Downtown Buffalo, NY

My evaluation of Downtown Buffalo includes the entire area between Elmwood and Michigan from west to east and Tupper St to the north south to the Buffalo River. In the Southwest corner of Dwtn where Elmwood Ave turns to the Buffalo Skyway as it doglegs right, I draw an imaginary straight line south to Erie St and thus catch more of the waterfront in this evaluation.

One can tell that Downtown Buffalo was once a grand City by the Historic Architecture still largely in tact. Downtown has a wonderful array of antique skyscrapers (i.e. City Hall, the Electric Tower, Guaranty Bldg, Rand Bldg, Liberty Bldg, etc.). Buffalo’s Art Deco City Hall is one of my favorite City Halls in America. But Downtown Buffalo has struggled to built momentum even since the return to the City movement of the 1990s. Apartment bldg conversions have been limited, the Main Street pedestrian mall conversion of the 70s and construction of Main Place Mall largely failed, and much of Dwtn has languished and feels pretty dead after 9-5 work hours.

Things started to improve for Downtown Buffalo since 2014 with the Canalside development opened new apartment bldgs, office space, and the a new hocky area. This is south of what I consider the core of Dwtn Buffalo. More recently, a plethora of residential conversion and new projects have been announced for the core of Downtown. Main street is being converted back to car traffic (fortunately with major streetscaping and renovation dollars fixing its mostly in-tact but often vacant building stock). Downtown Buffalo still has a long way to go to catch up to the likes of Dwtn Cleveland, Buffalo, Cincy, and Pittsburgh but it seems poised to make significant progress in the 2020s.

Click here to view my Downtown Buffalo Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* ADA infrastructure is generally good but some under invested intersections at the edges of Dwtn with proper curb cuts.
* Downtown Buffalo serves as a solid huge for public transit in the region. At least good public transit through the entire City of Buffalo. This extends a bit to the inner ring suburbs but quickly drops off.
* Good connectively in Dwtn and a nice set of diagonal streets similar to Detroit (but not as good). Lots of wide street s though. Fortunately most of them are 2-ways many have bike lanes on them.
* Dwtn has a nice array of bike lanes. Within the City there is great bike lane coverage along the lake, which extends well north of the City. An ok # of bike lanes in the City. Not great coverage in the suburbs. Great bike share system covering about 60% of the City and extending to some of the northern suburbs.
* Generally good diversity dwtn reflected in its residential demographics and activities. Plenty to do for kids with the AAA ballpark, children’s museum, ships, and other museums.
* Nice concentrations of schools across all grades. Mix bag with ratings.
* Decent college presence dwtn with several smaller colleges adding up to an enrollment of about 5K.
* Pre-pandemic Buffalo had about 50K jobs, a high number for its metro size. Total office space was pretty flat pre-pandemic and vacancy pretty height at ~25%.
* Dwtn is a major gov’t jobs center helped with its large Art Deco City bldg and several court houses. It also hosts a convention center, ballpark & NHL hockey arena & a smaller hocky arena next door. Historic post office is no longer a post office. Large modern library.
* Culturally many theaters (many historic), a cineplex, lots of live music venues & night clubs, plenty of restaurants, bars & cafes, several art galleries, and many museums.
* Great historic architecture. One of the best for its size.
* Buffalo generally holds its urban form together. Only a few streets like Main street are mostly in-tact but most areas of dwtn have over 60% of bldgs remaining. The eastern and southern edges host the most surface parking and low intensity bldgs.

URBAN WEAKNEESES:

