Downtown Housing Developments

There've been a few stories in the local media recently about the boom in downtown housing developments. This is in the wake of such projects as the $15 million Sagamore on East project, the new condos built between Scio Street and The Little Theatre, and a ton of loft apartment projects going on within the inner loop. All really good stuff. And the new projects being planned are also fantastic - the new apartments to be added behind the project around The Little on Charlotte Street, two residential projects in High Falls - one a redo of the last old building down there, and the other a partnership with the Urban League and Kodak. Plus, my personal favorite, re-doing the old bath house building component into housing. In fact, I looked at that property a couple years ago too as a possible office building for a mix of small companies. Capron Place still needs a new buyer, as the original developer apparently went broke, but that will also be a great project across the street from the bath house.

So, I get a little disoriented when I start reading my New York Times Sunday Magazine and I see ads for new apartment buildings down there, with condos STARTING at anywhere from $1,500,000 or $1,950,000 up to $7,000,000. Wow. It makes you realize the nature of the real estate business! Here the debate has been over spending $7,000,000 on buying the Midtown complex from a NYC firm and managing redevelopment locally, which in NYC, $7 million gets you a nice place to live! For examples, check out here and here.

Not to mention, these new apartment buildings are AMAZING. They're basically giant glass towers with amazing views all around. Waterfront locations too. Now, the City of Rochester did this charette thing a few months ago - with one of the more interesting components being a 15 story residential building located on the site of the old parking garage helix. I think it's a fantastic idea - though the design sketch was kindof lame. It was very traditional and old fashioned. I wish we could be a little more forward thinking when it comes to architectural designs in the City - like the Strong Museum - but apparently design risks are one of the risks the community isn't willing to take.