Rochester Real Estate and Development

West Side Stories

2007-01-26T12:20:00.000-08:00

Three recently-announced development projects on the West side of the City offer different perspectives on what drives the deals.

Some might view The Mills at High Falls as a triumph of the free market over government subsidy. The the truth is that the City's investment in the district paved the way for this project. At the same time it is also true that the City invested far too much in subsidizing one vision of use, entertainment, at the expense of other investments that might have offered better return in leveraging private investment.

The proposed Riverview Apartments,a $25 million, 120-unit housing development planned for South Plymouth Avenue near Barton Street aimed at University of Rochester students, was clearly nudged forward by Brooks Landing. This suggests a better lever at work, since the private money will exceed the public investment.

And the Frederick Douglass Resource Center has been in the works for many years, but will clearly build with the City's redevelopment of the old Fight Square housing project into Anthony Square, which features a mix of rental and owner occupied units.

One local blogger offers another idea for a West side investment: a new state office building.

Development is a two-way street

2007-01-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

Dateline Rochester has a three part riff
that's worth reading. The theme is Jane Jacobs' concept of "eyes on the street" from Sunnyside Queens to Rochester.

There's all kinds of press about downtown this week in anticipation of the downtown design charrette.

City has a couple quotes in their coverage this week. City Council member Bill Pritchard, is the realist, saying ""On the one hand, you want to dream big," says Pritchard. "But on the other hand, unless you've got a pot of gold, those dreams will never become a reality." Someone will need to ask City Council member Bill Pritchard whatever happened to the Center City Task Force that he was chairing. Among other things they were supposed to report on was the fairly elementary matter of returning downtown streets like Clinton and St. Paul / South Avenue to two-way traffic with some on-street parking. Surely that wouldn't require a pot of gold. Nevertheless, no small retail or service business is ever going to take root if potential customers can't run stop quickly to run an errand. Please don't point out that this would slow down the flow of vehicular traffic. That is exactly what's supposed to happen. If downtown has any hope of being a place where more people live work and shop, then the public streets need to be reclaimed to allow that.

Failure to Register?

2007-01-11T08:22:00.000-08:00

The D&C has another story about the "buyers' market". The story reports that the number of closings was down for December when compared a year ago. Did anyone think to ask whether the fact that the Monroe County registry was closed for more than a week with technical difficulties had anything to do with that? Meanwhile, prices remain more or less steady.

Annual Appeal

2006-12-13T11:05:00.000-08:00

Talk about yesterday's news. The D&C is reporting a buyers' market, on the heels of the RBJ. Below is a posting here from last December:

Wednesday, December 07, 2005
And now the Democrat and Chronicle calls it a buyers' market as well. The Rochester Business Journal makes it less of a story and just reports the two key points: Sales volume is down, but median sale price is still up. The other thing to note is that purchase offers accepted are down from the same period last year. These are statistics for the whole Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The bottom line is much the same. A decrease in total sales volume, but an increase in median sales price. Might as well republish the November 2005 quote from Mark Siwiec, of ReMax Realty Group in Pittsford: "We're looking at a period of time of five years or better where we won't see any real increase or decrease in property values. On one hand, we enjoyed a modest increase, but not the crazy increase in valuations you've seen in other parts of the country."

Showing Off

2006-12-06T07:36:00.000-08:00

Rite Aid has been throwing it's weight around the corner of Monroe and Goodman for a while now. It was set to buy and demolish the building that houses Sullivan's shoe store on Edmonds to build a drive-up window to the existing store. Now, as the D&C reports, it has a bigger scheme in mind and is using a general dislike of Show World to gain leverage.

The knee-jerk response that Rite Aid is hoping for is: "Anything but Show World." But that response confuses use with design. Show World is an undesirable use. Rite Aid is proposing an undesirable design. An unwanted use is much easier to change than an unwanted design. The fundamental problem with the design is that it requires a package of variences from the standards set out in a zoning code that went through exhaustive public review and comment. The requirements for granting a varience are:

a) That special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to the
land, structure, or building involved and which are not generally applicable
to other lands, structures, or buildings in the same district;

b) That literal interpretation of the provisions of this Ordinance would deprive
the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same
district under the terms of this ordinance;

c) That the special conditions and circumstance do not result from the
actions of the applicant.