* Density is pretty low here. Not a ton of hsg in Dwtn Buffalo.
* For sale housing is pretty limited in Dwtn. Not even any studio options. Some 1-beds (esp. near the waterfront), these sell btwn 200K-350; 2-beds sell btwn 300K-800K, 3-beds are concentrated along the waterfront and sell btwn 500K-1.2M.
* Rentals are very limited for a dwtn area but at least are moderately priced. 1-beds lease in the low 1Ks, 2&3 beds 1.5K-3K.
* Parks are pretty underwhelming Dwtn. There are a handful of nice smaller parks (i.e. Lafayette, Fireman’s, Niagara Sq, Fountain Plaza & Roosevelt) but nothing is outstanding. Decent park at Canalside a waterfront trail for about 1/4 of a mile.
* Fountain Plaza is Buffalo Civic heart but is pretty mediocre in my opinion. The fountain takes up more than half of the space. Some seating and another fountain.
* Pedestrian activity dwtn is so .
* Buzz is slowing growing for Dwtn Buffalo but its coming from a pretty low point. Locals have loathed their Dwtn for a long time.
* Retail amenities are a bit limited dwtn. The best amenity is a local supermarket. Dwtn has a drug store, a handful of boutiques & clothing stores, several banks & dessert joints, plenty of gyms & churches, and decent access to Buffalo General a mile away. Retail amenities dwtn went downhill when the Main Place Mall closed.
* Modern in-fill Dwtn is so . Handful of mid century towers, a couple 80s/90 office bldgs, and some better modern in-fill at Canalside. The Convention Center and the Main Place Mall are examples of unattractive 1960s-1970s in fill.

Allentown- Buffalo’s hippest spot and most walkable neighborhood

Allentown is named after Lewis F. Allen who came to Buffalo in April 1827 to serve as Corporate Secretary and financial manager of an insurance company. Allentown is the first neighborhood north of the Downtown Buffalo core. Its also the first Buffalo neighborhood to experience major revitalization and is known for its community of artists, bohemian and hipster culture, and for a strong commitment to preserving its historic building stock. Allentown is also Buffalo’s premier area for nightlife, music, dining, and antique shopping.

Not surprisingly this is also one of Buffalo best urban districts. As one of the few Buffalo neighborhoods from the 1860s-1900s that is still in tact, Allentown has a great mixed-use and compact feel. As it is only about a mile from Dwtn, I consider this Buffalo’s most walkable neighborhood. All things considered Allentown is pretty moderately priced considering these amenities.

To truly become a great neighborhood Allentown needs more in-fill housing to increase its density (currently sitting at just short of 9K residents per sq mile), redevelop the parking lots sitting at its border with Downtown, add more parking amenities, improve its ADA curbs at about 25% of its intersections, and be a more conducive district to families.

Click here to view my Allentown album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Allentown is located just north of Dwtn. The median distance is about 1 mile allowing one to walk there. Also very convenient transit and bike access. Decent public transit access to the University of Buffalo.
* Great public transit access.
* Solid bike infrastructure including a couple north-south bike lanes and good bike share coverage.
* Great racial diversity and solid economic.
* Generally a good array of walkable schools within or near Allentown with pretty good ratings.
* Good array of rental options generally at moderate prices. studios & 1-beds lease btwn 900-1.6K, 2&3-beds 1.2K-2.5K. Good amount of affordable housing here as well.
* Nice mix of for-sale housing options. 1-bed condos that sell around 200K, 2-beds range anywhere btwn 200K-500K, 3 & 4 beds btwn 300K-800K.
* Great array of historic architecture ranging from the Post Bellum period to the early 20th century.
* Wonderful cultural amenities including many restaurants, bars, cafes, a couple breweries, many live music venues & night clubs, great access to Dwtn’s theater district located a block away, several historic sites, and several art galleries.
* Good retail amenities as well including a supermarket, a couple drug stores, several boutiques & consignment stores, banks, plenty of unique stores & antique shops, a hardware store, good array of gyms & dessert shops, a local post office, several churches and Buffalo General Hospital. This is certainly Buffalo’s most mixed use neighborhood.
* Overall very good urban massing and streetscaping. Southern edge, however, has a lot of parking lots and underutilized spaces next to Dwtn.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* So density. Less than other North and West Buffalo neighborhoods.
* Generational diversity is pretty limited. Pretty few households with Children here. Most residents are young adults.
* Tree canopy is good but not as good as other North Buffalo neighborhoods.
* A couple nice smaller parks but no larger parks here.
* Generally good ADA infrastructure but about 1/4 of all intersections are missing ADA curbs.

Elmwood Village- Buffalo’s Premiere Urban Distrct and Home to the Olmsted Boulevards

For this evaluation I consider Elmwood Village to be between Elmwood Ave to the West and Main St to east. From North to South the district is between Delaware Park and Utica St.

