RENAISSANCE SQUARE WILL HAVE
ANOTHER PUBLIC WORKSHOP THURSDAY
Public Can See, Comment on Exterior Design
Contact: Mike Power
329-7158
(June 10, 2008) --- The planners of Renaissance Square will hold another open public workshop Thursday evening (June 12) so people can see and comment on a preferred exterior design for the project.
The workshop will be held at the Convention Center from 6 to 8 p.m.
Previous workshops have helped designers shape a preferred façade design from a three alternatives. They also helped planners and architects decide how the project will be situated on the building site.
Renaissance Square will jointly develop a new transit center for bus customers, a new Damon City Campus for Monroe Community College, and a new performing arts center.
The bipartisan oversight board of the project, Main & Clinton Local Development Corp., will meet at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on June 17 to review the preferred design.
  
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LABOR UNIONS ANNOUNCE SUPPORT
OF RENAISSANCE SQUARE
1,200 Jobs Will Be Created in Huge
Construction Project
Contact: Mike Power
329-7158
(June 2, 2008) –Leaders of major labor unions announced their support of Renaissance Square today, saying that the building of the project in downtown Rochester will create about 1,200 construction jobs lasting over several years.
Gary Squires, chairman of UNICON, Unions and Business United in Construction, and Frank Wirt, president of the Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council, declared their support at a morning news conference.
They were joined by County Executive Maggie Brooks, R. Thomas Flynn, president of Monroe Community College( MCC), and Mark Aesch, chief executive officer of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority. All sectors of the building trades are expected to be involved in the project.
“This is a great day for Renaissance Square and our local economy, as we proudly announce the support of local building trades groups,” Brooks said. “Renaissance Square will benefit our workforce and our community not only when it is completed, but also throughout its construction. The project will put local people to work and bolster Monroe County’s economy as a result. This is truly a win-win situation for our community as a whole, and something we can all be proud of. On behalf of the entire project team, I want to thank the building trades for helping make the vision of Renaissance Square a reality.”
The labor leaders echoed Brooks’ remarks.
“This project means jobs for an industry that has suffered from some of the worst unemployment in over a decade,” Wirt said. “It means hope for working families and momentum for a great success in the Rochester area. We have been a partner in this project from the very beginning and we are going to be there to help take this vision to a reality.”
“Renaissance Square will not only have a dramatic effect on downtown but on the entire region,” Squires said. “In order to have successful suburbs, you must first have a successful city.” “Rochester has much potential to guide this area toward a vibrant future, serving as a hub for growth and economic development.”
The 1,200 figure is the total number of jobs that will be created throughout the construction process. It was calculated by an independent project consultant.
LeChase Construction Services is the project construction manager. “LeChase Construction is grateful for the support of organized labor. Our company prides itself on constructive relationships with our union partners,” said Will Mack, executive vice-president of LeChase. “Together, we’ll build a project the community can be proud of.”
Planners expect Renaissance Square to become a catalyst for further private development downtown, producing more jobs. It is commonplace in difficult economic times for governments to undertake public community benefit projects. These projects often generate others in the private sector, thus improving the local economy.
Renaissance Square will redevelop the block of East Main Street between St. Paul Street and Clinton Avenue. It will include a new bus transit center for the 50,000 customers who ride the bus each day, a new Damon City Campus for the almost 5,000 students who attend downtown classes at MCC, and a performing arts center for the 300,000 theater-goers who attend Broadway-style shows each year. It is funded largely by federal transportation money that permits transit projects to include non-transportation facilities as long as they are physically and functionally joined. Transit funds secured from the federal government must be used specifically for these projects, or else returned to Washington. Thus far, the project has raised $175 million.
The project is overseen by a bipartisan board of directors called Main & Clinton LDC. Members are Monroe County, the City of Rochester, MCC and the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority.
The board authorized the Renaissance Square working group to resume the project in February. Since then, planners have met every progress deadline. With community input from two public workshops, they selected a design schematic of how the parcels will fit together on the building site. Once again with public input, they are now selecting an exterior design. A public workshop to review three proposed facades was held May 20. On June 12, the public will be able to offer comment on the chosen exterior at a third workshop.
Main and Clinton LDC will vote on the chosen site layout and exterior at a public meeting June 17 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, beginning at 8:30 a.m. If approved by Main and Clinton, planners will then submit a proposed environmental assessment to the Federal Transit Administration.
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