Buckingham Properties LLC, Rochester New York’s largest Property Management and Development Company announces the promotion of Chris Leistman to Director of Safety. Leistman has worked at Buckingham Properties for the last 22 years as a Property Manager.
In addition to his duties as Property Manager, Leistman will now maintain the health and safety program for Buckingham, including oversight of life safety inspections for a portfolio of over 40 properties. He will be responsible for the maintenance and compliance of fire alarm systems, sprinkler systems, emergency power and lighting systems and overall safety.
Leistman resides in Webster with his wife, Gayla and their two daughters.
Three New Tenants at Daily Record Building
Buckingham Properties welcomed three new tenants to the Daily Record Building at 11 Centre Park in the Cascade District: Westminster Financial LLC, Barton & Loguidice and Quantum Loop Solutions LLC.
The Daily Record Building, located at 11 Centre Park in the Cascade District.
Westminster Financial provides comprehensive financial plans for wealth building and management, retirement planning, education funding, estate and survivor needs, and other investment and financial planning issues. The company occupies 2,859 square feet in the building.
Quantum Loop Solutions, who has moved into a 1,900 square foot space, is a Rochester-based company that has developed a mobile commerce (mCommerce) solution called NuSale. NuSale provides a one-stop solution for small merchants including customer management, inventory control, point of sale, mobile payment processing, online selling and back-office accounting.
Barton & Loguidice, a Syracuse-based professional engineering firm, held an open house on March 22 to unveil their new office.
Barton & Loguidice, a Syracuse-based professional engineering firm, held an open house on March 22 to unveil their new office. Attendees included County Executive Maggie Brooks, City of Rochester Neighborhood & Business Development Commissioner Carlos Carballada, and state Sen. Joseph Robach.
The Daily Record Building, built in 1904, was purchased several years ago by Buckingham Properties and redeveloped to offer office and live/work lofts in the 36,000 square foot building.
Billone Mechanical/ABJ Fire Protection Opens Doors in Brighton
BILLONE MECHANICAL/ABJ FIRE PROTECTION OPENS DOORS IN BRIGHTON Local Contractor Finds New Home at Buckingham Properties’ Winton Place Facility
ROCHESTER, NY – Buckingham Properties is pleased to announce the opening of Billone Mechanical Contractors/ABJ Fire Protection at 3543 Winton Place in Brighton. The new space provides 6,100 square feet of flex/office space with two docks for Billone’s growing business of providing mechanical services to the greater Rochester area for over 30 years.
Billone Mechanical Contractors/ABJ Fire Protection joins several other tenants at 35-43Winton Place, including VP Supply, Clerisy Corporation, Zenith Academy of Gymnastics and Flower City CrossFit. “Buckingham is very pleased to provide Billone/ABJ with flex/office space at Winton Place,” said Ken Glazer, Property Development Manager for Buckingham. “Their new office at Winton Place has easy access to all expressways, making it a great location to continue serving the Rochester community.”
About Buckingham Properties
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region.
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Bringing back the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood
Take a little drive on West Main Street past the thriving Cascade District and the Inner Loop, and you will discover a city neighborhood on the cusp of renaissance.
Past Nick Tahou's Hots, the landmark home of the Garbage Plate, there are signs of the progress under way. The new Voters Block apartment complex is nearing completion on the south side of the street a few blocks west, and directly across the street from the new construction is the restoration of a historic block of buildings in what will become the Frederick Douglass Apartments.
But to see the full scale of potential for this neighborhood — the home of famed suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony — you have to explore the side streets off West Main, such as Canal and Litchfield streets, where several century-old factories stand in waiting for restoration and reuse.
These massive, weary brick buildings with boarded-up windows, padlocked doors, leaky roofs and signs of deterioration don't look like much now, but for each there is a new owner with plans to restore and redevelop for housing, office space or whatever the market will bear.
For the first time in perhaps decades, there is reason for positive buzz on West Main Street.
Listen to Larry Glazer, chief executive and managing partner of Buckingham Properties:
"The old Cunningham Factory has been purchased by DePaul and will be a major redevelopment for housing. The city records building is a very stabilized building. The old office furniture manufacturing building has been purchased by a developer and that is ready to be redeveloped, and (Nelson) Leenhouts has purchased the buildings on Main Street for housing, plus the new housing project across the street.
"What we have here is critical mass."
Larry Mastrella, a manager with RealtyUSA in Pittsford, grew up in the 1950s on King Street across the square from Susan B. Anthony's home. He said his childhood memories of the neighborhood are very different from what it has become.
"It's great to know that you can drive down those streets and in that area now and that it is coming back," Mastrella said. "There was a time not long ago that it just was not the place to be, and now to see it coming back is really refreshing for all the people who grew up around there."
New strategy
The renaissance of the West Main Street and Susan B. Anthony neighborhoods has sputtered for more than a decade. The area has been in a slow decline since the late 1950s because of the closure of factories and increased concentration of poverty and crime. One of the first important steps was in 1998, with the closure of FIGHT Square (which had been renamed West Square Manor), a low-income housing project built in the 1970s by a community group that formed after the race riots in Rochester in 1964.
In 2001, the city completed Anthony Square, a development of 45 new apartments and nearly 30 single-family homes, built on the plot where the dingy housing project plagued by drugs, violence and despair once stood.
