Proposed development incentives for remaking the vacant Rochester Riverside Hotel would waive all property taxes on the complex for 15 years.
An envisioned $61 million overhaul would repurpose the hulking, 14-story pink building and adjacent structures for a mix of hotel rooms and apartments, plus banquet and meeting space, retail and restaurants.
City officials have conditioned the unusual tax deal on the work being completed by December 2027, a date officials said the developer determined was doable.
Typically, these payment in lieu of tax, or PILOT, agreements start at 90% abatement and step down each year to full taxation. The plan being considered here would run 19 years, with the step-downs not happening until the final four years, records show.
Mortgage and sales tax exemptions also are being considered.
Mayor Malik Evans and his administration have been eager to see the hotel reopen since it shut down nearly five years ago. The building has been a headache for the city. Left unsecured at times, it attracted drug users, was damaged by fire in 2022, and ransacked. Don Jeffries, president and CEO of VisitRochester, described it as "an eyesore."
The hotel is connected to the city’s convention center via an enclosed, elevated walkway, and sits at the center of downtown along East Main Street, overlooking the Genesee River.
“It's going to completely change, from the drawings that I saw. It'll completely change,” Jeffries said. “They're gonna replace all the windows. ... It'll be a lot of glass, it'll be very fresh. I'm thrilled that they're moving forward with this.”
Developers were eying the same mix of 123 hotel rooms and 171 apartments outlined nearly three years ago. But the city pushed for 10 additional hotel rooms (taking from the apartment total) and the construction deadline before signing off on the proposed tax deal, records show. The developers have countered that they would seek to convert the 10 rooms back to apartments if hotel occupancy is inadequate in the first six to 18 months of operation.
A project summary obtained by WXXI News shows 20% of the one- and two-bedroom apartments would be affordable for households earning 60% or less of the area median income ($40,740 for a one-person household). The hotel rooms would fill floors three through five, and a portion of floor six, with the apartments filling the remaining space and floors above.
Rochester’s Angelo Ingrassia owns the property and is teaming up with Ellicott Development, which operates 11 hotels in and around Buffalo. Neither responded to messages seeking comment.
What’s being proposed, Jeffries said, is a “select service” hotel, an increasingly popular option in the market (Hilton Garden Inn and Courtyard by Marriott are two examples) that offers in-room amenities while maintaining affordability.
The project summary shows four “condominium” spaces for retail and restaurants extending to St. Paul Street that could be operated independently of the hotel.
“That'll spur activity,” Jeffries said, referring to the full complement of apartments, hotel and retail. “That'll help the downtown restaurants, that'll help the other downtown hotels, because that'll give us the availability of more rooms to book meetings and conventions.”
A public hearing on the proposed tax breaks is scheduled for Nov. 14 before the county’s Industrial Development Agency.
The city did not respond to an interview request but released a statement that read: "After considering the proposal, the developers’ experience and success with similar properties in Western New York, the prominence of this location, and the critical hotel rooms it would provide, the City drafted a letter of support for the project at the terms proposed. The next step is for COMIDA to consider the proposal in an upcoming meeting."
The project also includes 420 parking spaces.
