Why a $59.6M modernization of Rochester’s convention center is needed

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At first glance, the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center seems to look as pristine and functional as the day it opened in August of 1985.

But heating and air conditioning systems don’t last forever, fixtures and electronic components have seen better days and ballroom acoustics leave a lot to be desired.

So, to keep up with, or even stay ahead of, the Jones — or in this case, Buffalo, Albany, Cleveland, Hartford, Pittsburgh and other cities across the Northeast — upgrades are necessary, officials say. The city recently secured $59.6 million in state funding, with hopes of christening a revitalized convention center by 2033, if not sooner.

“It’s really important to bring the facility into the modern era,” said Kelly Carr, executive director of the convention center. “It has great bones, it was very well designed, but it needs a facelift. We have to modernize if we’re going to get peoples’ attention.”

Over the course of a year, Visit Rochester, the tourism vehicle for the region, brings around 110 conventions, trade shows and meetings to Rochester. The spending by those thousands of visitors makes a considerable economic impact. Earlier this month, 3,000 visitors attended the New York State School Music Association and Winter Conference at the convention center.

The facility is meant to be a catalyst for economic development, with the best of what Rochester has to offer on display.

“Not all of the events are at the convention center, but a lot of them are,” said Don Jeffries, the Visit Rochester president and CEO. “This brings new money into the community. If you and I go shop at Wegmans, that’s money that’s already here being recirculated. But people coming to town for conventions and meetings bring in new money. They’re staying in our hotels, eating in our restaurants and shopping in some of our shops.”

They only come here, however, if there are facilities to meet their needs, from banquet halls and ballrooms to smaller rooms for breakout sessions or ancillary functions.

“The ballroom is dated and it shows,” Carr said. “People have an expectation; they’re looking for more modern, they’re looking for a building that has a better flow.”

That’s why the city has issued a Request For Proposals, asking firms to submit a vision for modernization of the convention center at 123 East Main St. along the Genesee River. Walk-throughs with developers and consultants will take place during the second week of January, proposals are due by Jan. 30 and a contract will be issued in June.

Formulation of the plan would then begin, with construction bids going out around March of 2028, said City Engineer Holly Barrett said.

The RFP requires that stakeholders be heard. That includes officials from the city, county and Visit Rochester, as well as local and national meeting planners.

Carr also wants to reach out to his peers across the country where similar renovation projects took place.

“I want to ask, ‘Now that it’s completed, what do you wish you had done that you didn’t do, or what was done that maybe didn’t need to be done,’ ” Carr said. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, so we want to make sure we do it right.”

Among the areas of the building slated for upgrades:

• Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment.

• Windows and lighting.

• Accessibility. “ADA accessibility is always at the forefront of our minds,” Barrett said.

• The kitchen. “They do their own food,” Jeffries said. “Most convention centers farm it out and quite frankly it’s not good when it’s trucked in. But when we do our surveys after events, the food and the service is always rated highly.”

• Carpeting and fixtures. The current carpeting in the lower ballroom looks like a Victorian-era discard.

• IT and audio/visual systems.

Components such as lighting, acoustics and interior finishes — even the giant moveable walls — reach the end of their useful life, Barrett said, while IT technology, audio/visual equipment and signage inside and outside the building all play a significant part in the visitor experience.

Skyways to the attached hotels and parking garage are also being reimagined so they can be used as gateway features to the convention center, Barrett said.

The Hyatt Hotel to the east is connected by one skyway. Another skyway crosses Main Street but goes nowhere at the moment. That’s because what was the Rochester Riverside Hotel, shuttered since 2020, is now a blighted downtown eyesore. Building owner Angelo Ingrassia continues to formulate rehabilitation plans.

“The vision there is being developed and we will have future conversations with that entity on how to integrate with the project,” Barrett said. “With all of these large transformations, even though they’re on different time frames and trajectories, we’re looking at the vision for the entire convention center district.”

Said Carr: “I’m fully invested in Rochester as a destination for conferences and events. Hopefully this project can be a catalyst for other developers downtown.”

Losing the 480-some rooms at the riverside hotel was a significant setback for downtown. Busing convention-goers to suburban hotels has been a satisfactory fix, but that means center city loses out on visitor spending.

“When that kind of big group goes to a convention, they’re used to getting on a bus,” Jeffries said. “But if they’re staying downtown, then they’re going to Pane Vino, they’re going to Dinosaur, they’re going to Patron Saint, they’re going to Branca (Midtown).

“And if we have those rooms again, we can bid on larger groups.”

Yet to be determined: Whether modernization work will be done in phases, or whether convention events will be paused so more work can be done in a shorter period of time.

When Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial underwent expansion and renovation beginning in 1996, work was done in phases over two and half years so the Rochester Americans could continue playing in the building during the hockey season.

Carr said that a construction timeline for the convention center will be determined once a consultant is in place.

“They’re the experts, they’re the ones we’ll be looking to for that part of the plan,” he said.

And they’re the ones who will ensure functionality of the building will last another four decades.

“We can do better than what’s there now,” Barrett said. “We want to take something that works and make a better version of itself.”

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