Elmwood has become one of the premiere urban districts in Buffalo. It features over 300 small local shops, coffeehouses, restaurants, bars, and art galleries. In 2007, Elmwood Village was named one of the ‘Top 10 Great Places in America’ by the American Planning Association. It also contains the best preserved segment of Frederick Olmstead and Calvert Vaux’s original parkway system. Historically, an address along the boulevard was home to some of Buffalo’s most prestigious residents. Delaware Avenue is Buffalo’s most regal corridor hosting many historic luxury apartments mansions and other major institutions.

Sadly the neighborhood’s eastern border along Main Street has fallen into disrepair and underinvestment. Main street forms an almost impervious border between North Buffalo’s well maintained districts and the very poor African American neighborhoods of East Buffalo. One can tell that Main street used to be a wonderful urban business district with the buildings that remain. Its also where Buffalo’s solo subway line runs connecting Downtown to the University of Buffalo in Amherst to the northeast. Revitalizing the Main street corridor is the missing piece needed to make the Elmwood Village a truly great urban district. It would also have the benefit and bringing back a thriving commercial district to the disinvested neighborhoods of Cold Spring and Masten Park that border Elmwood Village to the east.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Overall great ADA and sidewalk infrastructure throughout. Only a handful of intersection without proper ADA curb cuts.
* Great public transit access bolstered by the Main St Subway line. Because of this Elmwood Village is very convenient to Dwtn and has decent transit access to the UB.
* Great coverage in Elmwood Village by the Buffalo bike share. Decent dedicated bike lane coverage.
* Great economic and decent racial diversity.
* Decent # of walkable schools. The private schools are rated well and the public are rated poorly.
* Crime is pretty low here. Blight and crime pick up near Main Street, the district’s east border.
* Great tree canopy.
* Great access to parks in the northern half of the neighborhood (Delaware Park, Lincoln & Chapin Pkwy), but pretty limited in the southern half.
* Excellent historic architecture.
* Good # of rentals at moderate and higher end prices. 1-beds lease btwn 1K-1.8K, 2 & 3 beds 1.5K-2.8K.
* Good number of quality modern apartments mixed throughout Elmwood Village.
* Vibrant commercial nodes, pedestrians a bit sparse on residential streets.
* Great local buzz here.
* Great cultural amenities including many restaurants, bars & cafes, several art galleries, museums, and live music venues.
* Great retail amenities as well with a co-op store, a Topps, a couple drug stores, tons of boutiques & gift stores, a couple bookstores, several dessert joints & gyms, tons of churches.
* Good urban form and streetscaping along Elmwood. Main street is pretty rough.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Generational diversity isn’t great as households with kids is limited and most of the population are young adults.
* For sale housing are def more on the high side but decent # of more affordable condos. 1-bed condos sell btwn 100Ks-400K, 2-beds anywhere btwn the low 200Ks and 500K. 3 & 4 beds homes sell anywhere btwn 250K-800K. Larger are selling in the low Millions.
* The district’s eastern edge along Main street is severly underinvested.

Forest- Another West Buffalo Neighborhood surrounding Buffalo Psychiatric

Forest is neighborhood is the northern segment of the larger Upper West District, which also includes the Grant Ferry neighborhood to the South. Forest was developed around the turn of the 19th century and was known as a traditional landing zoning for immigrants thanks to its convenient location near the Lake and many jobs. Grant Ferry initially welcomed many Sicilian immigrants. In the 50s-70s it became home to many Puerto Rican and SE Asian enclaves. Most recently large Somali, Bhutanese, Sudanese, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, and Hispanic immigrants.

Like many American neighborhoods disinvestment came to the Forest neighborhood in the 70s. Historically Grant Street was the blight line dividing more blight and “immigrant” areas to the west and more stable and “White” areas to the east. This is not as hard and fast of a line as it is for the Grant Ferry neighborhood to the south. But unlike East Buffalo, Forest was mostly left standing thanks to a large influx of immigrants.

