News Release - Mayor Warren, Nelson Leenhouts Mark Progress on Home Leasing’s Charlotte Square Project

City of Rochester

News Release

(Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015) – Mayor Lovely A. Warren joined Home Leasing Chairman and CEO Nelson Leenhouts and his team for a beam-signing ceremony today to celebrate the significant progress that’s been achieved on the Charlotte Square apartment and townhouse development project at 50 Charlotte St. in Downtown’s East End neighborhood.

“The combination of the Charlotte Square Project and the Inner Loop East Transformation Project offers a perfect example of how the entire city benefits when the public and private sectors work together and leverage their investments,” said Mayor Warren. “The residents of Charlotte Square will add to the vitality of Downtown Rochester and help forge the new connections we are creating between our City Center and all the neighborhoods that surround it. Projects like this go a long way to help us advance our goals of creating more jobs, safer, more vibrant neighborhoods and providing all of our children with a quality education. I want to thank Nelson Leenhouts and his team at Home Leasing for having the vision to see the potential for this project and the wherewithal to make it, and the new jobs it creates, a reality.”

“We are excited to be included as part of the rebirth of Downtown living and the development of this important area,” said Chairman Leenhouts. “Residents will enjoy all-inclusive rent with various apartment sizes and features to choose from. Secure assigned parking spaces, private terraces, and active community spaces make Charlotte Square unique and fun. We are delighted to be partnering with SWBR Architects and Home Leasing Services to create this exciting new community.”

The $14.5 million project is Phase I of a two-part project that will result in the creation of 72 one- and two-bedroom rental apartments in the first phase, and up to 14 townhomes for sale in Phase II. The cost for Phase II has not yet been estimated. Phase I will be attractive to a variety of types of residents, including empty nesters, young professionals, and students from the Eastman School of Music. The project includes a sound-proof music practice room for students, some apartments with sound-proof dens, a welcoming outdoor space, secure bicycle storage and an electric-vehicle charging station. Home Leasing expects to complete Phase I in the summer of 2016 and begin accepting lease reservations in the spring.

As a project partner, the City assembled the site, conducted environmental remediation, and sold the property to Home Leasing through a competitive bid process. The City plans to complete streetscape improvements along Charlotte Street and Haags Alley in conjunction with the Inner Loop East Transformation Project.

The project is additionally supported by a County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA) PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreement in which Home Leasing will ensure eight of the rental units remain affordable to households earning at or below 100 percent of the Rochester area’s median income for the duration of the PILOT agreement.

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News Media: For more information, contact Press Officer Jessica Alaimo at 428-7135.