Rochester is looking to give the southern terrace of the convention center a $10 million facelift.
The city is seeking architectural design proposals to transform the southwest portion of the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center by expanding the terrace to increase access to the riverfront and repair the building’s river wall foundation.
A structural survey of the stone and brick wall in 2017 found structural issues, including large cracks and other deterioration. The wall and convention center were built in 1982.
The facelift is part of the ROC the Riverway initiative and is slated for a spring 2022 groundbreaking. Governor Andrew Cuomo committed $5 million to renovate the convention center in 2018.
City spokesperson Justin Roj said the $10 million price tag would be split evenly between the city and the state.
A request for proposals was issued this week.
It is not the first undertaking to enhance the convention center to what the city describes as a more “modern” and “dynamic” space. Last fall, the city completed the construction of the north terrace at the building. Also part of ROC the Riverway, that project renovated a publicly accessible connection between East Main Street and the building’s western river wall.
The new project will continue that construction and expand the terrace into a larger public space with an eye toward connecting it with the Genesee Riverway Trail, which runs through other ROC the Riverway projects, like the coming Roc City Skatepark off South Avenue.
Gino Fanelli is a CITY staff writer. He can be reached at [email protected].