"That was a really good project, but it stopped there," said Bret Garwood, the city's director of housing and development, referring to Anthony Square. "Over the past four or five years the city has taken a different approach to development and has really tried to surround good investments like Anthony Square with a lot of other activity.
"We have been concentrating on the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood, doing our focused investment strategy ... and then really using our affordable housing development as a way to start a mixed-use, mixed-income renaissance of that area."
The effort is beginning to pay off. The Voters Block development — the Leenhouts project referred to by Glazer — is expected to open in April. It will include a three-story building with 39 energy-efficient apartments, a café and a community room at 431 W. Main.
The development also will offer a mix of single-family or doubles affordable to people with low and moderate incomes, as well as for market-rate renters, a total of about 90 units altogether.
The $20 million project is a partnership among the Rochester Housing Authority, Home Leasing LLC, Spiritus Christi Church and Edgemere Development Inc. The city provided a low-interest loan and property tax incentives to help support the project.
Across Main Street, the Frederick Douglass Building will have nearly 30 apartments and 10 commercial spaces.
"What is exciting here is that these things are adding up and we are doing a transition from an area that was extremely concentrated poverty (to) an area that is getting more income-diverse," Garwood said.
Glazer joins in
The projects are also attracting more development to the area. Glazer's Buckingham Properties is one of the development companies responsible for a renaissance in the Cascade District just east of the Inner Loop. The company turned an old factory on Plymouth Avenue into market-rate loft apartments called Buckingham Commons. Glazer also renovated the Washington Building on Washington Street between West Main and Broad streets.
Buckingham is now making an investment in the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood. It has purchased a five-story factory on Canal Street for future housing, office or mixed development.
"The layout and design of the building with the openness of it and the fact that it is in great structural condition, it has great potential for redevelopment," Glazer said. "You can have offices or apartments opening up to windows everywhere, very similar to ... Buckingham Commons only bigger. The day we walked in, we knew it was an opportunity.
"The question was the neighborhood, but the neighborhood is in such play right now in terms of redevelopment that this building is just another building that is going to be redone."
DePaul's effort
Just across Litchfield Street sits what looks like a crumbling remnant of Rochester's heavy industrial days. The Cunningham Carriage Factory building has been vacant since the 1980s. It was once part of the historic James Cunningham & Sons Co., which produced carriages in the 1800s and cars, tanks and planes until it closed after World War II.
The four-story building is being purchased by DePaul Key Housing for a $22 million renovation and redevelopment into 68 rental apartments for low-income residents and people with special needs. The project was recently awarded a $3.3 million grant from the state through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"We are going to bring it back with beautiful one- and two-bedroom apartments," said DePaul Vice President Gillian Conde. "That corner is also really significant for the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood because the square has been so developed and that has always been the dark corner. So we hope bringing this back and having housing there is going to be a really nice addition."
With so many projects under way and so many buildings in play for renovation, much is at stake for the neighborhood over the next few years.
The hope is that the investment in the area will continue and spread to adjoining west-side neighborhoods.
"They are doing a beautiful job over there," said Mastrella, the RealtyUSA executive. "I have gone through two of the buildings visiting business associates and it's really improved."
Officials cut the ribbon on the company's new location at Alexander Park
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 20, 2011— Atlanta-based EarthLink, Inc. today cut the ribbon on its new location at Alexander Park, representing a $12 million investment over the next three years and the retention of approximately 450 local jobs. Alexander Park is just part of EarthLink's overall investment in the Western New York region, which includes the recent acquisitions of One Communications, LogicalSolutions, xDefenders and the closing today of EarthLink's acquisition of Synergy Global's IT Solution Center.
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks and Rochester Mayor Thomas S. Richards joined EarthLink Chairman and CEO Rolla Huff and local employees for the official ribbon-cutting celebration at the company's new offices this morning. The company also announced that it will lease an additional 6,000 square feet at Alexander Park, the former Genesee Hospital site, from owner Buckingham Properties, increasing EarthLink's total occupancy to more than 71,000 square feet.
EarthLink's acquisition of Synergy's IT Solution Center in Amherst, N.Y., is the latest in a string of strategic and local acquisitions that included One Communications, LogicalSolutions and xDefenders earlier this year.
"These investments, along with the retention of nearly 450 jobs in Rochester and Buffalo, demonstrate EarthLink's strong commitment to this region," Huff said. "The IT and telecom workforce throughout Western New York is among the best and brightest in the country, offering up ample opportunities for growth in the months and years to come."
"EarthLink's tremendous investment and commitment to Monroe County demonstrate the strength of our local economy and our growing IT and telecom workforce," said Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks. "We are proud to have such a great — and growing — company in our midst."
"We are very excited to welcome EarthLink to Alexander Park," said Larry Glazer, CEO and Managing Partner of Buckingham Properties. "The company and its employees will pave the way for future redevelopment at Alexander Park and all along the Alexander Street corridor."
Rochester Mayor Tom Richards said EarthLink is a welcome opportunity for the city's continuing revitalization.
"I want to thank Rolla Huff and the EarthLink team for demonstrating their confidence in Rochester and keeping these important, high-tech jobs in the city," Richards said. "Congratulations are also in order for Larry Glazer and Buckingham Properties for the success of Alexander Park. With EarthLink as an anchor tenant, this development now has the potential to raise the level of economic activity in Southeast Rochester to even greater heights."
