New York state officials hope to release concept plans mid-summer for a new High Falls State Park just outside of downtown.
The goal is to have most of the design work done by the end of this year. An opening date is yet to be determined, but the plan is to develop and open the park in phases.
The park would extend north from the base of High Falls, encompassing several dozen acres down in the Genesee River gorge. It is a part of the city that is largely off-limits to the public today.
"People aren't going to have to wait 10 years to be able to start using parts of the park,” said Mayor Malik Evans, who joined other local and state officials Monday on the footbridge overlooking the gorge. “So they're going to be able to see it continue to evolve in phases, and that’s going to be an amazing part of the park.”
Monday’s event was to mark the progress being made on site cleanup. And it provided local leaders a chance to showcase the area to acting state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton, who got an up-close tour down in the gorge.
"To have that moment where we could feel the mist of the falls on our faces ... was really special," Lefton said, offering something of a preview of the park experience.
The first, major cleanup project was to clear contaminated soils from a sprawling former Rochester Gas & Electric manufactured gas plant. Next up is the city’s one-time trash incinerator. And there is more to be done after that.
“This is going to be as much of an oasis that restores the native plantings and wildlife that were in the gorge as possible,” said Vinnie Esposito, who leads the state’s regional economic development efforts. "Obviously, it's still in the middle of the city, so it's not going to be like it was 300 years ago.”
Throughout the park will be some preserved ruins of old industrial buildings, like the former incinerator. That site is estimated to require nearly $7 million in city and state-funded cleanup that might keep or tear down the building itself.
“The good news is we believe the smokestack is structurally sound and will stay,” Esposito said of the towering structure adjacent to the Smith Street Bridge. “We'll be able to use it as a signage opportunity, as an icon for the park."
