City of Rochester
News Release
(Monday, Jan. 25, 2010) – Rochester’s City Council voted on Jan. 19 to approve legislation awarding LaBella Associates, P.C. a contract to develop a preliminary site plan and perform engineering design services for the 8.6 acre Midtown Rising site. A Request for Qualifications was issued Dec. 10, 2009 to 15 pre-qualified firms under the NYSDOT Local Design Services Agreement (LDSA) program.
LaBella Associates has performed master planning and structural engineering for the Midtown site and this phase of work will involve the scoping and design of the project’s streets and infrastructure, resulting in a re-subdivision of the site into development parcels.
“Midtown Rising is a sustained effort and long-term plan for the rebirth of Downtown,” said Mayor Robert J. Duffy. “It represents major public and private investment, job creation and infrastructure improvements that will serve as a catalyst for development in our Downtown core that will ultimately redefine Rochester for future generations.”
The activities of the Midtown Rising redevelopment effort include site acquisition, hazardous material abatement, demolition, site redevelopment and sale or lease of parcels. LaBella’s services under the contract will establish the criteria required to coordinate the site redevelopment phase with the pending demolition phase. Their designs will result in a site plan for review under the City’s land subdivision regulations. The range of work LaBella will perform includes, but is not limited to:
designing new streets, including an underground tunnel, utilities and necessary traffic improvements;
designing a garage modification to strengthen load ratings to accommodate new street designs including modification of egress, pedestrian tunnels and code compliance;
designing streets to create a destination that accommodates and engages active multimodal uses and street amenities (i.e. bike racks, waste containers, etc.); and
designing a central square to include both formal and informal gathering places, as well as a tribute to the former Midtown Plaza mall atrium.
Final design services for the site redevelopment will be presented to Council for authorization at a later date.
Through the efforts of Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, $950,000 in 2008-09 Federal Omnibus Appropriation Act funds will finance the agreement. Scoping services will begin in early 2010 and preliminary design services are expected to be completed in fall 2010.
Rep. Slaughter said, “I am proud to have secured this funding to redevelop the Midtown site because it affords us tremendous opportunities to reinvent and energize our downtown. By opening up this over eight-acre site, the type of private sector investment and development now flourishing in the East End can be unleashed to expand into our city’s core. Redevelopment of the Midtown site is critical as we work toward creating a vibrant downtown that supports activity around the clock, not just during business hours.”
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News Media: For more information, contact Michael Keane at 428-6064.