Rochester officials and developers cut the ribbon on a major renovation project in the center city on Thursday.
The ceremony marked the completion of a more than $8 million project to re-make the Glenny Building, an 1886-era building on Main Street just west of the intersection of Main and Clinton Avenue.
The Glenny Building was designed by local architect James Goold Cutler for the Buffalo-based W.H. Glenny, Sons & Co., a retailer specializing in fine china, glass, silverware and other items.
But it was vacant before the recent renovation and the developers, Dutton Properties, had a lot to contend with as part of the project.
Luke Dutton, head of construction for the project, noted that it was in very bad shape with crumbling facades and collapsed structural supports and floor systems.
Besides all of the renovations needed for the 6-story building, the developers were dealing with renovations during COVID as well as supply chain issues.
Luke Dutton said that they are proud of how it turned out, noting that it also uses geothermal energy as a sustainable source.
“Geothermal energy harnesses the Earth's natural heat, reducing our carbon footprint and our reliance on fossil fuels,” said Dutton, noting that, “In the Glenny building, we make all the domestic hot water for tenants and provide heating and air conditioning for each department from the earth’s geothermal energy.”
The building is located on a block where developer Patrick Dutton said their company owns several more buildings on that block they are working on, as well as some land where they are considering different opportunities.
“We think this is the entry point to Rochester with the hotels and the convention center, and other larger housing projects, the riverfront.,” said Patrick Dutton. “We think this is the entry point to Monroe County, we think it's the entry point to the Finger Lakes, and certainly it is our home here in downtown Rochester.”
Mayor Malik Evans said this is a key piece of property for redevelopment and he hopes it inspires other developers around the city to do similar work.
The Duttons are providing a great service in this building here, said Evans, “and there are other projects that they have going on here. There’s a hotel that's going to be next to this building. It is absolutely amazing with the work that you see here, but it is a critical linchpin of our development to revitalizing Main and Clinton.”
The Glenny Building now has 25 apartments and some retail space on the ground floor, and the Duttons say that 19 of the apartments are already leased.
