Celebrate City Living

This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published April 06, 2016 and can be found here.

     The following story was submitted by       Celebrate City Living

It will actually be warm soon--and stay warm. But, when you live in upstate NY you don't necessarily wait for the ground to thaw to start your housing search. Smart shoppers know the best spots don't last long on the market, whether it's a new build, a fixer upper or a historic landmark. Now there's another tool you can add to your home buying tool box.

The City of Rochester, City Council, and the Rochester Coalition for Neighborhood Living have launched     Celebrate City Living

, a new program to help homebuyers and renters learn about the benefits of living in the city and find the resources to make it easier to buy or rent a home in Rochester...

   Celebrate City Living is a new spin on what was a successful initiative for over twenty years, City Living Sundays. Originally taking place over four consecutive Sundays in each of the City's four quadrants, the coalition took a one-year hiatus to revamp the program based on feedback the coalition gathered from sponsors and attendees. What evolved from that time off is a year-round program designed to encourage city residency for consumers at every stage of the housing search, including renters, first-time homebuyers, experienced owners, those who require financial assistance and those seeking high-end, luxury spaces. So what was once deemed a housing expo geared to first time home buyers, is now a showcase all of the housing opportunities, inviting a much broader spectrum of homeowner and perspective resident.

   The program places a special emphasis on the distinctive settings and wide variety of housing choices in each of Rochester's neighborhoods. The goal is to help consumers understand that Rochester is a city of neighborhoods and they can quickly focus their search for an ideal home by learning about the characteristics of each neighborhood.

A key development is the new website, www.celebratecityliving.com which will help consumers search city neighborhoods for a house or apartment and connect them to available resources, including real estate agents, lenders and non-profit agencies that specialize in city housing. All of which are available at the expo, but now available 24/7 online as well.

The website features a custom search engine that filters available housing choices by neighborhood along with profiles of the neighborhoods. The site is interactive and includes a social media center and a place where neighborhood residents and merchants to submit neighborhood events to a community calendar.

   The inaugural     Five Star Bank Celebrate City Living Housing Expo

will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, April 16 in City Hall, 30 Church St. The Housing Expo will serve as a resource fair, where home hunters can meet representatives of each neighborhood along with real estate agents, lenders, landlords, and non-profit agencies who specialize in serving city customers.

Exhibitors will also include home decor stores, food vendors, entertainment venues and health and recreation facilities. People can also enjoy a 'Hot Dog with the Top Dog', a chance to engage with political representatives.

   On Sunday, April 17 many open houses will be held at available city properties. In addition, the Landmark Society of Western New York will host three bus tours of city neighborhoods on April 9, 10 and 16. All tours start at 1 p.m. and depart from either City Hall or the Landmark Society's headquarters. Visit     www.celebratecityliving.com

to register for a tour.

   Along with the annual Housing Expo, CCL is also partnering with neighborhood representatives along with Canandaigua National Bank to host a series of Celebrate City Living neighborhood celebrations throughout the year, where neighborhood leaders and merchants can highlight the distinct benefits of their neighborhood in a festive setting. The first neighborhood event, Celebrate City Living: Celebrate Neighborhood of the Arts, was held at the end of February at the M/Body fitness studio, 1048 University Ave., and featured several of the stores, restaurants and housing options located in the Neighborhood of the Arts. Live demonstrations in the M Body studios and an outdoor Rock Climbing wall from Rock Ventures kept the entertainment level high, not to mention the creative cocktails provided by the Revelry and flowers by Wisteria. Look for the next neighborhood celebration in May. Keep up to date on all the happenings on     Facebook    ,     Twitter    and     Instagram    , @ccl_roc, #CelebrateCityLiving.    * * *

The Rochester Coalition for Neighborhood Living members are: The City of Rochester, M&T Bank, Ibero-American Development Corp, The Housing Council at PathStone, NeighborWorks(r) Rochester, Citizens Bank, The Landmark Society of Western New York, Greater Rochester Association of Realtors, Game Plan Marketing, Roc City Realty, New2U Homes, Hart's Local Grocers and Magellan Realty. This year's title sponsor for the Home Expo is Five Star Bank.

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