Who needs New York City-style
housing? People in Western New York tend to use city comparisons to denote
sleek luxury and urban cool. But anyone who lives in New York City knows that
the free-for-all that passes for real estate there is the bane of financial
security and sanity. Shower in the corner of the living room? A kitchen smaller
than a mini van? In the city, these are not deal breakers.
Luckily the jump in the number of
urban apartments in Rochester has not led to insanity. The only thing
approaching crazy about all the high-rent lofts, condominiums, and apartments
cropping up downtown is that people can’t get enough of them. In all the talk
about how to attract people to the city’s core — Renaissance Square, a
performing arts center, a casino — a stream of people has quietly but
steadily been strolling in and setting up house.
Are we seeing a revival of downtown?
“Yes, I think that’s precisely what’s
happening,” says Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, president of the Rochester Downtown
Development Corporation. “And it took us by surprise. There’s a tipping point
that happens, and I think we’re on that point.”
Zimmer-Meier says housing development
is leading the turnaround, and this has three benefits: “It creates a demand
for retail and restaurants, it creates a secure environment when you have
people there 24/7, and it increases the city’s tax base, which is critical.”
One surprise is the number of people
willing to rent apartments at $800 to $3000 a month. “In this market what you
can buy for that is significant,” she says. “But the quality and architecture
is so attractive to people that they’re willing to forego owning. That speaks
volumes about the appeal of the environment and the lifestyle.”
There are still challenges: a shaky
outlook for the regional economy, sewing together the distinct downtown
neighborhoods, and forever the question of what to do with the Sibley Building
and Midtown Plaza — keystones on the Main Street and Clinton Avenue
intersection.
In this issue of Home Design, we’re
looking at the East End neighborhood, once the seat of Rochester’s richest
families.
“There’s a really good and varied
stock of buildings from before WWII,” says Katherine Eggers Comeau,
preservation advisor with the Landmark Society, “and they tend to be really
solidly built. In some cases, it’s taken a while for developers to see the
potential of these buildings.”
But the idea has caught on now. This
year’s Landmark Society Inside Downtown Tour (which opened East End buildings
to the public) sold over 1,600 tickets, an approximately 70 percent increase
over last year.
With older commercial buildings being reclaimed for loft and
luxury apartments and condominiums, the East End is again attracting people
with money who want to live in the city’s cultural heart. This has been true
for the last few decades, but variations on the mantra “cultural amenities, all
within walking distance,” were for some time repeated as if somebody needed
convincing. Now, developers can’t seem to open the doors to spacious, fabulous,
urban chic housing fast enough.
Read more of home/design 2005 by clicking here!
This article appears in Oct 5-11, 2005.
