Enhancing CityGate

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 May 22, 2013 and can be found here.

     The following is a guest post submitted by       Mike Bouwmeeester      .
      Submit your story today      .

Welcoming Costco and RGRTA to CityGate is great. Ignoring walkability and losing all historic buildings isn't. Our community needs walkable places. We need development that calms traffic and makes walking easy and safe. Moreover, our community needs to preserve its historic fabric. We need development that repurposes old buildings for new uses...

   Rewind to 2010. After years of analysis and planning, the     Final Environmental Impact Statement

presented plans for a mixed-use, walkable community. Although the document claimed that few buildings had feasible reuse potential, it offered hope for preservation of three hospital buildings and the iconic power plant and smokestack facility.

   Forward to 2013. On May 15, Costello & Son Development unveiled their     latest site plan

. Although detailed information is scarce, we know much has changed. The developer wishes to build a network of large parking lots connected by driveways. Far fewer, larger buildings emulating a suburban plaza would offer retail and office space. These buildings appear to be single use.

And the historic buildings? Completely gone.

   That's why CityGate matters to Rochester. While welcoming Costco and an RGRTA transit facility are big wins, we lose if the current site plan becomes a reality.

Speak out about CityGate. Tell city officials how you feel about the latest proposal. If we make our voices heard, CityGate can become a truly unique and valuable economic development.

Send project comments to Brett Garwood,       [email protected]     (585) 426-6150 and Peter Siegrist,       [email protected]     (585) 428-7238. CityGate meeting dates are TBD.

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UPDATE:    A meeting has been scheduled for AJ Costello & Sons to present their CityGate plans to the public...

• The meeting will start 6PM, Tuesday June 4, at St. Anne Church Social Hall,      1600 Mt. Hope Avenue

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• Representatives from the City of Rochester will be on hand along with the neighborhood and business associations to answer questions.
• Daniel J. Hurley, President, Upper Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association, encourages you to send questions, concerns or suggestions to       [email protected]     . He will forward those on to the developer such that answers can be provided at the meeting. Information on public hearings and schedule will also be presented.

Update:

A petition has been created which asks for changes in the CityGate plans, including preservation of the historic buildings, and a more walkable layout.     Sign on at Change.org    .

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About Mike Bouwmeester:

Michael Bouwmeester is a Community Planner and volunteer with Reconnect Rochester. Enhanced transit, urban design, and historic preservation are some of his passions. You can follow him on Twitter     @michaelbouw

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