The Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center was designed by famed architect James T. Polshek in 1982 and is an iconic example of the postmodern architecture era. The Convention Center is located in the heart of downtown on Main Street along the Genesee River and has a highly visible riverfront terrace used for both Convention Center programming and public access.
Renovations of the Convention Center’s north terrace (2019) improved public access to the riverfront terrace from Main Street, replaced deteriorated structural members supporting the terrace, waterproofing, river railings, and terrace amenities, and included the installation of LED exterior lighting that has improved the building’s nighttime visibility in the City skyline. Ongoing facility modernization upgrades internal to the building include the replacement of the escalators and movable partition walls.
About the Project
This ROC the Riverway project will expand the Convention Center’s southwest side facing the river to create a dynamic venue space that directly engages with the downtown riverfront, extend the south terrace outward to create a cantilevered public riverfront promenade and outdoor space with the potential for future connections to provide continuous connectivity between Main Street and Broad Street. The project will also replace the existing river wall, which consists of a combination of original stone masonry and aged cast-in-place concrete construction, displaying evidence of severe structural deficiencies and deterioration as confirmed by a condition assessment performed in 2017.
Project Objectives
- Expand the Convention Center’s southwest side facing the river, creating a dynamic venue space that directly engages with the downtown riverfront.
- Extend the south terrace outward to create a cantilevered public riverfront promenade and outdoor space with the potential for future connections to provide continuous connectivity between Main Street and Broad Street.
- Replace portions of the existing river wall, original stone masonry and aged cast-in-place concrete construction displaying evidence of severe structural deficiencies and deterioration.
Project Team
The design consultant team led by Stantec Consulting Services Inc. was selected through the City’s Request for Proposal (RFP) process to provide site investigation, environmental quality reviews, engineering and architectural design consulting services the project.
Additional Information
Project design plans, and project updates: Coming Soon!
Additional information about the ROC the Riverway initiative can be
found here.
Project Schedule
• Design kick off: Spring 2021
• Site Investigation: Spring-Fall/Winter 2021
• Schematic Design Concepts: Spring-Fall/Winter 2021/22
• Design Development: Summer 2022
• Environmental Quality Reviews: Summer 2022
• Final Design/Construction Documents: TBD
Schedule is subject to adjustment.
Questions?
If you have questions and comments about the project, please contact Jason VanDemark, R.A. Project Architect in the City’s Bureau of Architecture and Engineering at (585) 428-7356, or by
email.