Rochester Business Journal │ January 23, 2024
There was a time, albeit decades ago, when the Bull’s Head section of Rochester was a thriving hub of commerce, a fiercely proud gateway from the west side’s 19th Ward to downtown.
Today that neighborhood is the definition of disinvestment. Grocers departed long ago. So did banks; as did car dealers, department and specialty stores. And hope. In their place is far too little of anything.
But by the winter of 2029, Bull’s Head may very well be reborn. Using a $350 million investment of public and private dollars, a development team composed of local stakeholders and national revitalization specialists intends to re-create the neighborhood.
The preliminary plan, 15 years in the making, was unveiled Monday night at a community informational session at Rochester Regional Health’s St. Mary’s campus. The renderings show a progressive streetscape with fancy new buildings, facelifts for existing structures, sorely needed green space and a reworked street grid that accentuates pedestrian safety.
If those plans become reality, between 789 and 806 new residential units will be built for a range of incomes, with affordable (for residents earning at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income), workforce and market rate rents.
There also will be around 34,000 square feet of retail space and a similar amount of space devoted to commercial ventures.
“We have a city that is very supportive and a neighborhood that is eager for change,” said Dennis Pemberton Jr., a member of the development team. “This will be a place where people want to live and work, and hopefully our project will be a catalyst for other investors.”
Pemberton is executive managing director of The Dawson Co., the Florida-based development firm selected by the city of Rochester in 2021 to oversee the Bull’s Head project.
Since then, The Dawson Co. has teamed with Rochester-based construction firm US Ceiling Corp; Shift Capital, a developer based in Philadelphia; Torti Gallas + Partners, an urban architectural firm in Washington, D.C.; and The Oughtness Group, an Atlanta-based community development specialist headed by Bull’s Head native and Aquinas Institute graduate John Majors. Together they make up DevelopROC.
“We’re like the Justice League,” James-Geska said. “We all have superpowers. They’re all a little different but they go really well together.”
Each organization has participated in significant revitalization projects across the country. The Dawson Co. spearheaded redevelopment of the Centerpoint neighborhood in Baltimore, Lindbergh City Center in Atlanta and the Pensacola News Journal building in Pensacola, Fla. One Shift Capital project involved redevelopment of MaKen Studios in the Harrowgate/Kensington area of Philadelphia. Before creating his own development and consulting firm, Majors worked on several revitalization projects, including in Atlanta and Omaha.
“I’ve seen these neighborhood transformations work,” Majors said at Monday’s community meeting.
The center of Bull’s Head is located at the convergence of five thoroughfares — West Main, Genesee and Brown streets along with Chili and West avenues. For more than a decade, city officials have worked to secure funding, gain insight from neighbors and clear remediation hurdles that have slowed the revitalization dream.
Monday’s community gathering allowed residents and business owners to see what’s in store. City officials have been soliciting comments and ideas at countless community forums since the Bull’s Head remake became a priority.
“Projects like this can’t be a ‘me’ thing, they must be a ‘we’ thing,” Mayor Malik Evans said.
Said Pemberton: “When we were brought on, we were able to come in and digest all of the ideas and then come up with a plan. It feels like we’re working with them rather than against them.”
Of course, not all suggestions from residents can be accommodated.
“But ultimately people want to be heard and respected,” James-Geska said. “I think that open dialogue is really important.”
Several dozen community members attended Monday’s session, filling the conference room. They learned that the residential component is an integral part of the DevelopROC vision.
“People drive change and lead to sustainability,” James-Geska said. “We’re focused on building a mixed-income community, one that is diverse in income and age.”
Another priority: a grocery store. “We realize the importance of a grocer,” James-Geska said.
DevelopROC is also well into discussions with a national firm that specializes in urban agriculture. Securing that company as a tenant would mean 60 persons with disabilities would be given jobs and a pipeline of goods would be created for Foodlink.
Officials said that, because of a non-disclosure agreement, the name of the firm couldn’t be revealed.
The first tangible signs of progress will be evident in April, when ESL Federal Credit Union breaks ground on another new branch in the city. The 5,600-square-foot retail banking center will be at the corner of West Main Street and Churchlea Place.
“ESL is a critical piece of this proposed development,” said Dana Miller, commissioner of neighborhood and business development for the city. He grew up in the neighborhood, worked in the neighborhood and lives just blocks from the heart of Bull’s Head.
“We used to have five banks in this neighborhood; today there are none,” Miller said.
Around the same time ESL starts to build, demolition will begin on Bull’s Head Plaza, the faded retail center that backs up to Genesee Street and stretches an entire block from West Main to Clifton Street.
In its place will be a four-story mixed-used building that will combine retail, commercial and multifamily. The target date for completion is late in 2026 and one commercial tenant, US Ceiling Corp., is already committed to the space.
James-Geska, who grew up in Bull’s Head, will move her 100-employee company to 160 Clifton St. What better way to support the project you’re touting than by going all-in?
“It’s having a place where we can demonstrate our passion really is for the community,” James-Geska said.
DevelopROC 