Construction Update: University of Rochester

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 June 30, 2014 and can be found here.

     The following is a guest post submitted by       Jimmy Combs      .
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The area around University of Rochester--both east and west of the river--has seen an explosion of new construction. RocSubway contributor Jimmy Combs ventured out this weekend to get a snapshot of the progress of three of these developments; College Town, The Flats at Brooks Crossing, and the new Golisano Children's Hospital. All are due to open by 2015...

   The 14 acre     College Town

development at Mount Hope and Elmwood Avenue is on pace to be completed by this Fall.

   The University-owned property will contain some 500,000 square feet of retail and dining space, hotel and conference facilities, parking, and housing for the Mt. Hope and University communities and area visitors.

   Tenants are expected to include, Barnes & Noble, Hilton Garden Inn, Constantino's Market, Breathe (spa & boutique), Corner Bakery Cafe, The Beer Market, Saxby's Coffee, Canandaigua National Bank and Trust, Flight Wine Bar, Moe's Southwest Grill, The Creator's Hands, Insomnia Cookies, and Hairzoo.

   Streetscape improvements by the City of Rochester, including a cycle track along Elmwood will complement the $100 million project which promises "to provide economic benefits to the region, while building a welcoming and cohesive University-neighborhood community."

   Looking toward the new Celebration Drive from Mount Hope.

   This is the view from Celebration Drive looking toward Mount Hope.

   The exposed, brown steel beams along Elmwood Ave make up the first floor of what will be the 6 story Hilton Garden Inn.

   And new parking.

* * *

    The Flats at Brooks Crossing

is a 12-story mixed-use project near the corner of Brooks Avenue and Genesee Street in the Brooks Landing area.

   The project will feature 10 floors of housing accommodating 170 University students in approximately 70 units; a 2,000 square-foot common area; a lower-level scull boat house; a 5,000 square-foot restaurant on the first floor of the building; and a second, 4,000 square-foot, single-story building on Genesee Street.

   Construction began last summer on the $18.7 million development and is scheduled to be completed this fall, 2014.

   Construction on previous phases of the Brooks Landing project was completed in 2010. The project included an 80 room hotel, a retail and office building and additional retail space along Genesee Street. The nearby Riverview Apartments, built at the same time, provides housing for an additional 400 University of Rochester students.

   Another major part of the project is the walkway along the Genesee River. This includes boat docking facilities, improvements to the biking/walking trail, and amenities such as benches, and historical markers.

   A second pedestrian bridge, called the Erie-Lackawanna bridge, was opened in July 2012 as part of the project.    * * *

   The new     Golisano Children's Hospital

at University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) is expected to open in 2015.

   According to the project website, the hospital will provide Rochester children "the best possible environment for healing" and many spaces for family "gathering, playing, resting and finding respite."

   The $145-million building will be attached to the medical center and Strong Memorial Hospital. It will have eight floors and approximately 245,000 square feet of space.    * * *

About Jimmy Combs:

Jimmy Combs is a 20 year old living in Penfield. He is obsessed with the city of Rochester and wants to help Rochester succeed in a major way, and bring it back to its former glory.