Construction has started on Gateway Apartments in downtown Rochester, a $72.3 million adaptive reuse project that will turn a vacant seven-story office building on East Main Street into 129 affordable homes. The project is important for the local construction market because it combines housing demand, downtown revitalization, energy-efficient design, and the practical challenges of converting older office space into residential use.

What is being built

Gateway Apartments will convert a building that was originally constructed in 1905 and has been vacant for roughly 20 years. The finished development will include studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments affordable to households earning up to 80 percent of Area Median Income, according to New York State Homes and Community Renewal. HCR

The project also includes 13 apartments designed for residents with mobility impairments and six units designed for residents with sensory disabilities. That detail matters because accessibility planning affects layout, MEP coordination, finishes, and inspection requirements from the start of construction. HCR

Why this project matters for Rochester

This is a high-profile example of office-to-residential conversion outside New York City. For Rochester, it addresses two issues at once: a long-vacant downtown property and the need for more attainable housing near transit, services, employers, and public amenities.

State officials described the project as part of a broader push to increase housing supply and reuse. HCR said it has financed more than 6,000 affordable homes in Monroe County under Governor Hochul, including more than 4,700 in Rochester. HCR

Construction and project team

The development team is SAA | EVI. Project partners named by the state include the City of Rochester, JPMorgan Chase, Redstone Equity, SWBR, Christa Construction, and Cannon Heyman Weiss. The funding stack includes federal and state low-income housing tax credit equity, HCR financing, the Community Investment Fund, NYSERDA-supported clean energy funding, Empire State Development Restore New York funding, and City of Rochester HOME funding. HCR

The all-electric design will include ENERGY STAR appliances and LED lighting. For contractors, that points to the continued importance of energy-code compliance, electrical capacity planning, envelope work, and coordination between design, construction, and commissioning teams.

Bottom line

Gateway Apartments is more than a housing announcement. It is a signal that adaptive reuse will remain part of Rochester’s construction pipeline, especially where older buildings can be repositioned into housing with public financing, clean energy support, and careful construction planning.

Sources: New York State Homes and Community Renewal; 13WHAM. Image credit: Andreas F. Borchert via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA/GFDL, used as a representative Rochester construction image.