Gentrification is making the traditional Grant St blight line more and more fuzzy as North Buffalo’s revitalization pushes westward. More and more homes around and west of Grant St are being fully renovated and selling in the 200Ks and low 300Ks. The revitalization of Grant St is also coming along. Niagara St along the lake recently received a streetscaping overhaul, although still has many missing teeth. Overall Grant Ferry has great public transit, bike infrastructure, diverse housing, great racial & economic diversity, solid cultural & retail amenities, and generally good urban form. Main areas for improvement include: revitalization of Grant Street, need for more parks, better schools, and more diverse for-sale options and more apartments.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Quality public transit access.
* Only 3 miles from Dwtn. Only a 15 minute drive and 28 min bus ride. University of Buffalo is pretty easy to drive to, but challenging transit trip.
* Good bike infrastructure with plenty a nice north-south bike lane on Niagara and diagonal one on Bidwell Parkway.
* Good diverse across all categories.
* Decent amount of rental housing that’s pretty affordable. 1-beds range btwn $850-1.4K, & 3 beds generally btwn 1K-2k.
* Good mix of affordable, moderately priced, and high end housing. 2-beds sell btwn low 125K to low 200ks, 3 & 4 beds sell btwn the low 100Ks-700K.
* Great historic architecture in both residential and commercial areas.
* Very good sidewalk infrastructure and generally consistant ADA curbs but sometimes its missing.
* Good cultural amenities including many restaurants, bars, cafes, several art galleries, a couple live music venues, and several museums either within or near the Forest neighborhood.
* Good retail amenities as well including a Co-op grocery store, a farmer’s market store front, a couple grocerias, a couple boutiques & consignment stores, several book stores, a post office, only a couple churches, and great access to the psychiatric hospital.
* Not a ton of modern in-fill but some good mixed use and commercial bldgs along Grant and Elmwood St.
* Urban massing and streetscape are great along Elmwood. Massing is decent along Grant. Niagara is a mixed bag. Lots of warehouses and autocentric industrial businesses mixed together but new streetscaping here.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Several schools on the edges of the neighborhood but not the heart of it. Mixed ratings.
* Crime issues are certainly getting better but plenty of blight and crime issues still west of Ferry Street.
* Decent Park space access but certainly better than neighboring Grant Ferry. There is a nice splash pad park, Bidwell Parky, access to the green space of the State Hospital, and decent access to Delaware Park (.5-1 mile from the neighborhood).
* Condo for sale options are largely missing from the Grant Ferry housing market. There also are few larger apartment buildings. This would go a long way towards adding density to the district.

Grant Ferry- A West Buffalo Neighborhood on the Rise

The Grant Ferry is neighborhood is a segment of the larger Upper West District, which also includes the Forest neighborhood to the north. Grant Ferry was developed around the turn of the 19th century and was known as a traditional landing zoning for immigrants thanks to its convenient location near the Lake and many jobs. Grant Ferry initially welcomed many Sicilian immigrants. In the 50s-70s it became home to many Puerto Rican and SE Asian enclaves. Most recently large Somali, Bhutanese, Sudanese, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, and Hispanic immigrants.

Like many American neighborhoods disinvestment came to the Grant Ferry neighborhood in the 70s. Historically Grant Street was the blight line dividing more blight and “immigrant” areas to the west and more stable and “White” areas to the east. Streets west of here get progressively worse and streets east of here get progressively more stable as one moves to Elmwood Avenue. But unlike East Buffalo, Grant Ferry was mostly left standing thanks to a large influx of immigrants.

