Rochester developers envision boutique hotel, restaurant, spa for Park Avenue

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Two entrepreneurs who have made a significant mark on Rochester’s dining scene are joining forces with the founder of one of the area’s largest real estate investment firms to bring a new stay, dine and play venue to Park Avenue.

Restauranteurs Jon Swan and Chuck Cerankosky will team with Dan Goldstein, CEO of Royal Oak Realty Trust, to transform the vacant buildings at 759, 771 and 775 Park Ave. into a boutique hotel, restaurant and spa.

The intent is to create a lodging destination for staycationers as well as visitors to Rochester but also add a unique restaurant experience to the Park Avenue neighborhood.

“This is not just for outsiders,” Goldstein said. “The restaurant will be warm and welcoming and melt into the fabric of the neighborhood. They (Swan and Cerankosky) are envisioning a nice lobby bar for people to gather, to stop in and have a drink before they head out to dinner or take a walk on Park Avenue.

“While we hope it will generate support for tourism, we do think it will fit right into the neighborhood.”

The project has been in the works for several months, with the City of Rochester Planning Commission recommending in February that City Council approve a request for rezoning.

But before developers dove head-first into the project or talked publicly about their vision, they wanted to be sure neighbors and municipal leaders were in agreement. They spoke with members of the Park Avenue Merchants Association and Park-Meigs Neighborhood Association. They’ve worked with the city’s Department of Business and Neighborhood Development.

“We’ve been very deliberate to talk to people in the neighborhood, that this is a vision they feel will bring the best out of the neighborhood,” Goldstein said. “We didn’t want to try to do something that people didn’t want.

“There’s a long way to go. It still needs lots of approvals. We’re looking forward to engaging with all those who are involved, taking that input in and making sure that it’s a really positively received, well-done project.”

The idea of a 42- to 45-room boutique hotel and restaurant surfaced after the development team began exploring possible uses for the property.

Once a hospital, the buildings are currently being used by Yeshiva of Rochester, Talmudical Institute of Rochester. That entity plans to relocate to Brighton once their new site is completed, and the parties are finalizing the sale of the Park Avenue property.

Swan already owns a multitude of food and beverage entities on Park Avenue, including Roux (at 688 Park Ave.), Dorado (690), Vern’s (696), Leonore’s (703) and Bevy (729). Cerankosky, meanwhile, co-owns and operates Good Luck at 50 Anderson Ave., Cure at the Public Market, Radio Social at 20 Carlson Rd., Jackrabbit Club at 40 Anderson Ave., Lucky’s and Martine.

Swan and Goldstein already are partners in real estate on the street and brought Cerankosky on board to ensure the they create something that will make a splash.

“I’m not a fool, we need help,” Swan said. “Who else would I want to work with (other) than Chuck? I have great admiration for what he’s done for the community of Rochester at large. So, we are endeavoring to make something of a statement for the region.”

The finished product definitely will not be just an urban hotel with a place to eat. The approach to hospitality by Swan and Cerankosky “is just slightly different than the typical hotel operator,” Swan said. “This can be a very curated experience. I like to think that’s going to impart a very specific feel that really sets this place apart from other hotels.”

The venue also will be true to the building’s century-old history while adding an outdoor patio.

“There’s some beautiful architecture there and it’s an extremely prominent building on Park Ave,” Swan said. “I’m all involved because of the romance of it. The idea of doing a boutique hotel, being able to inject what I think I’ve been successful at, of bringing together a really genuine product with authenticity, the thoughtfulness about the historical nature of the building that all my restaurants are in.

“Using those elements for consideration in this build-out is really romantic for me. It’s got a real opportunity to be a cornerstone of the Park Avenue community.”

That’s part of the reason Cerankosky was anxious to join the team.

“It’s a great opportunity to add not only to the great hotel scene that already exists in our community, but it’s also the next step in our journey of adding hospitality spaces to the city,” he said. “We’ve both brought forward some things that Rochester hasn’t seen before in restaurants, and now we have a chance to do it along with Dan in creating a space that people can call home for a little while.

“I love living here, I call this place home, and I want people to know they can call it home for a night or two when they stay with us.”

The group explored several possible uses for the property but determined using a boutique hotel as the cornerstone made the most sense.

“The financial analysis really supports it best, based on many other uses and the type of construction that would be required not penciling out,” Goldstein said. “From a financing standpoint, the boutique hotel was really the highest and best use.”

Staycationers will be the target audience, but they believe the hotel will certainly be attractive to the business crowd as well as leisure visitors coming for events at area universities, festivals or activities in the Finger Lakes Region.

The partners have ideas of what the hotel could resemble. Swan points to The Maker Hotel in the Columbia County city of Hudson. Goldstein speaks about the Hotel Chelsea in New York City, although the new product won’t be approaching the stratosphere of Hotel Chelsea pricing.

“We’ll be able to lever clever ways, as we do with our restaurants, to evoke really high-end feels and really high-end experiences.” Swan said.

Adding something far different from anything in their current hospitality portfolios also will be exciting for their employees, Cerankosky said.

“There’s a lot of strength in the community when you allow vertical growth for different managers and people with job codes,” he said. “Now we have something interesting our portfolio and it helps expand upon the careers that are possible for people within our organizations already.”

Much work still must be done. The development team must work with historical preservation groups, conduct environmental impact studies and have plans approved by the city planning board.

If there are no roadblocks, construction could begin in about a year, although 18 months is more realistic.

“It’s definitely a retrofit that will work well,” said Rufus Judson, CEO of Pike Construction Services, the project contractor. “There will be challenges but we’re very excited to be a part of this team for this vision. This will be a great chapter for this building and this site.”

That’s especially true considering a vacant building does nothing for the neighborhood.

“It’s time for new ownership to create something that can be additive to the neighborhood,” said Goldstein, whose office at the corner of East Avenue and Goodman is maybe a mile from the development site.

“This is a project that is being developed, built, owned and operated by Rochesterians that live and house their businesses here, that are employing people in Rochester. A boutique hotel with a high finish and first-class restaurant I think will be a wonderful addition to what the city is trying to do to activate Park Avenue.”

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