Creating a ‘Gateway’ to affordable living on East Main in Rochester

Architect's rendering of the Gateway Building on Main St. in Rochester, part of the ongoing Main Street revitalization project, shows a design that more closely resembles the building’s original look. (Rendering provided by SWBR)

The redevelopment of East Main Street is about to continue with the transformation of the long-vacant Gateway Building into mixed-income housing with a side of commercial space.

Buffalo-based developer SAA|EVI closed on the purchase of the seven-story property at 150 East Main St. this week and intends to have construction crews on site ASAP.

The $72.3 million project will create 129 apartments for tenants earning between 30 percent and 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). There also will be ground-floor commercial space facing the proposed pedestrian courtyard that will connect East Main and Division streets.

“The SAA|EVI’s Gateway Apartments project will bring new life and vitality back to the building and, with it, to the rest of this critical block of Main Street,” said Erik Frisch deputy director of neighborhood and business development for the city of Rochester.

This is SAA|EVI’s first foray into Rochester. The firm specializes in the development of affordable and mixed-income housing, and over the past 15 years has created approximately 5,500 housing units across eight states and the District of Columbia.

“We’re often taking on troubled assets that other developers haven’t been able to redevelop,” said Connor Kenney, regional head and partner at SAA|EVI.

While the firm is entering Rochester for the first time, Kenney is quite familiar with the city and with multifamily development.