Gentrification is making the traditional Grant St blight line more and more fuzzy as North Buffalo’s revitalization pushes westward. More and more homes around and west of Grant St are being fully renovated and selling in the 200Ks and low 300Ks. The revitalization of Grant St seems to be lagging behind but hopefully will pick up pace. Niagara St along the lake recently received a streetscaping overhaul, although still has many missing teeth. Overall Grant Ferry has great public transit, bike infrastructure, diverse housing, great racial & economic diversity, solid cultural & retail amenities, and generally good urban form. Main areas for improvement include: revitalization of Grant Street, need for more parks, better schools, and more diverse for-sale options and more apartments.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid Density
* Quality public transit access.
* Only 2-3 miles from Dwtn. Only a 10 minute drive and 20 min bus ride. University of Buffalo is pretty easy to drive to, but challenging transit trip.
* Great bike infrastructure with plenty of bike shares and a pair of convenient north-south dedicated bike lanes.
* Excellent diversity, especially racial.
* Good # of walkable schools in the neighborhood but mixed ratings.
* Decent amount of rental housing that’s pretty affordable. 1-beds range btwn $800-1.2K, 2-beds generally in the mid 1ks, 3-beds lease btwn the low 1Ks and mid 2ks.
* Good mix of affordable, moderately priced, and high end housing. 2-beds sell btwn low 100Ks to mid 200Ks, 3 & 4 beds sell btwn the low 100Ks-500K.
* Very good sidewalk infrastructure and generally consistant ADA curbs but sometimes its missing.
* Good cultural amenities including many restaurants, bars & cafes, a couple art galleries & breweries and a couple community theaters.
* Good retail amenities as well including a Save a Lot, A Co-op, plenty of ethnic grocerias, a hardware store, a couple home goods stores, salons & barbershops, a drug store, several banks, a good number boutiques, gift shops, & consignment stores, a couple dessert joints, and several churches.
* Urban massing and streetscape are great along Elmwood. Massing is decent along Grant but its very warn down by blight. Niagara is a mixed bag. Lots of warehouses and autocentric industrial businesses mixed together but new streetscaping here.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Condo for sale options are largely missing from the Grant Ferry housing market. There also are few larger apartment buildings. This would go a long way towards adding density to the district.
* Crime issues are certainly getting better but plenty of blight and crime issues still west of Ferry Street.
* Parks are pretty limited. The only parks in Grant Ferry include Colonial Circle, Broderick Park (a small part of Unity Island) and a playground.
* Some good modern in-fill along Elmwood but generally pretty limited west of here. What does exist is often crummy autocentric uses.

Corn Hill- Rochester’s oldest neighborhood

Corn Hill is the oldest residential neighborhood in Rochester built just southwest of Downtown and still has homes standing from the 1830s and 1840s. Fortunately much of the neighborhood’s historic residential architecture has been preserved. Its unclear if Corn Hill ever had a vibrant business district. The Southeast quadrant of the neighborhood was redeveloped in the early 2000s with generally historic looking and contextual development. A decent but auto centric mixed-use shopping plaza and apartment development was built in 2008 called Corn Hill Landing. At least this development brought much needed retail to the community.

Additional population and commercial amenities is the biggest need for Corn Hill. Other areas in which it could improve include more walkable schools, better cultural amenities, and better ADA infrastructure.

Click here to view my Corn Hill album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good public transit access and very convenient to Dwtn Rochester.
* Nice dedicated bike lane along the River front.
* Excellent racial and economic diversity. Average family diversity with about 31% of households as families.
* For sales homes are generally pretty affordable. Because of the newer townhouse development there are is a good # of 1-bedrooms selling in the 100Ks. 2-beds sell in the 100Ks and 200Ks 3-beds sell btwn 150K-300K and 4-beds with the same + some larger homes selling in the 300Ks.
* Significant % of the new housing was preserved for affordability.
* Park amenities are pretty good including a couple playfields, basketball courts, playgrounds, a rec center, waterfront trail, and the historic Lunsford Circle Park.
* Solid tree canopy.
*Good number of churches and a local public library branch.
* Generally a safe district but still some rough/dead spots.
* Excellent set of historic homes. The urban form of the in-fill housing is pretty good but architecture a bit tacky. The shopping center is very tacky and rather auto centric.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

*An ok grade school is located in the neighborhood. Several other schools in surrounding neighborhoods but not really walkable.
* Rentals are limited. What is listed is generally moderately priced.
* A handful of restaurants, bars, and shops thanks to the Corn Hill Landing shopping center. Major retail amenities missing include a supermarket, pharmacy, banks, and post office.
* Other than several restaurants & bars a couple art galleries limited cultural options. At least you are a 5 minute car ride to Dwtn though.
* Sidewalks are generally in tact but current ADA curbs hit or miss.
* Really no biz districts to speak of. The main arteries Ford St. and Exchange Blvd. function more like Blvds in the suburbs.
* Very quite neighborhood. Not a lot of vibrancy.

Rochester’s Brown Square- Home to Kodak’s World Headquarters

Brown Square is one of Rochester’s oldest neighborhoods and home to much of Rochester’s early industrial development of the 1830s. Widespread development occurred in the mid-late 1800s as Brown Square was settled by Italian, German, Irish, and most recently Puerto Rican immigrants. Along the Genesse River near High Falls many warehouses and industrial uses were constructed. Historically State Street was a major north-south arterial in the City, and Kodak built their headquarters here in 1915. Sadly like many Rochester neighborhoods, Brown Square has not recovered since its post WW-II fall and is considered part of Rochester’s ” Crescent of Poverty”, a cluster of neighborhoods centered around the northern border of Downtown Rochester characterized by extreme poverty and crime.

