Ren Square Developers Approve Design Concept

By Rachel Ward

Rochester, NY – The board of Main and Clinton Local Development Corporation voted unanimously Tuesday morning to approve a design for Renaissance Square, the transit, arts and community college center downtown.

Mike Power, a spokesperson for Main and Clinton, says the design that the public saw last week will now become the working plan for Renaissance Square.

Power says that the board also discussed what might happen if the $230 million budget for the project isn't met. The funding for the performing arts center component of the project slated for the corner of Main and Clinton has been in question in the past, because private funds have been slow in coming.

Power says that neither the county executive or the mayor, who both sit on the board of Main and Clinton, volunteered those funds. Instead, they say they'll start working their personal contacts to recruit private dodnations.

Power says that a plan for operating costs of Renaissance Square, and how those will be funded, will be presented to the public in the fall. The Federal Transportation Administration will get an environmental assessment of the property at the end of July. If that goes well, demolition of the existing block could begin in 2009.

To see what Renaissance Square will look like, and to see what Main Street between St. Paul and Clinton currently looks like, visit us online at
WXXI's web page.