Government officials, project partners and even some local school children gathered at the corner of Smith and Orchard Streets to celebrate phase two of the Stadium Estates, a single family home affordable housing project with 46 units.
Scott Benjamin is CEO of one of the developers, the Charles Settlement House.
He says they expect to have all the new homes constructed by this time next year, and the first of the rental units will be occupied in just a few weeks.
"Phase 1 was 45 units, this will be 46. Habitat for Humanity has put up over 50 homes in this area. We're going from a neighborhood that in 2010 there was the equivalent of 33 football fields of vacant property."
Benjamin says over 150 housing units will be put into this area, part of the JOSANA neighborhood, and people will be moving into the 46 units in Phase 2 soon.
"We will have the first couple of units will be occupied by the end of this month, and then basically, 3, 4, 5 units will come on line every month until we get to this time next year," he said.
A number of funding partners are involved in Stadium Estates.
Commissioner of the New York State Homes and Community Renewal, RuthAnee Visnauskas, says the state's $12 million dollar investment in the project is part of Governor Cuomo's Finger Lakes Forward Urban Revitalization initiative.
"This is really a transformation of a neighborhood that was somewhat of a ghost town, had a lot of crime, and you come her now and you can't imagine that past. These homes are beautiful. It's a real partnership between the local community a private developer and government," she said.
Rents at these two to five bedroom units will range from $595 to $793 dollars a month.
CEO Scott Benjamin from Charles Settlement House, says this project is transforming the neighborhood, as quality affordable housing is still in short supply in Rochester:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD-SFRGmOGY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD-SFRGmOGY