Some revitalization has come to Brown Square including the repurposing of the Kodak Campus, renovating many warehouse buildings overlooking High Falls into lofts, restaurants, and creative stores, and two new stadiums. The stadiums unfortunately led to the demolition of large swaths of the district thanks no only to the stadium’s footprint but also to the ample amount of parking that surrounds them. Fortunately the neighborhood has held on to two attractive parks spaces (i.e. Brown Square Park and Jones Square Park).

What Brown Square needs is the intentional purchasing and redevelopment of the majority of the neighborhood. That is the type of intervention really needed to bring this neighborhood back. As so much of its fabric has been demolished, it can’t be affectively redeveloped piecemeal.

Click here to view my Browns Square Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Excellent public transit access. One of the best served neighborhoods in Rochester.
* Very convenient access to Dwtn as it sits just north of the western half of Dwtn.
* Several disjointed bike lanes in the neighborhood.
* Excellent racial diversity and average generational spread.
* Decent park amenities with the medium size Jones and Brown Square Parks and the outdoor Edgartown Rec Center.
*Some good cultural amenities including the Minor League ball park, a soccer stadium, a major artist center, several restaurants, a handful of bars& cafes, and a couple historic sites along the falls.
* Some nice warehouse buildings remain along the Falls and the old Kodak Highrise is great. Some decent in-fil apartments along the Falls as well.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Very poor district as the medium household income is around 15K.
*A decent grade school is located in the neighborhood. Several other schools in surrounding neighborhoods but not really walkable.
* Housing is very limited. Not many rentals on the open market here.
* What for sale housing exists is very affordable. For sale product sells anywhere btwn 25k-100K. A couple loft conversions along the river sell in the 100Ks and 200Ks but very limited product.
* Other than the river front and Jones Square and Brown Square Parks trees are pretty limited.
* Because of the High Falls redevelopment there are several boutiques, home goods, and creative stores near the river. There is also two banks. But overall neighborhood retail options aren’t great. No pharmacy, supermarket, library, photo office, etc.
* Sidewalks are generally in tact but current ADA curbs hit or miss.
* Not sure Brown Square is unsafely but its very blighted and abandoned.
* Urban massing is pretty bad. Large surface parking lots surround the stadiums and the urban fabric along the historic biz district of State and Lyell is pretty bad.

Downtown Rochester, NY

After the opening of the Erie Canal in the early 1820s, Dwtn Rochester boomed. By 1834, some 20 flour mills were producing 500,000 barrels annually, and the City’s population reached 13,500. Following the Civil War, many post-war industrial companies were founded including the likes of Kodak, Bausch & Lomb, Western Union, and Gleason Works. This led to the construction of many mid-sized skyscrapers in the late 19th century. Many of these buildings are still preserved along West Main Street in what is now called the Four Corners neighborhood. A subway was opened in 1927 on the old Erie Canal bed that ran through downtown but this was closed in the 1950s as public transit systems were replaced with cars and buses.

In the 60s Rochester, still a very corporate town, witnessed several ambitious urban renewals projects. This resulted in the Midtown Plaza mall, one of the first shinning new urban malls trying to compete with suburban malls. And new modern towners for Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, and several banks. Kodak actually built their major high rise and complex in 1915 just outside of Dwtn in the Brown Square district. Sadly these ambitious urban renewal projects sucked the vibrancy and energy out of Dwtn creating several nodes of activity (West Main Steet, the Saint Paul Quarter [a warehouse district], East End [where Eastman School of Music is located], Grove Place [an attractive residential area], and East Main Street) that are quite disconnected from each other. After many years of stagnation, Midtown Plaza mall closed in the 2007. The tower still remains and is now a mixed used bldg, and the mall was converted to a pretty attractive park. The 2010s have been a good decade for Dwtn Rochester as businesses, people, and entertainment are starting to return to downtown. The East Inner belt was converted to a street in 2018 resulting in many new apartments and townhomes and the restoration of a seamless connection to the attractive East Rochester neighborhoods.

