Renovation complete on St. Bernard's Park senior apartments

Kevin Oklobzija//September 30, 2021//

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A $27.98 million renovation and preservation project has been completed on St. Bernard’s Park, an affordable senior housing facility on Lake Avenue in Rochester (photo by Kevin Oklobzija).

The stately St. Bernard’s Park apartment community has been brought back to life again through the collaborative efforts of Edgemere Development Inc. and CB-Emmanuel Realty LLC.

Over the past two years, the 130-year-old structure along Lake Avenue and across from Holy Sepulchre Cemetery underwent a $27.98 million rehabilitation and preservation effort that modernized 160 affordable apartments for seniors as well as the community room.

“To be able to take a 130-year-old building and keep the character, keep the look and keep the structure in place and make it look even more beautiful, you did an incredible job,” Rochester City Council member Jose Peo told the developers, contractors and design professionals at today’s ribbon-cutting.

The project kicked off in 2019, with residents systematically relocated to vacant apartments while construction crews completed renovation.

“And this was during COVID, and we still managed to get it done,” said Stephanie Benson, senior vice president of real estate development at Rochester-based Edgemere Development.

Edgemere and CB-Emmanuel first collaborated on Niagara City Lofts in Niagara Falls, an adaptive re-use project that transformed the former South Junior High School into 61 mixed-income apartments in 2017.

But this was the first development effort in Rochester for CB-Emmanuel, a for-profit New York City firm that specializes in creating and preserving affordable housing. Brighton-based Baldwin Real Estate Corp. manages the property.

The four-building complex was home to St. Bernard’s Seminary until 1981, and then sat vacant until 1995 when the former Home Properties of New York, Inc., began to convert the property into apartments.

Now owed by CB-Emmanuel, the gothic-style building is a Lake Avenue landmark and the history and details have been preserved.

PLAN Architectural Studio provided design expertise and Hamilton Stern Construction, LLC, served as the general contractor. A host of governmental programs, including Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and New York State Homes and Community Renewal, helped provide funding.

“Not only do we take these buildings and make something new, we fix a need,” said New York State Assembly member Sarah Clark (D-Rochester).

It’s a practice that must continue, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said.

“Our seniors need a safe, quality place to live and when these projects come up for renewal, it’s imperative that governments support them.”

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