Upstate NY CCIM Chapter Recognizes Kenneth Glazer of Buckingham Properties
Upstate NY CCIM Chapter Recognizes Kenneth Glazer of Buckingham Properties CCIM Designation Signifies Expertise in Commercial Real Estate
ROCHESTER, NY - The Upstate NY CCIM Chapter has recognized Kenneth Glazer of Buckingham Properties who recently earned the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation from the CCIM Institute, one of the leading commercial real estate associations in the world. As a CCIM designee, a licensed Architect and a LEED Accredited Professional, Ken has a unique combination of knowledge and experience. Ken resides in Rochester, New York with his family.
Ken was awarded the designation at the institute’s business meetings in Phoenix, Arizona. He was among 346 commercial real estate professionals who passed the CCIM Comprehensive Examination, the final component in the designation process. Only about 6% of the estimated 150,000 commercial real estate practitioners nationwide hold the CCIM designation, which reflects not only the caliber of the program, but why it is one of the most coveted and respected designations in the industry.
The CCIM designation is awarded upon successful completion of a graduate-level education curriculum and presentation of a portfolio of qualifying experience. The curriculum addresses financial analysis, market analysis, user decision analysis, and investment analysis, the cornerstones of commercial investment real estate. CCIMs are recognized experts in commercial real estate brokerage, leasing, asset management, valuation, and investment analysis.
The Upstate NY CCIM Chapter is one of nearly 62 local chapters of the CCIM Institute. The mission of the chapter is to provide quality education programs, networking opportunities, and technology products to its members, as well as to promote the merits of the CCIM designation to prospective members and the business community at large.
About CCIM Institute
Since 1969, the Chicago-based CCIM Institute has conferred the Certified Commercial Investment Member designation to commercial real estate and allied professionals through an extensive curriculum of 200 classroom hours and professional experiential requirements. Currently, there are more than 9,000 CCIMs in 1,000 markets throughout the United States, Canada, and 30 additional countries. Another 7,000 practitioners are pursuing the designation, making the institute the governing body of one of the largest commercial real estate networks in the world. An affiliate of the National Association of Realtors®, the CCIM Institute’s recognized curriculum, powerful technology tools, and networking programs impact and influence the commercial real estate industry. Visit www.ccim.com or www.ccimny.com for more information.
About Buckingham Properties
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region.
Chili Vision Group Celebrates 40th Anniversary with Ribbon Cutting at New Location
Chili Vision Group Celebrates 40th Anniversary with Ribbon Cutting at New Location Monroe County presents business with Proclamation
Chili, NY- As they celebrate their 40th anniversary and a move to a new larger location, Chili Vision Group held a ribbon cutting ceremony December 2 at 10 am. The new office is located in Buckingham Properties' Chili Crossing, at 3173 Chili Ave. suite 400, which is across the parking lot from their old location.
“We are delighted to be moving into this new location which will help us better serve our existing and future patients. We’ll have more space for diagnostic equipment and exam areas,” said Dr. Pam Brown owner of Chili Vision Group. “It’s been a privilege to have provided quality vision services to our patients in Chili and the western part of the county for the last 40 years.”
Chili Vision Group was previously located at 3171 Chili Ave., suite 100. The move adds 2,190 square feet of office space to accommodate a growth in equipment and staff.
Monroe County Deputy County Executive Dan DeLaus presented Chili Vision Group with a Proclamation commemorating their 40th anniversary. Also in attendance was Chili Town Supervisor David Dunning.
About Buckingham Properties
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The Company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7.8 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region
About Chili Vision Group:
Chili Vision Group, a woman-owned practice, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the Chili area. The doctors at Chili Vision Group provide comprehensive eye care, including comprehensive eye exams for all ages, diagnosis and management of eye diseases and disorders including cataracts, diabetes, glaucoma, macular degeneration, infections, and injuries. They also expertly fit soft contact lens and rigid gas permeable lenses.
The Chili Vision Group team consists of 17 people including five Optometrists, three Opticians and an Ophthalmologist. The office is located at 3173 Chili Ave., suite 400, in Chili. For more information visit www.chilivisiongroup.com.
Express Employment Professionals Opening in Oak Hill Commons
Express Employment Professionals Opening in Oak Hill Commons
Thursday, September 9, 2011-Rochester, New York – Buckingham Properties is pleased to announce the addition of Express Employment Professionals, a franchised staffing agency, to Oak Hill Commons at 3040 Monroe Avenue in Pittsford. The leading, national and international, agency has signed a long-term lease for 2,600 square feet of space at this high-traffic Monroe Avenue location.
Franchise owners, Peter and Laurie Brown of Pittsford, will open at their new location October 3, 2011. “The Rochester business community has been very supportive of us and our business and we’re very excited about having the extra space and a great location to continue to serve businesses in Rochester with our full line of staffing services”, Peter Brown said. “This area has a dynamic workforce and growing economy, which creates a need for both staffing services and workers.