But there is still much work to do as many parts of Downtown Rochester remain either dead or blighted. The best untapped potential for Dwtn lies in the Four Corners district where an amazing concentration of gorgeous unspoiled late 1800s buildings lie waiting to be renovated. North of East Main street around the St. Paul Quarter district is a sea of parking lots and underutilized buildings. South of Broad street has almost all been cleared by urban renewal and is generally pretty dead. Plenty of East Main St. bldgs that could be repurposed as well.

Click here to view my Downtown Rochester album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good dwtn population here.
* Good number of dedicated bike lanes within Dwtn. Ok access to Rochester neighborhoods and suburbs. No dedicated bike stations yet in Rochester.
* Residential population is one of the most diverse in Rochester. Good economic diversity esp. when you consider the incomes that work Dwtn. About 25% of those living Dwtn are below the poverty line.
* Within Dwtn a large okay rate high school. Several pretty well rated schools located with 1 mile of Dwtn.
* An okay number of rentals dwtn and a mix of affordable and moderately priced ones. Studios around 750K, 1-beds lease btwn 900K and $1,600. and 2-beds in the $1,000s. Really no 3-bedrooms.
* Some for sale units Dwtn but very few 1-bedrooms. 1 bed condos sell in the 200Ks & 300Ks. 2-bedrooms anywhere in between 200Ks-500Ks depending on size and condition. 3 & 4 beds selling for anywhere btwn 300K-700K. These are mostly town homes.
* A fair # affordable rents Dwtn. Medium rent is only $868.
* A good number of small and medium sized plazas and parks but no great stand out parks. MLK Plaza and now Midtown Commons are the best recreational spaces with some programming.
* Several nice smaller colleges dwtn including the Eastman School of Music, Monroe Community College, and Brockport Dwtn amount to about 3K students.
* An overall solid skyline due to Dwtn Rochester’s spreadout modern high rises.
* Great historic architecture Dwtn. Some much potential for wonderful bldg conversions.
* Culturally Dwtn has a decent # of restaurants, bars, cafes, and a few breweries, several art galleries, many performing arts, music, and cabaret theaters (both historic & modern), an indie cinema, several museums (auto, children’s, Modern. Art, etc.). Dwtn also host the convention center, a hockey/basketball arena and minor league ballpark, and a good # of gov’t bldgs on the west side.
* Almost 50K employees work Dwtn. Pretty good for a metro its size. Office vacancy is around 8%.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Public transit is only so within the City. Even poorer transit outside the City limits. Only Brighton has decent public transit as a suburb.
* Dwtn has a lot of wide Blvds but also plenty of intimate narrow streets.
* Only 10% of households are families. This is low even for Dwtn standards. Some adult diversity with Dwtn host a lot of young professionals and empty nesters.
* Safety is generally ok but certainly some very dead spots in Dwtn Rochester and plenty of vacant buildings.
* Modern in-fill is a tough one evaluate in Dwtn. Lots of corporate modern high, which to some are quite interest, but too many very ugly. Some more recent modern in-fill especially along Union Ave where the inner belt once stood.
* Some good blocks of urban form but plenty of surface parking lots and poor urban form due largely to the expensive urban renewal efforts Dwtn.
* Overall vibrancy is great but good with some spots Dwtn.
* Parts of the Eastern half of Dwtn are gaining positive momentum and buzz but the western half is very dead.
* Retail amenities are not great. No dwtn supermarket nor pharmacy. Shopping limited to a handful of boutiques, plenty of banks, a bookstore, some salons a family dollar, and the main public library and post office.

Highland Park- a comfortable middle-class neighborhood and home to a Fredrick Law Olmstead park

The neighborhood is named after Highland Park, an expansive park located on the neighborhood’s southern border that is one of several in Rochester originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted,

Highland Park was developed mostly between the 1980s and 1930s and is a comfortable historic middle class streetcar neighborhood friendly to families but also very economically diverse. The district shares a border with South Wedge along South Avenue giving it convenient access to the main retail amenities located there. Clinton Ave is another urban biz district running along the northern edge of Highland Park. This is a decent urban biz district with a good amount of services but quite a lot of auto centric development too. Other urban areas that could improve in Highland Park include better public transit access, more intersections with ADA compliance ramps, more dedicated bike lanes, several schools located within the neighborhood, more cultural amenities and more rental housing options.

