Midtown Extravaganza: (Rochester, Union: real estate, credit, construction)

[Rochester-WNY]

This thread is for the developments of the Midtown project.

[Rochester-WNY]

ESL breaks ground on downtown headquarters
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ESL Federal Credit Union broke ground today on its $50 million headquarters project at 225 Chestnut St. in downtown Rochester.

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[Rochester-WNY]

ESL Breaks Ground on New HQ
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Some of the news hasn't been that great this week for Rochester, so city leaders looked forward to celebrating the arrival of one of downtown's new cornerstone businesses Wednesday.
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Duffy: Midtown Rising Project on Track
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Despite the bleak economic picture, Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy says the Midtown Rising Project is moving forward.
Mayor Bob Duffy says he is still getting good vibes from the state about plans to build PAETEC's new world headquarters downtown.
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Ground Broken on New ESL HQ in Rochester
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WALK THROUGH
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[Rochester-WNY]

ESL breaks ground downtown
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Midtown Plaza has yet to come down but another company headquarters building is ready to go up.

ESL President and CEO Dave Fiedler reports this is a big day for ESL, however community leaders are characterizing this as a big day for the city of Rochester and downtown in particular.
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ESL plans to make building 'green'
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The ESL Federal Credit Union rising soon in downtown Rochester showcases not just one trend but two.

The downtown area, on the upswing again, is also helping to lead the way in popularizing environmentally friendly buildings, seen as key in the battle against energy waste and global warming. Power generation for commercial buildings causes even more carbon emissions than automobiles in the United States, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.
ESL decided to make its six-story headquarters a "green building," seeking certification from the council.
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[Rochester-WNY]

PAETEC Shares Plummet; Questions Arise on Midtown
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[Rochester-WNY]

Midtown Funds Spared Budget Axe
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[Rochester-WNY]

RNews: As It Happens, Where It Happens

Really informative video on PaeTec.

[Marcolo]

Commercial real estate is going into the dumper nationwide, and fast. The credit crisis isn't even half over, and Paetec would have a heck of a time borrowing money to fund its Midtown project, even if it hadn't missed its projections. Really bad timing for the city.

[Rochester-WNY]

Originally Posted by Marcolo

Commercial real estate is going into the dumper nationwide, and fast. The credit crisis isn't even half over, and Paetec would have a heck of a time borrowing money to fund its Midtown project, even if it hadn't missed its projections. Really bad timing for the city.

We'll see, Arunas Chesonis loves Rochester. He comes off as if he would do anything in his power to help.

[Marcolo]

I think that's great, but the reality is, the credit markets are putting a halt to a lot of commercial construction projects across the country. So it might get delayed, no matter what his intentions.

Seems like Rochester keeps dodging a bigger question. What should downtown look like? The leadership keeps pursuing one mega project after another, with no coherent vision for the whole place.