The East Ridge Road commercial strip is a vital part of Irondequoit, but it has competition - the region's other commercial areas adjacent to malls.

So when Town of Irondequoit officials decided to update a document that provides guidance and a vision for future development, they made sure to devote a section to rehabbing the East Ridge corridor. Since then, there's been a change in administration, but new Supervisor Mary Joyce D'Aurizio says she'll continue the process, though maybe with some tweaks.

"Something needs to be done," she says.

As part of the town's Master Plan update, officials developed a draft plan for the East Ridge corridor. It lays out ways for it to stay competitive with other commercial areas and to generally be viable and vital. The ideas include aesthetic fixes, making the corridor easier to navigate by bicycle, and establishing a business improvement district for promoting businesses and helping to finance improvements. On a broader scale, it suggests revamping some zoning and encouraging more mixed-use projects.

D'Aurizio wants to build on that. She says she wants to form a committee of landlords and business tenants to explore issues along the corridor. An example: because of the economic downturn, D'Aurizio says, some of the businesses don't have money to reinvest.

There's one big factor that holds significant sway over the strip's fortunes and could prove tricky to plan around: the former Medley Centre. Scott Congel owns the dead mall and plans to redevelop it for retail, office, and residential space as well as for a hotel and movie theater. The Rochester Broadway Theatre League is also considering the project, now dubbed LakeRidge Centre, as a site for its new theater.

Congel hasn't gotten financing for the estimated $260-million project yet. He's currently trying to get interim financing to see obligations through until he's fully financed, D'Aurizio says.