Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced five transformational projects in the City of Rochester as part of the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative Award. The Awards will leverage the community's significant redevelopment investments with new infill projects and redevelopment of historic properties. Renderings of the Rochester revitalization projects are available here.

VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks are available below:

Good morning. Good morning. Thank you. Thank you. It feels like a homecoming. I've been here so many times and we have this shared love of so much, starting with the Buffalo Bills. What a season. What a season we're having, so that's always a point of pride for us here from Upstate New York.

But also, what an extraordinary Secretary of State we have, and I'm glad he's been on the ground. I know he walked the streets on a cold winter day with our Mayor, but for him to actually see firsthand why I'm so passionate about communities like Rochester and I see the incredible history that has unfolded, but also it gives us a chance to reimagine a spectacular future. So, to Secretary of State Rodriguez, thank you for sharing my passion for the work that we're doing. Let's give him another round of applause.

It's all about partnership and I want to thank Malik Evans for being right at my side. As we meet many of the challenges that this community is facing, we lean hard into them. We don't shirk our responsibility to talk about issues like how we can reduce crime in this city and bring more state resources and put a spotlight on what's going on here and helping us get through some of the tougher days because that is the only barrier holding us back. That people want to be back downtown, they love the vibrancy, and we can handle this working with a great partner. So, let's give a round applause to Mayor Malik Evans.

You'll be hearing from our Assemblymember, my great partner in Albany, Assemblymember Harry Bronson. Thank you for being here today. Assemblymember Meeks has joined us, Assemblymember Lunsford as well. Let's give our state delegation a round of applause as well.

Bob Duffy, the former Lieutenant Governor, I want to thank him for his work, not just in that capacity, but also as the head of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and working in partnership with the Mayor on this very project. I want to thank him for his efforts as well.

Our County Executive is here. I was with the County Executive down the road, Mark Poloncarz, when we had 82 inches of snow. I don't know how you missed that, Adam, but I just want you to know that if you get any kind of snow events, I'll be embedded with you in a command center as well because I am experienced. So, but you are a great friend as well, personal friend, and I thank you for the sense of optimism you have about this county. Ever upward, this attitude that we're going to always do better. So, I love working with you as well. As well as the county legislator as well. And Jim Brown, thank you for always making us feel welcome here. This is a beautiful venue and I look forward to many more return visits as well.

You know, I know this area. I had a chance to represent part of this region as a member of Congress back in 2011, and I've been here so many times. And I was here, you know, for many extraordinary projects. You know, coming here for groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings. I remember the Sibley building, how we talked about that, the transformation of that into a state-of-the-art, beautiful facility for people to live in. The Finger Lakes Workforce Development Center, just not long ago, we were just here back in May of 2022. Countless events that are really, you know, the envy of other areas. And I don't know if you know that. So nice when you live in a community you take for granted the assets that you have, the quality of life, the housing stock, the amenities, the Finger Lakes. How spectacular they are, right out the front door.

But I was always growing up envious of Rochester for another reason. I grew up in Buffalo. Dad and grandpa worked at the steel plant. And we were known as the blue-collar town, and Rochester had those nice white collars. So, there was something special. You know, it was kind of, you know, "How come they have the white collars, and we have the blue collars?" And you think about Beth Sholom and Eastman Kodak, those legacy industries that really gave people a great quality of life. You know, good paying jobs. You can live the American dream right here in this region.

So, the decline hit Buffalo first, you know, with the loss of many of those manufacturing jobs. And unfortunately, it hit here as well. And I remember how bad things got. I mean, areas like this, our greatest export were our children. They're educated - phenomenal colleges, universities that we have throughout the Upstate area, but particularly here. You know, U of R and RIT and so many others of our private schools and SUNY and SUNY Brockport and all community colleges we have here. We are educating people and giving them the gift of an opportunity to have a whole new life because of an education. That education got my father and mom out of a trailer park, so I know the power of education.

But then we educated workers for everybody else. You know, we exported our young people and that was really a tragedy. So, I saw the ups, the downs, and now we are coming back up and I love to experience this because I can feel it. The vibe in this city is incredible and we're talking about now what we've known as the "Rochester Revival," and it's unfolding here at this convention center. We look at it right outside the window of what's going on there. You know, we did the river terrace, which is part of ROC the Riverway. We weren't here too long ago for that. We're on track for phase two and this waterfront is spectacular. I mean, you probably go out of the river to - how many cities would love to have this asset right out the door? I mean, it's not a river that's out in some area, in the rural areas, it is right here as part of the heart and soul community. And the ROC the Riverway Initiative, which is brilliant, we're seeing now. I was there at the Constellation Brands headquarters, what a leap of faith in a sense. But a statement of belief in the future to have Constellation. They could be anywhere in the world, a global company like that, that they're going to be right here in the historic Aqueduct Building.