Click here to view my Highland Park Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Very convenient access to Downtown.
* Excellent diversity esp. economic.
* Nice diversity of affordability & moderately priced for sale housing. 1-bed homes sell in the 100Ks, 2-beds in the 100Ks & mid 200Ks, 3 & 4 bedrooms anywhere between the 100Ks and mid 300Ks depending on size & condition.
* The expansive Highland Park sits squarely within the southern portion of the neighborhood’s boundaries. Also a nice but small neighborhood park called Ellwanger and Berry Park.
* Culturally there is a good array of restaurants, bars, and cafes. There is also the Lamberton Conservatory Warner Castle within Highland Park.
* Retail amenities include a small local Grocery store, a Pharmacy, a butcher, a decent # of boutiques, several dessert joints, and local stores.. There is also a local public library and a major hospital.
* Good urban massing along South Ave but its more residential here than in South Edge. Clinton is a mix of urban and auto centric massing.

URBAN WEAKESSES:

* Public transit access is so here.
* Good sidewalk coverage but most intersections don’t have current ADA ramps.
* Only on dedicated bike lane and not dedicated bike stations in Rochester.
* Rental housing is very limited but generally moderately priced.
* No schools within Highland Park but a couple goods schools in adjacent districts that are quasi walkable.
* No art galleries, live music venues, theaters, and few museum sites here.
* Modern in-fill is limited mostly to crummy auto-centric buildings.

South Wedge- Rochester’s Oldest Neighborhood

South Wedge is one of Rochester’s oldest neighborhoods outside of Downtown and began in the 1820s as a series of small houses owned by families tied to the Erie Canal trade. By the time Frederick Douglass moved to South Wedge along South Ave in the 1860s, the area was bustling and hosted the city’s first street railway.

After World War II the Wedge began a slow decline as residents moved to the suburbs. Businesses closed until the Wedge hit rock bottom in the 1970s. At this time around 25% of all housing units were vacant and crime was high along on South Avenue. But the fortunes of South Wedge really started to rise in the 2000s. Neighborhood groups worked hard to remove crime hot spots on South Ave and bring businesses back. Today South Avenue is one of the most interesting business districts in Rochester with lots of creative and locally owned shops. Architecturally the neighborhood has a nice variety of homes built between the 1840s and 1920s. Many handsome mixed-use buildings line South Avenue as well some decent urban in-fill development.

Main areas for South Wedge to improve upon include more rental housing options (something that is partially being helped with the new infill development along the River), better walkable schools, better cultural amenities, improved urban form along Mt. Hope Avenue, and a full service grocery store.

Click here to view my South Wedge album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Very convenient access to Downtown.
* 2 nice north to south dedicated bike lanes but no dedicated bike stations in Rochester.
* Nice diversity of affordability & moderately priced for sale housing. 1-bed homes sell in the 100Ks, 2-beds in the 100Ks & low 200Ks, 3 & 4 bedrooms anywhere between the 100Ks and mid 200Ks depending on size & condition.
* Several affordable housing buildings in the neighborhood..
* Great park amenities including the Genesse Riverway Trail/Gateway Park, Highland Park to the south, and a couple smaller parks within the neighborhood. Solid tree canopy as well.
* Culturally there is a good array of restaurants, bars, cafes, and a brewery. There is also the Lamberton Conservatory, Warner Castle, Sunken Garden within Highland Park along with walkable access to some cultural amenities Downtown.
* Retail amenities include a Co-Op and local small Grocery store, a Pharmacy, a bookstore, a butcher, a decent # of boutiques, several dessert joints, local stores, and home good stores. There is also a local public library and a major hospital.
* Some decent infill with several new mixed-use buildings along South Ave and new MF housing along the river.
* Generally good urban massing along the main biz district (South Avenue). Much less so along Mt. Hope and Clinton Avenue which often have a mix of auto centric and industrial uses.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Rental housing is very limited but generally moderately priced.
* A couple walkable schools within or nearby but generally not great ratings.
* Only 1 art gallery, live music venues, theaters, and few museum sites here.
* Retail wise only a couple banks and no chain supermarket, nor local post office.