The city of Rochester is seeking a developer for a piece of prime waterfront property.
The plot at 151 Mount Hope Ave. is next to Genesee Gateway Park, on the eastern bank of the Genesee River. The plans to develop the nearly 2-acre site are in line with the Roc the Riverway initiative, a series of state-supported development projects meant to redevelop the city’s riverside infrastructure and real estate.
Any development for the site should increase boating activity, improve pathways and connections to the Genesee Riverway Trail, and reconstruct the shoreline to create more natural access to the river according to the city’s request for proposals. The city also wants ideas that will foster a “sense of urban play” by creating opportunities for “whimsical” installations and public art.
“Redevelopment of 151 Mt. Hope Avenue is a high priority for the City of Rochester and is being supported by over two decades of community-based planning as reflected in the City’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program and Roc the Riverway initiative,” the request for proposals reads.
Development of the site is estimated to begin with $4 million worth of environmental and geotechnical work. Up to $2 million of that work would be reimbursed by a state grant from Empire State Development. The sale price of the plot is $626,500.
What the site could actually be developed into is open. The city specifies in the request for proposals that the site should fit into a series of mixed-used buildings along the riverfront.
Developers have until April 13 to submit proposals.