And I was just here. I cannot wait for that ribbon cutting. I do a lot of groundbreakings, which are nice. You have a shovel in your hand. I've got a lot of shovels, but it's the ribbon. The ribbon really counts because that's when it's done, right? I love the projects that are done. And again, as I mentioned, you know, how we transformed, you know, simply into the lofts, affordable housing, and also reconnecting neighborhoods. You know, a lot of mistakes were made in the past. Communities that were divided, creating racially segregated communities because someone decided we needed to put a highway right through the middle of it. And that work has been so wildly successful, neighborhoods that were severed before. And in the last year, we put another $100 million toward the inner loop, again making sure that we right the wrongs of the past. We're trying to do the same thing in Buffalo, you know, the Kensington Expressway had severed the artery right through the heart of Buffalo. So, we're also in the business of not just thinking about future projects but trying to fix some of the wrongs of the past.

And also, one of the other assets I think about when I'm here - this is not just a great place to live, to work, it's also a great place to play. The Strong Museum of Play is the envy of everywhere else, and it is one of our top attractions here. I attended many of the events here. We have an incredible zoo. We put $43 million towards the zoo. Can you stop nagging me about that now, counties? Like, okay you're finally going to stop nagging me about the zoo. You know, this is a part where you - I've raised kids. I got a little granddaughter I'm going to take to the zoo someday. And these matter, these matter. These give you those stories that your kids will remember years to come. Those experiences that parents can give them. And Frontier Field, I mean, we love the Red Wings, and another 110.5 million invested there, bringing our total investment there to $12 million. And of course, the High Falls State Park, and I love our state parks. And so, I spend a lot of time in them from Letchworth to our urban parks as well.

But we've also identified some areas, as the Secretary of State said, that need a little love, need a little attention. Some of these jewels that got a little varnished over the years need a little polishing. Or you could just call it a blight, dilapidated eyesore. You take your pick. Let's be honest about it. I've gone by this countless times. And you just have to say, "Why? Why does it have to be this way?" You know, the people who go by here, it's just, you know, you think about - I don't know if anybody's old enough to remember it was a donut shop years ago, and I'm a donut fan. I would know that. But, you know, and there were many attempts to overhaul this over the decades. I mean, the ideas were there, it just couldn't get off the ground. And until Main and Clinton is vibrant again, Rochester won't be fully back. We know that. We know that, and to go by this, you know, it really taunts people. It tells you there was one safe place that people wanted to be. They were proud of it. And we lost that. We lost the lusters. So, that symbol of urban decay, it's been crying out for a vision for a very long time. But I'm pleased to say that today is the day everything changes. And this is no longer a dream. This will become the reality. And through our Downtown Revitalization Initiative, we have a plan, a viable plan to transform Main and Clinton.

And we're going to be changing the name, putting it to modern use, making our downtown more walkable, adding more affordable housing downtown. This is something I addressed at a major conference just a few days ago, and I said, "Never before has New York State had a statewide housing agenda, a plan with real teeth behind it. That changes in January when I put forth our budget." I look forward to working with our partners. They understand that areas like Upstate New York, Rochester, Finger Lakes once had plenty of housing because nobody was here. You know, when people left, same thing in Buffalo, you could always find a house because somebody just moved out. And now because people want to be here, they want to be in our downtown areas.

They want that vibrancy. And I do believe that after this pandemic, there's something that was so profound to the human spirit that was missing, that connection that people really are starting to want to be living in downtown areas, whether they're young people taking up some of the new tech jobs that we're creating, or people working in health care, people working in our universities. Or you get the empty nesters, like myself, done raising kids. I moved down to a downtown, the middle of the City of Buffalo because I wanted to be with other people. And so that's what we're attracting. Now we have this opportunity, but if you don't have enough housing, it doesn't work. We have plenty of jobs.

Unemployment is low, and now we need houses to put people in. So, we'll be rolling out those initiatives, but every community's going to have a major role to play, and we'll be talking about that. But today we announce five major awards that unleashes a strategic vision that revitalizes East Main Street and continues our incredible revival here.

So, the first award goes to transforming Main and Clinton for $4 million, we'll be redeveloping the four historic mixed-use buildings. We'll have almost 5,000 square feet of ground floor space into commercial. That's going to be exciting. 11 workforce and affordable housing units on the upper stories. But that's not all we're doing for East Main Street. That's just the start. The next awards go to the adjacent block, so they might be considered siblings of the publicly stepchild. So, now we're going to bring them all together to be one happy family. And we're going to be, as I mentioned, polishing off these jewels and changing the nature of these historic buildings because you never want to tear down buildings like this.