The decision would lie with the Board of Appeals, but the answers would seem to be: No, No, and No.

This parcel enjoys great potential and prominence and its redevelopment limited only by the imagination of the developer.

Ramping up

2006-12-04T06:57:00.000-08:00

Not much has been heard about the proposal floated to build a mixed-use tower on the site of the collapsed South Avenue parking garage ramp, since the D&C published a small story. It will no doubt resume when the consulatant's report on the site is released soon. One point of contention is likley to be the fate of Cornerstone Park. The park is in poor repair and sees limited use- in part, no doubt, because it sees limited sun, as it lies in the shadow of the Bauch and Lomb tower, and the Central Library. A tower on the ramp site would likely box it out entirely. On the other hand, Washington Square and the park to the East of Excellus are a block away and see lots of use. It may be that the best plan would be to build on the entire footprint of the ramp and Cornerstone Park. Concealing the exposed South face of a parking garage with a mixed use building seems to have worked at the Sagamore East. It may be worth replicating on a less opulent scale.

Midtown muddling

2006-11-27T07:05:00.000-08:00

Since the City paid $250k for an option to purchase Midtown Plaza for $6m, the issue has fallen out of the public spotlight. Tying up the property makes business sense for the City. With Renaissance Square moving forward, a large, underperforming property like Midtown, becomes attractive to an outside investor with equity to park for a few years in a buy-and-hold pattern. But the City is also spending $100k or so on an assessment of the property by Bergman & Associates, and the public should have a clear idea of what that money is going to buy and complete disclosure of what Bergman uncovers. But, before any governemt funds were invested, the local chapter of the AIA, in partnership with the Rochester Regional Community Design Center had already put together funds and talent for a design charette and review of the Midtown site. If the City is going to use public money to evaluate the property, then the City should be involving the public and local architecture and design professionals more openly.

Even if the ultimate goal is to turn the property over to a private developer, the City needs to carefully craft the RFP to reflect community goals and to ensure that it gets what it needs. Otherwise, the option, and perhaps purchase money will be wasted.

Lower Math

2006-10-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

The D&C takes a less than exacting look at Renaissance Square's funding arithmetic. Still waiting for someone with a financial calculator to come up with an operating budget.

Morning Sickness

2006-10-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

No gestation is easy, and the one that is supposed to give birth to a new downtown is no exception. The D&C reporting has been generally glowing, although they've made some token efforts at equal time. At least one local blogger, who lives downtown, has been to the presentations, and looked closely at the design, likes what he sees. Others offer more outspoken criticism.

Public money often needs to take risks to leverage private investment. But does Rochester need to pay for expensive fertility treatments only to end up with twins but no way to pay for them to go to college? Someone needs to publish an honest operating budget.

Very little has been said about the size of this baby given the age and condition of the mother. What will be the net cost of a delivery that is going to last at least three years?

Finally, to push this infant(ile) thing farther than it should go: It takes a village to raise a child. A big baby like Renaissance Square is sure to change and perhaps revitalize a part of downtown. As the ULI report made clear, occupied housing is what will ultimately sustain it.

Buckingham Trend

2006-09-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

A recent piece in the D&C headlines Buckingham Commons but also provides a status report on the downtown housing market (making reference to the RDDC's 2006 Rental Housing Survey.) With reasaonably strong private investment in the Cascade District, the St. Paul Quarter, the East End, and even the Washington Square area, one might ask whether Renaissance Square is acting as an anchor rather than an engine for development at Main and Clinton. With the commercial heart of downtown tied up in a protracted debate over public investments, private money is necessarily going to sit it out. Of course the promise of Renaissance Square is part of the return calculus, but many of these residential redevelopments were underway well before the shape or even the reality of Renaissance Square was evident.

July Single Family Sales

2006-09-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

All data are for sales in the City of Rochester:

Total sales volume of single-family homes: 142
Average list price: $75,842
Average sale price: $74,355
Total value of sales: $10,558,367
Average price per square foot: $51
Average number of days on market: 31

Thanks to Mary Shelsby

Moving mountains

2006-09-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

The previous post seems to have pushed some dirt around at Brooks Landing.

Hard Landing?

2006-09-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

Coming on two months ago the D&C reported that construction on Brooks Landing was set to begin in "a few weeks". When does a few weeks become a delay with another story to cover?

