DANA K. MILLER

DANA K. MILLER

COMMISSIONER, NEIGHBORHOOD AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, CITY OF ROCHESTER

Years in current role: 1

What has been your organization’s biggest success over the past year?

Coming back from the COVID challenges, the city of Rochester has a new mayor and leadership team working to create opportunities. We have put together an ambitious plan to use some of the $202 million in American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funding that we received to replace lead water service lines, create additional housing, and expand the Convention Center. Over the past year, the city has worked with developers to complete projects along Inner Loop East, won the NYS $10M Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) award, moved forward with plans for ROC the Riverway, gained a new State Park at High Falls, and recruited a developer for the long-awaited Bull’s Head revitalization project.

What are your expectations for the rest of this year?

Over the course of 2022 we will expand initiatives to rehab existing houses and replace aging roofs for owner-occupants, begin work on Main Street buildings in the Downtown Revitalization area, move forward with planning to reconnect neighborhoods divided by the Inner Loop North, and identify ways to increase the number of supermarkets in the city. We will also focus intently on expanding our code enforcement team and working to improve the overall quality of housing and other buildings in the city.

What are your favorite things about Rochester?

Rochester is my hometown and I have never lived anywhere else. My favorite things include the four distinct seasons; the fact that we have a lake, river, canal, and falls all in the same city; and that we have world-class places like the Strong Museum of Play, Nick Tahou’s, Genesee Valley Park, Charlotte Beach, and George Eastman Museum. As we move through the next few years, we will see dramatic additional Center City growth along Main Street and at places including Innovation Square, Sibley Square, Metropolitan, Tower 280, Butler/Till, and the exciting new headquarters of Constellation Brands.

This profile is part of Rochester Business Journal's Power 30 Real Estate & Construction list for 2022. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net.