Rochester Broadway Theatre League officials have a list of more than a dozen potential sites for a new theater, all of them in the suburbs.
RBTL officials want to build a 3,000-seat facility. The municipalities that have formally expressed interest via a letter to RBTL are Brighton, the City of Canandaigua, Chili, Farmington, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Ogden, and Webster. Some of those municipalities submitted proposals alongside private developers who would like to incorporate the theater into ongoing projects:
- Anthony J. Costello and Son proposed its Clinton Crossings development in Brighton
- Chrisanntha, Inc. proposed its 74-acre waterside project in the City of Canandaigua
- J. Fiorie & Co. proposed a site in the Gates section of its Canal Ponds development
- Pyramid Brokerage proposed the former Kodak Riverwood Campus in Henrietta
- Developer Scott Congel's firm proposed its Medley Center project in Irondequoit
- The DiMarco Group proposed its Fishers Ridge site on Route 96
Wilmorite Management also expressed interest, but offered no specific site.
Rochester officials offered to pay for an architectural and engineering assessment of the Auditorium Theatre, but RBTL already has LeChase Construction performing that work, says board chair Arnie Rothschild. The city's letter, from Mayor Bob Duffy says: "If we should come to the mutual conclusion, however, that the Auditorium cannot be renovated for such purposes, I would advocate that we identify a mutually satisfactory location downtown."
The Landmark Society of Western New York, which supports a city location for the theater, also suggested several site possibilities: Midtown, St. Joseph's Park, the city-owned Culver Armory, Monroe Square, and the former Genesee Hospital. Only the St. Joseph's Park site is owned by Landmark Society.
The RBTL board's site selection committee will review the proposals and expect to select a site in "several months," says Frank Hagelberg, chair of committee.