Bucking the Trend

2006-09-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

No real surprise here. The national numbers are driven by big markets that saw big runups that were not sustainable without low interest rates, or perhaps rising incomes. With interest rates trending up and incomes trending down, the big markets need to adjust. Rochester doesn't have all that much to correct downwards from.

June Two-to-Four-Unit Sales

2006-09-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

All data are for sales in the City of Rochester:

Total sales volume of two-to-four-unit buildings: 45
Average list price: $80,596
Average sale price: $78,311
Total value of sales: $6,656,440
Average price per square foot: $34
Average number of days on market: 45

Thanks to Mary Shelsby

July Sales: Two to Four Unit Buildings

2006-09-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

All data are for sales in the City of Rochester:

Total sales volume of two-to-four-unit buildings: 59
Average list price: $69,195
Average sale price: $67,193
Total value of sales: $3,964,362
Average price per square foot: $29
Average number of days on market: 35

Thanks to Mary Shelsby

June Single-Famliy Sales - Long Form

2006-08-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

All data are for sales in the City of Rochester:

Total sales volume of single-family homes: 211
Average list price: $85,567
Average sale price: $83,165
Total value of sales: $18,054,649
Average price per square foot: $53
Average number of days on market: 31

Late, but still worth comparing to the May numbers for the City.

Thanks to Mary Shelsby

Sprawl

2006-08-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

The D&C has been running a modest series covering the new census data. This one reports some hard facts for a city that is already oversupplied with housing units.

July Sales Short Form

2006-08-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

The RBJ reports GRARs sales numbers for the MSA. Volume is holding pretty steady and prices are up a tick.

The Buck Starts at Genesee

2006-08-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

R News and 10NBC report that Buckingham Properties has closed on the Genesee Hospital property and is also aquiring the building that currently houses the Raj Mahal restaurant as part of the development scheme.

Home Away from Home

2006-08-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Home Properties will be selling off its Rochester area inventory. Only one of these is located in the City at 1600 East Avenue. The The assessment data is here. Reports are that the REIT will continue to maintain its base of operations in Rochester.

Storm in a Port

2006-07-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

The latest presentation of the Master Plan for the Port of Rochester has sparked a fair amount of debate-- though perhaps even more is needed given that this is the largest and most expensive development project in the City. The residents seem to be saying that less is more and the experts seem to be saying it won't work unless it goes big. Although they are not otherwise comparable, it is interesting to contrast this with the debate over La Marqueta, where resident critics want to aim higher and the developer is not comfortable taking that kind of risk.

The Rach-a-Cha Rant suggests that Charlotte residents calling for something less grand should wake up and smell the economic realit, and Sasaki's representative is reported as saying that up-market density is the only way to get the project pay for itself. Meanwhile, the City is stepping up it's efforts to break the $1-a-year annual lease with Maplestar that is tying up the ferry terminal.

Carrots, Sticks and Lead

2006-07-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

King of the ROC offes some reasonable criticism of the City's current financial assistance for owner occupants and landlords looking to remediate lead paint hazards. To meet the goal of lead safe housing by 2010, the City is probably going to need to offer some more carrots and do a better job of serving them up. Too heavy with the stick and the City's inventory of tax forclosures is going to rise. Finding the right balance in a climate of rising interest rates and declining population is not going to be easy. It may well be that the City is going to force the market to make some hard choices about which properties are more cost effective to demolish than remediate, and then step in with funds to balance that side of the equation.

La Marqueta

2006-07-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

A recent feature in City Newspaper highlighted some of the issues facing the development of La Marqueta on North Clinton Avenue. The Man About Town and a letter to the editor of City Newspaper jumped on a description of the project as a strip mall with a hispanic touch which is attributed to Larry Glazer of Buckingham Properties. The attribution is not a direct quote, so it's not clear what words Glazier actually used to describe his project design. Still, however fair or unfair the attribution, the proposal to put parking between the retail space and the sidewalk is certainly more like a strip mall than a traditional urban commercial strip, and on its face would not seem to fit with the updated zoning code.

The criticism of the design may be deserved, but if the investor of private capital is not comfortable with the risk of using a design that outside their business model, then the public and the developer may need to step back and review their expectations.

First Half Sales

2006-07-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

The GRAR regional sales summary is out. The RBJ and D&C report.