The local Express Employment Professionals franchise began operation in 2008; however the Brown’s bring over 30 years of industry experience to the greater Rochester area. Express services temporary, contract and direct hire employees in a variety of fields, including industrial, administrative, medical, technical and professional placements. With over 550 offices in four countries, Express is committed to the vision of helping as many people as possible find good jobs by helping as many clients as possible find good people. The Rochester office, located at 3300 Monroe Ave., Ste. 300 is currently taking applications. Businesses seeking employees may call 218-0440 or email jobs.rochesterny@expresspros.com
“Buckingham is very pleased to be providing Express Employment Professionals with the office space to bring their staffing and recruitment services to the community,” said Rick Glazer, Director of Corporate Services for Buckingham. “The Oak Hill Commons location is prime real estate with high traffic and visibility and ideal for their client
For more information on leasing opportunities at Oak Hill Commons, Spring House Commons or the Monroe Clover Plaza contact Rick Glazer at 585-295-9500 Ext 327 or visit the Buckingham Properties website at www.buckprop.com
About Buckingham Properties
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The Company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7.8 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region.
Barton & Loguidice Relocating its Rochester Office to Buckingham Properties’ Daily Record Building
Barton & Loguidice, a Syracuse-based engineering firm, will be relocating its Rochester office to Buckingham Properties’
Daily Record building
Thursday, August 11, 2011-Rochester, New York – Barton & Loguidice Engineering will be relocating its Rochester office to Buckingham Properties’ Daily Record building at 11 Centre Park in Rochester’s west-end.
The engineering firm recently signed a long-term lease to allow for continued growth of staff, services and operations from the new Centre Park location. The new office will be bigger and have more available resources to provide expanded services from one location.
“We are extremely pleased to open our new office in the Daily Record Building”, said John Rigge, Senior Associate at Barton & Loguidice. The Daily Record Building’s unique attributes met our need to find a creative space that would also provide exceptional amenities and close proximity to government offices. The building was also compelling because it is owned and managed by Buckingham Properties who we knew would be responsive, accommodating and put our needs first.” Scott Chenet, Barton and Loguidice’s Director of Marketing discussed how “the move reflects our growth, success and continued commitment to the evolution of downtown Rochester, Monroe County and the entire Western New York Region. “
Buckingham’s Director of Leasing Ted Welter commented “As a long-term tenant at another Buckingham site, Barton & Loguidice came to us with expansion needs that could not be fulfilled where they were. So we set to work to find other quarters and we’re excited to be able to accommodate the growth needs of this fine organization, that they chose to stay right here in the quickly transforming west-end, and have selected our Daily Record Building for their new location.”
The Daily Record Building, built in 1904, is located within the Historic Cascade District. It was purchased several years ago by Buckingham Properties and redeveloped to offer office and live/work lofts in this 36,000 square foot building.
Barton & Loguidice joins several other firms who have recently moved or expanded their headquarters into the historical west-end district. In April 2001, Nothnagle Realtors and Nothnagle Home Securities moved about 70 employees to new headquarters at 217 West Main Street. The former Josh Lofton School, located at 242 West Main Street was recently purchased and will be renovated for a mix of office, retail and residential uses.
About Barton & Loguidice
Barton & Loguidice is a professional engineering firm established in 1961. Over the years, they have grown from a small partnership of four professional engineers in Syracuse, New York to a mid-sized engineering, planning, environmental, and landscape architecture firm of nearly 200 professionals with clients throughout New York, Pennsylvania and the East Coast.
About Buckingham Properties
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, New York area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its distinct real estate portfolio. The Company currently owns and manages more than 45 properties comprising over 7.8 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region. More information on Buckingham Properties is available through the company web site at www.buckprop.com.
Monday, July 25, 2011-Rochester, New York–Five Star Bank’s newest branch has opened today, Monday, July 25th, in Buckingham Properties’ Chili Crossing,3177 Chili Avenue, in front of the Wegmans and Target shopping plaza.
Under a long-term land lease with Buckingham, Five Star Bank broke ground in April 2011. The branch, which will feature a full range of consumer and business banking services including 24-hour ATM access and convenient lobby hours, was completed in just four months by Taylor, the builders, and is one of the bank’s five Rochester area branches.
In addition to being located directly in front of Wegmans and Target, Chili Commons has a mix of businesses including Liberty Mutual Insurance, New Smiles Orthodontics, Chili Vision Group which is presently completing a significant expansion and relocation within the complex, Glowinsky & Harding Dentistry for Children, and still has space available for a few more medical and general office businesses.
“The opening of Five Star’s newest branch is significant on two levels: first it introduces a new bank to serve the needs of customers in the growing Chili community, and two, this partnership of Five Star Bank and Buckingham demonstrates the success of two progressive, energized and growing hometown organizations that are working together and investing resources back into our community. We hope that this development will be a cornerstone for future growth and re-investment in the Chili area,” said Ken Glazer, Project Development Manager. “Buckingham is proud we can help bring a quality bank like Five Star Bank to Chili. And we are thrilled to do our part to help create new jobs, and other opportunities in the Chili community.”
About Buckingham Properties
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The Company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7.5 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region. More information on Buckingham Properties is available through the company web site at www.buckprop.com.
About Five Star Bank
With $2.2 billion in assets, Five Star Bank provides a wide range of consumer and commercial banking services to individuals, municipalities and businesses through a network of 50 offices and more than 70 ATMs in Western and Central New York State, and employs over 600 people. Five Star Bank along with Five Star Investment Services, both affiliates of Financial Institutions, Inc. (FII), also provides diversified financial services to its customers and clients, including brokerage and insurance. More information on Five Star Bank is available through the company web site at www.five-starbank.com.
