Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Congressman Joe Morelle were among the officials on hand Wednesday to break ground on the new Irondequoit Community Center at Skyview on the Ridge, the former Irondequoit Mall.
Irondequoit Town Supervisor Dave Seeley says the project was about three years in the making and after getting voter approval they're moving ahead with the $9.5 million facility.
“It's not development just for the sake of development and playing a part in that. We're playing a role in redeveloping that mall but also providing an amenity that the town needs and the town has never had,” he said. “And in order to be competitive with other towns, we need to make investments like this."
Seeley says this project should provide momentum for future development, including another groundbreaking at the former Sears building at the former mall in a few months. The store will be converted into senior housing, a $40 million project.
Seeley says he's cautiously optimistic about the future of the former mall, but the need and desire to redevelop the mostly vacant property remains a priority in Irondequoit.
We had so much talk and fits and starts, and now you're actually seeing tangible progress,” he said. “We're going to actually break ground and there will be another groundbreaking in the next few months so that starts to put a big dent in that vacancy.”