Goodbye Parcel 5, hello Riverside?
City officials confirmed Tuesday morning that plans are in the works to move the proposed performing arts center project from Parcel 5 to the Rochester Riverside Hotel along the Genesee River.
“We like this project better because this site is twice as big as Parcel 5. It allows us to have a second theater space in there which was one of the criticisms of the Parcel 5 location,” said Arnie Rothschild, chairman of the Rochester Broadway Theatre League.
According to Mayor Lovely Warren, the new performing arts center will complement the Roc the Riverway project. Warren said the estimated $250 million center will bring a 3,000 seat theatre and 810 full-time jobs to downtown Rochester. The city's current primary Broadway venue, the Rochester Auditorium Theatre, seats less than 2,500 at capacity — 2,464 to be exact.
“ROC the Riverway has shown us that successful, job-creating redevelopment downtown must include opening our riverfront,” Warren said.
Christa Development bought the Riverside Hotel in 2017. They plan to demolish the old hotel and rebuild from the ground up.
“Some of the constraints of Parcel 5 are eliminated with this property. The convention center needs more space. We’re able to accommodate some of that in a new build and then the connectivity to the War Memorial and the Blue Cross Arena. I think they're really great synergies and attributes,” said Dave Christa of Christa Development.
The proposal calls for:
- 3,000 seat RBTL Performing Arts Theatre
- Additional 500+/- seat theatre
- 250+/- room hotel (with lower floors of high-rise tower for event spaces)
- 200+/- housing units (two phases with a portion of affordable units)
- 50,000-60,000 square feet of combined retail event, fitness, spa, lobby and grand foyer space
- More than 600 linear feet of dynamic riverside walk-way and entertainment space
- 480 space parking structure
The project’s team will be comprised of Christa Development and Rochester Broadway Theatre League (RBTL) with other partners including the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center.
In April 2017, city leaders announced Parcel 5 would become the site of the new Golisano Center for the Performing Arts with additional space reserved for retail and residential development. The new theater would be named for Rochester native and Paychex founder Tom Golisano after he pledged to donate $25 million to the project.
However, the project has stalled as developers didn't secure the full amount for the then-estimated $130 million theater.
In March, city officials announced an altered vision for the development, with the addition of an IMAX-style movie theater and a rooftop entertainment area. As of then, the project was still slated for development at Parcel 5.