Renovation and Expansion Plans Set for Two Properties
Renovation and Expansion Plans Set for Two Properties
on Elmwood Avenue
Monday, July 18, 2011-Rochester, New York –The Elmwood Professional Center at 1580 Elmwood Avenue and adjacent former house at 1590 Elmwood Avenue in Brighton are having new life breathed into them this summer. Buckingham Properties has been busy this summer renovating the exterior of 1580 and has announced plans to completely transform the interior and exterior of 1590 into a first class office building.
The larger 20,000 square foot main building on the campus has long been the home of numerous medical practices and other professional tenants. The upper floor is fully leased at this time. The 1st floor had recently come vacant and is presently receiving a complete cosmetic makeover with all new carpeting, flooring, cabinets, paint and so forth. There are six suites ranging from 850 to 2,400 sq. ft. targeted for professional businesses. Each suite has a private restroom, kitchenette, state-of-the-art finishes, comfortable and efficient layouts and is ADA compliant. Occupancy for these freshly redecorated suites is projected for mid-September 2011.
Integral to this campus transition is the conversion of the long dormant 1,400 square foot house on the edge of the property which will soon be first class office space. This single-story building is receiving top to bottom renovations with little but the frame to remain from its days as a residence. “It will be one of the only stand-alone single-tenant office buildings of its type, quality and size in Brighton,” said Ted Welter, Buckingham’s Director of Leasing. “Due to its unique size we think this building will rent quickly to a small business owner that desires quality finishes, great parking and the prized Brighton location for their long term success.” added Welter.
“The repositioning of Elmwood Professional Center represents a lot more than just giving a building a face lift,” said Ken Glazer, Project Development Manager for Buckingham. “It’s about providing new alternatives for the growing small to medium sized business market. Tenants in this category are business owners such as accountants, doctors, attorneys, consultants and other professionals looking to lease well-located modern office space with flexible and affordable terms,” said Glazer.
Buckingham Properties welcomes prospective tenants to contact their Leasing Department at 585-295-9500Ext 319 for more information.
About Buckingham Properties
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The Company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7.5 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region.
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Two New Specialty Shops to Open on Monroe Avenue
Two New Specialty Shops to Open on Monroe Avenue
Pet$aver Healthy Pet Superstore and Tasteful Additions Oils & Vinegars Store
Opening in Monroe Clover Plaza and Spring House Commons
Monday, July 18, 2011-Rochester, New York– Buckingham Properties LLC is proud to announce that Pet$aver Healthy Pet Superstore and Tasteful Additions Oils & Vinegars store are set to open in Monroe Clover Plaza and the Spring House Commons on Monroe Avenue in Pittsford, New York.
Pet$aver Healthy Pet Superstore will be opening in 7200 square feet of leased space at the Monroe Clover Plaza at the corner of Monroe Avenue and Clover Street. The retail establishment will join Max Market, Mann’s Jewelers, Eye Opener’s and other in the shopping area.
Pet$aver Healthy Pet Superstore was established in 1992 and is locally and family owned. The pet store provides healthier alternative pet foods, supplies, full pet grooming and self wash stations to Rochester area pet lovers. Pet$aver will also be a retail location for fish, reptile, bird, small animal, and wild bird supplies. With a focus on pet rescue and adoption in the community, Pet$aver collaborates with Lollypop Farm and other local pet rescue groups and will sponsor adoption events continually at the new store. The store is scheduled to open in late September.
Tasteful Additions Oils & Vinegars store will occupy 725 square feet of retail space in Spring House Commons on Monroe Avenue. The specialty store will join up with People’s Pottery, Brow Diva and other successful one-of-a-kind retailers.
Tasteful Additions Oil & Vinegar is a one of a kind store offering a variety of over twenty different fresh, healthy, flavored and varietal olive oils and 20 flavors of balsamic vinegars to customers in addition to related products such as cruets and dipping plates. The product offerings target health-conscious men and women. The use of specialty olive oils and balsamic vinegars is a growing trend among health focused individuals who are looking for ways to eat healthy but also create delicious and inspiring meals. The store will offer tastings, demonstrations and recipes on site.
“The addition of the Pet$aver and the Oils & Vinegars Store will enhance the offerings on Monroe Avenue. Their high quality health focused products and other offerings will be an exciting new addition to the community, said Rick Glazer, Director of Corporate Services. “Our entire vision for the Commons was to provide high quality specialty boutiques and services that fit the distinctive demographic of the people that live and shop in the area. Pet$aver and Tasteful Additions Oils & Vinegars fits that profile precisely. Our commitment to enhance the shopping experience on Monroe Avenue will ensure an experience unlike any other for the consumer, offer growth opportunities to the area including more jobs and revenue.”
Located in one of Rochester’s premier shopping areas, Buckingham Properties currently owns and leases space in Oak Hill Commons, Clover Monroe Plaza and the Spring House Commons. Popular for its one of a kind boutique specialty stores, the Commons are known as the “Gateway” into the Town of Pittsford. Based on a “Canal House” theme, Buckingham built the brand new boutique space with the utmost curb appeal in a style that fits seamlessly in to the neighbourhood.