We saw enough of that demolition back in the seventies, when people thought urban renewal was a good thing. And you tear down beautiful buildings and my God in Buffalo, not far from where I live, they tore down a Frank Lloyd Wright building to put up a parking lot. So, bad things happened in the past. We understand the value, this is what gives communities Upstate in this part of our country its identity, its charm, its uniqueness, and that's what we have to continue to capture that. So, let's keep the facades, let's keep those strong. Let's polish them up, but also show that we can do so much more. Our second award is going to go to the Kresge building - $1.2 million investment. And as you know, this was once a great department store. Everybody shopped there. This is the founders of K-Mart, and it's going to be a place that's going to be spectacular. A 28-room boutique hotel. No one could imagine this. A boutique hotel, 150 seat restaurant. We're going to have night life, boost the night life that we already have and also just make a spectacular destination for people who want to come here. You wanted a corporate headquarters here, or business that's being developed here, you're bringing clients and customers and perspective employees here. You put them up in a boutique hotel, you take them to a Red Wings game, you pop over the museum. All of a sudden, everybody wants to be here.

And I do believe that there are benefits that are going to come from having Micron right down the road, as we continue to create supply chain opportunities, more businesses. I got a call from a business in England not long ago who wants to come to the Batavia Stamp Facility because of Micron being down the road. So, it is not just in one geographic part of our state. The ripple effect of a $100 billion investment from a company that could have gone anywhere in the country, and mark my words, they were heading out the door to another state that I won't name. I'm glad we took them from Texas.

But 50,000 jobs, they're not all centered in that one neighborhood. They're all over the place. So, Rochester's part of that story. And so, we get the new boutique hotels, we get the housing, we get the nightlife. And the historic Edwards building, my gosh, what a great building this is. If we're going to put $1.75 million. Built in 1908 in the Renaissance revival style, again, Rochester Revival. And this has been on the Register of Historic Places for a long time. So, similar to the Sibley building, we can bring new housing down there. We're going to have 114 market-rate apartments, studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, also a rooftop deck. Everybody loves to be on the roof deck, and also commercial space. And we're going to be providing also this is interesting 111 geothermal well fields that provide carbon-free heating. So, we're leaning into our clean energy future, and creating a great opportunity for heating and cooling and other downtown buildings as well.

And the fourth award will go to the new Alta Vista building, a $1.3 million investment transforming four vacant lots into a six-story mixed-used building. Looks a lot better than vacant lots. 84,000 square feet of new construction. 76 mixed-income affordable apartments, also supportive housing for victims of domestic violence. Something that's personal to my family. Our family started a transitional home for victims of domestic violence. Another 2,800 square feet of commercial space. So, the fifth award. You also need a common, you need a place to hang out. A $1.3 million in a Main Street Commons. This is going to be done by demolishing a one-story building and creating a new midblock pedestrian walkway.

That's going to be great. So, turn one long super-block from St. Paul Street to Clinton Avenue, and it's going to be more like two blocks. And so, it's going to be really special. And that's just about walkability. We want people to get out, we want them to walk. We want them to experience the vibrancy of downtown Rochester. And that's going to be great. So, I will say, these are great. I want them done now. So, all of you who are the developers and the projects, and I'm impatient. I'm probably the most impatient person ever to hold this office. So, I've already walked down the hall, saying "Okay what's the deadline? When do I get out my calendar, that ribbon cutting?" Because I really want this done.

And that's the beauty of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, and many of you know, I was elected into office in the town of Hamburg in Western New York. We could do a product, maybe every few years you could invest another million, then you wait another few years and you might get another million. To have that amount of money concentrated into one small defined area, you can have a transformational impact like this. If they're all started simultaneously, then you're not into this, "Oh, someday it's all going to look better." It's going to look better at the same time. So, you will go by here, you will feel and experience the difference. People will notice it. So, let's get it started, let's continue taking these projects to the next level.

And to everyone involved, the chairs, Bob Duffy and the Mayor, and the whole team, I know probably you had hundreds of people involved in this because this was about a vision, that this part of our city desperately needed executed. So, this is a new era. This is a new beginning, and I'm really excited because my heart is in this community. I cannot wait to see what the revitalized Rochester Revival looks like, and today it all begins. Thank you very much and with that, thank you, thank you everyone. With that, let me introduce and hear you hear from our great Mayor, Malik Evans and see if he has any thoughts on this. And I'm going to suspect he's not going to say no.