City Set to Weigh in on Ren Square Project

In the face of a looming federal deadline there was critical movement regarding the next step in the controversial Renaissance Square project Friday.
Mayor Bob Duffy and city council met behind closed doors and reached an agreement in principal, on a course of action according to the city.
"I'm encouraged by that movement. That's definitely progress for Renaissance Square," Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks said. Brooks said the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) gave developers a list of things that need to be completed before July 30th or the project risks losing more than $20-million in federal funding.
City council action is on that list.
The project currently includes; a Monroe Community College campus, off-street city bus station and performing arts theater.
"There's a lot of money earmarked for that project we don't wanna lose that money,” City Spokesperson Gary Walker said, “But at the same time, we have to weigh that with what is the long-term interest of the city. That is a major corner of our downtown and we cannot have a structure there that does not work for the people that costs millions in taxpayer subsidy possibly."
Walker is referring to the unfunded theatre portion of the project. He says the city faced a similar situation several years ago and learned a lesson from it.
"We heard this cacophony of voices several years ago to build a stadium. You gotta build, it's good for jobs, it's good for the area. If we don't build it we'll lose $15-million in state funds and so everybody built the stadium. Now we have a facility that's empty almost 10 months of the year, that's costing taxpayers $500-thousand a year to keep up. That's not a gift. You don't want a gift that eats," Walker said.
Several city council members told R News they thought the meeting went well but would not disclose details.
The mayor is expected to draft legislation for the council to consider by early next week.
"I imagine there's gonna be some specificity into what the city is willing to do, condemn, convey or abandon in that piece of legislation," Walker said.
Project partners and the public are expected to learn more about the city's vision for Renaissance Square at a public meeting.
It's set for Wednesday, July 15th at 3 p.m. in city council chambers.
"I don't think anyone is adverse to making minor adjustments as part of final design. That's done in every project. What we've pushed back on are monumental changes that would force us to go back to the FTA for their approval. And those are the kinds of things that will throw the schedule back a year, 18 months and those are the things that will actually really hamper and impact our ability to move forward with this in any way," said Brooks.