For more information on leasing opportunities at Oak Hill Commons, Spring House Commons or the Monroe Clover Plaza contact Rick Glazer at 585-295-9500 Ext 327 or visit the Buckingham Properties website at www.buckprop.com.
About Buckingham Properties, LLC
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The Company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7.5 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region.
Buckingham Properties Clears Site of Former Olympic Bowl for Re-Development
Buckingham Properties Clears Site of Former Olympic Bowl for Re-Development
Thursday, July 7, 2011-Rochester, New York – Buckingham Properties, LLC has cleared the former site of Olympic Bowl at 1350 Scottsville Road to make way for new economic development.
The land is a prime, ready-to-build site with utilities for new construction of a modern industrial, manufacturing or distribution facility. The site offers 6.65 acres of buildable land with 800 feet of frontage on Scottsville Road. The property benefits from its location just minutes from the Rochester International Airport and downtown Rochester, strategic location within an enterprise cluster, as well as outstanding transportation access and minimal required site preparation.
“This piece of property is important in luring new business or industry to locate in the Rochester community or for local business expansion and represents a great opportunity for job creation,” said Larry Glazer. “This is another vital tool in our economic development toolbox that will help give us the edge when attracting new and promising investment to the community.”
Today, more and more companies are looking for sites where they can have a shovel in the ground as quickly as possible. This new site paves the way for businesses to quickly locate new operations on property ready for development. With the Scottsville Road site, companies can count on certain qualities and they don't have to do as much due diligence on the front end-all impediments to development have been identified and resolved and building can begin within 60 days of a development decision. One of the fastest growing trends in the site location business is the demand for “Project Ready” sites. Companies move much faster today than in the past when making site location decisions. They want sites ready-to-go or at a least with a definitive plan in place to minimize risk and expedite development schedules.
Buckingham Properties is a noted for their productive reuse of commercial property in the Rochester community. The company’s most recent signature is the re-development of the former Genesee Hospital, into state-of-the-art professional offices, residential and retail site. Already identified as the” gateway to the Downtown area”, the Alexander Park Professional Campus will be the premier central location for working shopping and living in the City.
About Olympic Bowl
For over 50 years bowling pros and amateurs, housewives and kids rolled their bowling balls on the lanes of Olympic Bowl. It was a landmark in our community for daytime bowling leagues, bowling classes and professional tours. On July 13, 2008 the bowling alley, owned by AMF Olympic Lanes, closed its doors. Changing times and economic conditions forced the closing of the alley which was purchased by Buckingham Properties for redevelopment.
About Buckingham Properties, LLC
Buckingham Properties LLC is the largest and most diverse real estate development and property management company in the Rochester, NY area. Buckingham focuses on opportunistic development projects in the Greater Rochester region and takes pride in its combination of resourcefulness and significant experience to adapt to the needs of its diverse real estate portfolio. The Company currently owns and manages more than 40 properties comprising over 7 million square feet of rental space in the Greater Rochester region.
Beginning with a move of One Communications Corp’s Rochester operations from HSBC Plaza to a new local headquarters in Alexander Park, Earthlink Inc. plans a $12 million investment in its Rochester operations over the next several years, Earthlink chairman and CEO Rolla Huff said Wednesday.
Earthlink, an Atlanta-based telecommunications and Internet service firm, acquired One Communications in a $370 million cash and stock deal in April. A competitive local exchange carrier with Boston-area and Rochester operations that employs more than 400 locally, One Communications is being rebranded as Earthlink Business.
Huff on Wednesday also announced Earthlink’s acquisition of Logical Solutions in Perinton for an undisclosed sum. The 12-employee data center operator would remain in its current 1100 Pittsford-Victor Rd. location. CEO James Salviski is to stay at the helm and take responsibility for EarthLink’s Web hosting, cloud computing and co-location services nationally, Huff said.
One Communications’ Rochester branch began as the locally founded Choice One Communications Inc. After emerging from a fast-tracked Chapter 11 reorganization, Choice One was acquired, taken private and merged with two Boston-area CLECs to form One Communications in 2006.
The One Communications and Logical Solutions acquisitions along with Earthlink’s first-quarter acquisition of the Alabama-based CLEC Deltacom Inc. are key parts of a broad strategy to reposition Earthlink as business-focused telecom and Internet services provider as its legacy consumer-oriented Internet services declines, Huff said.
The move of One Communications’ Rochester operations from HSBC Plaza to a new 65,000 square-foot building at Alexander Park is expected to be completed by the end of this year, Huff said. Some network operations facilities would stay at HSBC Plaza, but most would be relocated to the Alexander Park building, he added.
Alexander Park is a mixed-use project being developed by Buckingham Properties LLC at the 15-acre site of the former Genesee Hospital.
The Earthlink building, which Huff said he plans to brand with prominent signage, would sit at a “new gateway” to downtown Rochester and a revitalized Monroe Avenue, Buckingham Properties CEO Laurence Glazer said. A road running past the structure is to be christened Earthlink Way.
Buckingham acquired Genesee Hospital from Rochester General Health System in 2006 some five years after RGHS closed the 500,000 square-foot facility. Glazer’s plan was to knock down most of the shuttered hospital and replace it with a mixed-use office and residential park that would connect the city’s vibrant Park Avenue and East End neighborhoods.
