{"id":74282,"date":"2014-10-17T17:02:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-17T17:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=74282"},"modified":"2014-10-21T19:41:04","modified_gmt":"2014-10-21T19:41:04","slug":"college-town-is-dedicated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/college-town-is-dedicated\/","title":{"rendered":"College Town is dedicated"},"content":{"rendered":"

From left to right: Lovely Warren, Mayor, City of Rochester; Maggie Brooks, Monroe County Executive; Joseph E. Robach, New York State Senator; Charles E. Schumer, U.S. Senator for New York; President Joel Seligman; Louise M. Slaughter, U.S. Representative for New York; Ronald J. Paprocki, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance, CFO, and Treasurer; New York State Assemblyman Mark Johns; Edmund Hajim, Chair of the Board of Trustees; Robert J. Duffy, Lieutenant Governor, New York State cut the ribbon to dedicate the new College Town district.<\/em><\/p>\n

On Friday, Oct. 17, University officials celebrated with Mt. Hope community members; city, county, state, and federal government leaders; and project partners the dedication of College Town, the $100 million shopping, dining, business and residential district in the city of Rochester near River Campus and the Medical Center.<\/p>\n

The 20,000 square-foot, two-level Barnes & Noble\u2014which anchors College Town and is both a community and University bookstore\u2014is the first tenant to open for business, with others filling in this fall. Several future College Town tenants, including Breathe yoga and juice bar, Moe\u2019s Southwest Grill, Constantino\u2019s Market, Insomnia Cookies, Jimmy John\u2019s Gourmet Sandwiches, and the DelMonte Hotel Group took part in the dedication ceremony, previewing the goods and services they will offer.<\/p>\n

\"artist<\/a>
Click for a larger artist rendering of the final College Town development.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other confirmed College Town tenants include Bean Cruises & Travel, The Beer Market, Bourbon, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust, The Creator\u2019s Hands, Corner Bakery, Flaum Optical, GNC, Hairzoo, and Saxby\u2019s Coffee, which will be connected to the Barnes & Noble.<\/p>\n

Developed by Fairmount Properties and Gilbane Development Company, College Town\u2019s construction began in summer 2013 and has continued through this fall.<\/p>\n

In addition to 500,000 square feet of shopping and dining, College Town features the Mount Hope Lofts apartments; a five-story, 136-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel and conference center (to open in Spring 2015); a 500-space parking garage; and 50,000 square feet of Class A office space, which several University offices will transition into in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an historic day for the University and the City of Rochester,\u201d said University President Joel Seligman. \u201cAs one of the largest development projects in the history of the city of Rochester, College Town is strengthening the economic fabric of our community by providing essential services and incredible new spaces. It is an excellent model of how public-private partnerships should work, and let me express my sincere gratitude to all our outstanding partners who have made this vision a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we move the tassel and graduate College Town from dream to reality.\u201d
\nU.S. Senator Charles Schumer
\nView comments from elected officials on College Town.<\/a><\/div>\n

College Town sits on 14 acres of University-owned property and has been a dream for local community partners since 2008 to create a welcoming and cohesive University-neighborhood community.\u00a0 The project has involved years of planning and coordination among officials from the University, the City of Rochester, and local organizations including the Mount Hope Avenue Task Force, the Mt. Hope Business Association, the Southeast Area Coalition, and Mt. Hope Cemetery.<\/p>\n

College Town was designated a Transformational Priority Project in 2012 by the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. Significant local, state, and federal support has made College Town possible:<\/p>\n