CITY SEEKS DOWNTOWN HOME OWNERS
By: Rocco Vertuccio
YNN Your News Now
September 28, 2008
Renting in downtown Rochester is great for the city. Owning is even
better. The city is trying to entice more people to buy a home downtown,
because owner-occupied homes are better for the community. In real
estate, location may be everything, but for Rochester developer Patrick
Duffon, nothing is better than a downtown location.
"People want
to live downtown. The vacancy rate is extremely low, they also want to
own. These are people who are empty-nesters out in Pittsford, Fairport,
Gates, and Greece and wherever else," says Duffon. His latest project is
the Capron Street Lofts: 19 loft-style condos off of South Avenue where
the street dead ends into 490. The building used to be an old vacant
warehouse.
Inspired by projects he saw in places like New York
City, Chicago, and Cincinnati, Duffon bought the building two years ago.
"It's going to be a great benefit to the community," says Duffon. Unlike
most of the housing units downtown, Capron Street Lofts are not for
rent. They are for sale. Only three percent of the housing units
downtown are owner-occupied. Duffon says it should be at least 30
percent. "Renters come and go in for 12 months, 24 months. Homeowners
are there to stay for 20 years, they really contribute to the community
more than does a renter," says Duffon. Duffon's project received tax
incentives from Monroe County's Industrial Development Agency. The tax
abatement came from a new program called 'City Choice'. The Rochester
City Council asked COMIDA to put it into place.
"That was the
requirement of the city was just to entice folks to purchase a home in
the downtown area," says COMIDA President Judy Seil. Since COMIDA
approved City Choice a few months ago, several developers have come
calling. Duffon says he would have invested downtown without the
incentives. After Capron Street Lofts, he has his eyes on other downtown
locations.
"I'm 100 percent focused on downtown living. That's
where my energies are being spent," says Duffon."