At the development’s western end, MVP Health Care occupies a refurbished former medical office building and RGHS has kept medical offices in a second structure that was formerly attached to the hospital. A third recently completed new medical office building awaits tenants. A roughly 1,000 space parking garage that once served the hospital now serves tenants and their visitors.
Canandaigua National Bank opened a branch office in the development in 2009 that sits facing Monroe Avenue next to the new Earthlink building.
A roughly seven-acre site at the project’s eastern end has been largely cleared awaits development. No definite prospects are yet signed, but several potential tenants have indicated interest. Glazer said.
After acquiring One Communications approximately one month ago, EarthLink first looked at whether it wanted to stay in Rochester and decided that it did, Huff said. One Communications’ HSBC Plaza lease expires at the end of this year, so the Atlanta company began to scout other locations.
“We next looked at whether we wanted to stay in the downtown area, which we did,” Huff said. “One of the things we were most pleased about is that (Alexander Park) would have free parking. That’s like giving everybody in the company a $300 raise.”
(c) 2011 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or e-mail service@rbj.net.
Downtown: Despite recession, city gears for big plans
Not the kind of incremental change that has inched downtown forward as the suburbs, corporate downsizing and a recession drained its core. Extraordinary change — the kind that promises to reshape downtown on a magnitude not seen since urban renewal in the 1950s and 1960s.
Had it not been for the recession, city and development officials say, cranes would have populated the city skyline by now.
Instead, this change remains largely unseen. And, in a city of many failed promises, seeing is believing.
Stand at the corner of Main Street and Clinton Avenue, and you see Midtown, its eight-plus acres and 1 million square feet of concrete and steel fenced off with no visible activity. The Sibley building and tower appears as it has for years — stately but largely vacant. And on another corner, tired or boarded-up storefronts display faded going-out-of-business signs or a billboard-sized photograph of a bike race that was canceled last year.
Heidi Zimmer-Meyer president, Rochester Downtown Development: "For the first time, we are starting to see the retail curve turn ... We are very close."
But 220 workers are busy inside Midtown, prepping for demolition to be followed by new streets, new corporate offices, housing and possibly a performing arts theater. A $200 million deal is being negotiated to renovate Sibley for commercial and housing uses. Talks are ongoing to raze those tired storefronts in favor of a transit center and more.
"In five years, if you walk to Main and Clinton, you won't recognize the landscape," said Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, president of Rochester Downtown Development Corp. "We'll see that whole area transform."
And not just that area.
Throughout downtown, there are more housing developments in the works than ever before. In two or three years, as those projects are finished and filled with people, downtown's population should tip into the 5,000- to 10,000-range that Zimmer-Meyer said is the "sweet spot" to begin attracting retail and restaurants. Meantime, 11 corporate headquarters have either expanded, moved or plan to move to the center city, bolstering the 50,000-plus who work downtown.
"Rochester's downtown seems ready and poised to have its third wind right now," said Larry Glazer, CEO of Buckingham Properties LLC and one of downtown's biggest landlords.
Larry Glazer, CEO, Buckingham Properties LLC: "In Rochester, if you don't build it, they won't come."
But he added: "Big ships turn slowly."
The $752 million in announced downtown projects could grow this week, if a city/county selection committee meeting Tuesday recommends acting on a proposed $20 million, 74-unit housing and commercial project near Eastman Theatre.
Rochester is hardly a unique American story. Plenty of downtowns — from Pittsburgh to San Antonio, Texas, to Nashville — have made comebacks.
Growth will feed upon growth, downtown leaders of other cities say.
"The cranes are contagious," said Tom Turner, president of the Nashville Downtown Partnership, the Tennessee capital's downtown advocacy agency. "Once you get one in the air, the likelihood of getting another is stronger."
Arunas Chesonis, CEO of PAETEC Holding Corp. of Perinton, whose proposed business headquarters is Midtown's centerpiece, expects that visible progress is needed to not only energize downtown's believers but also silence its naysayers.
"It's tough (for a region) to be healthy when your core is not healthy," Chesonis said. "It's just tough for me to envision Rochester being a vibrant region when people are embarrassed to take people downtown."
Arunas Chesonis, CEO, PAETEC: "A healthy Rochester means a healthy PAETEC."
But he is among the believers.
"Show me the cranes," he said.
Changing times
The scope of work now under way or planned — the $752 million and rising — eclipses the $516 million in the works five years ago (nearly half of which was tied up in Renaissance Square). Roughly half the current total is private projects, with varying degree of public subsidy. But the pace of development is faster and deeper than years past.
"Huge blockbuster projects," Zimmer-Meyer said, "that's the biggest change of what is happening down here."
None is bigger than razing Midtown, or potentially more transformative than knocking down the tired storefronts on the other side of the street, one block west.
When historians trace the evolution of downtown, they highlight the large-scale demolition and rebuilding that followed the great Sibley fire of 1904, which reshaped the north side of East Main Street between St. Paul Street and East Avenue.
Even greater demolition during urban renewal tore through neighborhoods ringing downtown, cut off streets and knocked down buildings, for Interstate 490, the Inner Loop, Civic Center Plaza. Much of the present-day riverfront development occurred at this time. Midtown Plaza opened.
