Skip to main content

Midtown Rising

Parcel 5

Reshaping Downtown

Midtown Rising is a redevelopment partnership positioning Rochester, New York for its future by significantly reshaping the downtown core through major public and private investment, job creation, and infrastructure development. At the heart of the project is the rehabilitation of the nearly 9-acre former Midtown Plaza into a mixed-use area designed to attract a critical mass of residents and 24/7 amenities that contribute to a vibrant live-work-play environment. 

The former Midtown Plaza consisted of 1.5 million square feet of vacant, office and retail buildings covering 8.6 acres.  The complex was home to McCurdy’s department store, an array of retail shops, and an office tower with an upscale hotel and restaurant located on the top four floors.

The Midtown Rising project involves the demolition of most of the Midtown buildings, the adaptive reuse of the former Seneca Building, the adaptive reuse of the former Midtown Tower (now known as “Tower280”), the inclusion of new streets and open space, and creation of three development parcels.

New York State and the City of Rochester began taking the necessary steps to acquire, remediate, partially demolish, and rehabilitate the Midtown site for reuse in 2007. To date, Empire State Development (ESD) has invested over $60 million, along with over $55 million from both the City of Rochester and the Rochester Economic Development Corporation (REDCO).

To date, more than 2,000 construction jobs have been created through all the combined activity at Midtown and more than 700 permanent jobs have been either created or retained.

Parcel 5

Midtown Parcel 5 has been temporarily converted into a transitional/temporary, community entertainment space. In April 2021, Parcel 5 was converted from a shovel-ready development site into an outdoor entertainment space featuring wide lawns, a walking path, and room for pop-up retail. The City of Rochester administers reservations and offers support with logistics to facilitate scheduled uses such as fitness classes, and outdoor concerts.