In Rochester, a plan to make home ownership possible

By Evan Dawson,

Published November 20, 2025 at 3:36 PM EST

Five people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man front left has a brown beard and is wearing a grey blazer with a white button-down shirt and yellow tie; a woman front right has long brown hair and is wearing an orange short-sleeved shirt, a pink vest, pink pants and brown shoes; a bald man back left has a red beard and is wearing a white button-down shirt and blue tie; a man back right has short grey hair and is wearing a blue button-down shirt; a man at center has short dark hair and is wearing a grey plaid blazer, white button-down shirt, jeans and brown shoes.

1 of 2 — (foreground) Erik Frisch and Glenda Torres, (background) Ryan Brandt and Scott Benjamin with host Evan Dawson on "Connections"

(foreground) Erik Frisch and Glenda Torres, (background) Ryan Brandt and Scott Benjamin with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Thursday, November 20, 2025

Gary Pudup / WXXI News

A smiling man with short brown hair and a short beard, who is wearing a blue button-down shirt and a dark blue tie

2 of 2 — Brian Sharp

Brian Sharp

WXXI News

As WXXI's Brian Sharp recently reported, the city’s ongoing mission of providing more housing at truly affordable prices is moving to the JOSANA neighborhood.

We discuss the plan for new homes that will sell for $127,000 — far below what most home buyers are seeing on the market.

Our guests:

Brian Sharp, investigations and enterprise editor for WXXI News
Scott Benjamin, CEO of Charles Settlement House & Community Place of Greater Rochester
Ryan Brandt, vice president of development for Rochester’s Cornerstone Group, Ltd.
Erik Frisch, deputy commissioner of the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development for the City of Rochester and president of the Rochester Landbank
Glenda Torres, housing navigator for Charles Settlement House