. Traffic density is the
biggest problem, she says.
Aldi has submitted new designs, according to a press release
from the North Winton Village Neighborhood Association. But those haven’t been
shared yet. A public meeting will be held at a later date, the release says.
Some residents — an opposition group currently has about 20
members — say that Aldi is unnecessary because there are other grocers nearby.
The chain is trying to stuff a suburban-style big-box store onto Blossom-Winton,
they say, with little regard for the neighborhood’s urban aesthetics and
atmosphere.
But Spaull says that are other village residents who are
thrilled about the possibility of a discount grocer within walking distance of
their homes. Neither side is wrong, she says.
In addition to the zoning variances required for the
original plan, Aldi would need a special permit from the City Planning
Commission for exceeding the parking cap. Aldi wants 73 spaces, the city says —
significantly more than what the city requires.
Project opponent Anthony Vallone
says that the project site was “downzoned” several years ago at the request of
the neighborhood. Commercial operations in this particular district should be
“low intensity, unobtrusive, and conducted at a scale and density compatible
with the surrounding neighborhood,” the city’s paperwork says.
The proposed Aldi would be 17,000 square feet, the city
says, which is more than five times the permitted size in that zoning district.
Mary Coffey, co-chair of the North Winton Village Neighborhood
Association, says that Aldi, City Hall, and the neighborhood are working
together to improve the project, and that people should be glad that developers
want to invest in the neighborhood.
“We’re hopeful we come up with just a wonderful building and
a good developer in the neighborhood,” she says.
In a statement, Aldi representatives say that they’re working with
local officials and hope to be open by the end of the year.
Adding to the angst is the fact that Aldi would replace
Jim’s Restaurant — a popular local eatery — at Blossom-Winton. The restaurant
will close on Saturday. Never to be confused with fine dining, Jim’s was
nevertheless a cultural nexus in North Winton Village. City Hall administrators
and Rochester school board members were just as likely to occupy Jim’s booths as
20-somethings feeding their hangovers.
Owner Elena Knapp says that her landlord asked her to leave
after her lease expired last December. She said that she plans to reopen Jim’s
second location on East Main Street sometime this summer. Jim’s Restaurant Too
closed late last year after a kitchen fire.
This article appears in May 13-19, 2015.
Yes, that parcel needs to be redeveloped! However, there are many possible alternatives that would be much more consistent with the current and historic uses of the block of Winton Road north of Blossom, and would not require zoning changes or waivers. Mixed neighborhood commercial-residential construction similar to the Collegetown redevelopment of Mt. Hope would be ideal. Another concern – Aldi is seeking a time-limited lease, so our neighborhood could be faced with a vacant big-box that couldn’t easily be adapted for another use. The last thing we need is precedent-setting replacement of small commercial properties with big-box stores!
David D. Kaiser
Keep in mind that large parts of this city are virtual “food deserts” with only corner stores for food (grocery chains are far away, or not present at all). So, we have (low income) dense neighborhoods LACKING stores, and we will now have an area (higher income) that will be served by four grocery stores?
I’m not saying that they shouldn’t have a store there, but we also need them in other areas of the city!
Does anyone have contact info for the opposition group mentioned in the article?
Jay, you could try stopaldis@gmail.com
And I’m told that they are active online at North Winton’s “Nextdoor” site, but you have to sign in.
Oh please. Aldi’s brings good prices and a relatively small footprint. There’s a big box CVS, Tops and Wegmans immediately nearby. There are big ugly warehouses along Blossom, I can’ t see the problem with this. 20 people are upset? Prove that a real constituency is upset and maybe.
MBUSH – Its ALDI, there is no “‘s.” This seems to be blue collar colloquialism. Its a pet peeve when people say “Nordstrom’s” or JCPenney’s.” Those brand names have no “S” in them. Put forth effort to get it “write.”
“Paperwork from the city’s planning and zoning office says that the project as originally presented would need at least 15, and possibly as many as 17, zoning variances to proceed.”
Yikes! What’s the point of even having a zoning code if it’s possible to receive 17 variances? One or two variances might be reasonable, but 17?
And, MrRoc, while you’re up there on your high horse, throw an apostrophe in your “its.” As for this project, screw Aldi and Aldi’s
Yes, Joey, 17 variances. This is how your government works and should help to show you why our economy sucks and taxes are so high in NY. BTW, good luck building a house or addition on your house without getting a half dozen variances yourself.
Regarding the complaint there are parts of the city lacking larger food stores, there are economic reasons why. When working as a sales representative, I learned first hand how high the rate of theft was in these stores. It was absolutely disgusting. I would marvel at why a company would choose to keep a store in a neighborhood that allowed for this. Well years later, most of those stores are gone. When citizens treat themselves and the business owners in their neighborhoods with respect and adhere to common civility, maybe then you will see stores open up in “food deserts”. Until then, I don’t blame businesses for choosing to not open. Corner stores thrive since someone is usually elevated and behind bullet-proof glass watching what is going on in all parts of the small store to prevent that very theft from happening, since if it did that store could not survive either and would close. You’d need an army to monitor a larger store-but then some customers would complain their civil rights were being violated. Another issue larger stores deal with is shoppers being careless with the merchandise; take a look at the Hudson Avenue Walmart, where often merchandise, litter or discarded food & drink containers are all over the store, waiting for a “servant”…opps employee, to come and clean up after a dirty/lazy customer. Lets not even get started on the bathrooms, where I have seen feces on the floor where a child (hopefully) went, either without supervision or with parental approval-who by the way did NOT clean up after their child. Toilets not flushed, menstrual by-products thrown on the floor instead of garbage receptacle. The list goes on. The bathrooms are so abused employees can not keep up with the piggishness of some customers. Now, take a look at the Walmart in Victor. I rest my case. Until citizens start being responsible and clean up after themselves and their children, and start respecting those trying to do business in the city, we will have areas of “desert” and rightly so, sadly.