Today, development continues to redefine downtown's boundaries. And there is a visible difference between the newer east side of downtown with its corporate towers, and the more historic west. Areas east of the river continue to draw more investor interest, though not all. High Falls is one exception. And there is considerable work begun or planned at both ends of Broad Street — creating a boulevard entrance from the west, building the county crime lab and renovating 44 Exchange Blvd. into the largest downtown condominium project to date.
Downtown never had a large residential base. Rather, the city's moderate size allowed people to live in nearby neighborhoods such as Corn Hill that were within walking distance of the center city.
Those who did live downtown from the 1830s through the 1930s and '40s typically owned their residences — the butchers, fish market and shop owners who lived above or behind their businesses along River and St. Paul streets, and the former Front Street.
"A few flimsy rookeries had appeared in the central area during boom days," the late City Historian Blake McKelvey wrote in 1950, "but their crowded residents had moved out as soon as the shortage of houses was overcome."
Attracting residents
More than 2,700 residential units are sprinkled across downtown today, with almost 4,000 people. Another 600-plus units are in the pipeline, expected to add another 900 residents.
The city's downtown population has doubled in the past 20 years, following a national trend of young professionals and empty nesters seeking trendy downtown lofts or downsizing to live near theaters and museums. In addition to new construction — of Corn Hill Landing, the Mills at High Falls and The Sagamore on East — 21 structures were renovated for apartments since 2000.
Today, by comparison, 15 building renovations are proposed or under way. Add to that a second phase of the Mills project, and other new housing construction being considered near Eastman Theatre and at North Plymouth Avenue and West Main Street. The Josh Lofton building near West Main and Broad streets also could be renovated.
"By redeveloping and reusing so much of downtown at one time, it brings life to the city," said David Christa, whose Christa Companies is a partner in renovating Midtown Tower as well as in proposals to build a downtown theater and to develop the lot near Eastman Theatre.
Midtown Tower accounts for more than half of the 45 condos in the pipeline, a total that would nearly double what is now available. Homeownership is such a priority downtown that Mayor Robert Duffy picked the Christa/Morgan Management plan over a less-pricey, apartments-only proposal his staff preferred.
About 97 percent of existing downtown housing is rental.
Mark Tortarella, 28, and his fiancée are buying a condo in the new Capron Street Lofts, just south of Woodbury Boulevard and visible from Interstate 490. Developer Patrick Dutton has sold six of the planned 19 units, and needs to sell one more to satisfy lenders and begin construction.
The Irondequoit couple is getting married in October, and Tortarella said they chose Capron because of its proximity to Geva Theatre and the South Wedge, and after finding downtown rents equal or higher than mortgage payments.
"I know friends who live in lofts," Tortarella said. "I just love the set-up with the open floor plans, wood exposed, brick exposed. And we figured if we are going to do it, now is the time."
Not an easy path
Downtown development is not immune from challenges, however. The recession has delayed some projects, scaled down others and led some to collapse. City Council President Lovely Warren said the city must find innovative ways to keep the momentum going. And, in instances where the city controls the land, to make sure the right development occurs.
"(Downtown) is clearly an entity in transition," Duffy said. "There has been progress, but the progress has been slowed by the recession."
Consider 67 Chestnut St., just south of Cadillac Hotel, overlooking the Midtown site. Developer Matthew Wood bought the building at an auction in 2007, days after officials announced that Midtown would be razed and PAETEC would build. But Wood can't say when he'll start converting the building to 50 market-rate apartments.
"The banks are frozen," he said, estimating the project will cost up to $5 million. "They are not lending, plain and simple, unless you are filthy rich." But in the St. Paul Quarter, work is finally progressing on the $4 million overhaul of the Kirstein Building on Andrews Street, after being discussed for a decade and passing through a few developers.
Kirstein is one of five current building renovations in the neighborhood that will add 191 apartments. Kirstein should begin renting in March, with tenants moving in come May or June.
The historic six-story commercial mill circa 1900 still shows the wear and neglect from sitting vacant. Fogged or boarded-up windows shed little light into a gutted first floor and a web of framed-out walls. On the sixth floor, however, developer Pawel Efraimov moves from apartment to apartment, pointing to the 10-foot ceilings, expansive windows and, in one, an opening that leads to a skylight easily 20 feet overhead.
His business has been hotels worldwide. A broker showed him the Kirstein listing, his first-ever investment in Rochester.
"I got in love with this building," he said.
The toughest part
With residents and workers will come retail, experts say — not the major department stores of bygone days, maybe not even a grocery store on the scale of the former Midtown Wegmans store, but smaller shops. Crate & Barrel, Target, Home Depot, even Wal-Mart has created new store models for resurgent downtowns.
The retail and nightlife issues are considered the toughest pieces of the puzzle. Just ask Christa, who opened Sagamore in 2006, quickly sold all the condos but only filled out the commercial space last summer.
At the time, Zimmer-Meyer, who has monitored downtown development since the mid-1980s, said that "for the first time, we are starting to see the retail curve turn ... we are very close."
Sandy Parker, CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance, said downtown leaders need to change the status of Rochester at night. She said parts of the downtown, especially the Four Corners, are "desolate."
Creating more restaurants and residences near or along Main Street could change that, she said.
And those are the things likely to attract more people, like Tortarella and his fiancée.
"We want to be part of the up and coming downtown," Tortarella said. "The passion that people have to bring Rochester back, with the amount of people who want to do it, hopefully in no time that will happen."
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