Rochester considers options for reusing the historic Erie Canal aqueduct

Brian Sharp • Staff writer • September 9, 2008

Proposals for revitalizing the downtown Broad Street corridor and reuse of the landmark Erie Canal aqueduct all center around water — either with reflecting pools and fountains in the median or tearing up the street and flooding the old canal bed again.

"We're going back almost 200 years," said Tom Hack, city project engineer. "We're going back to our future, more or less."

City consultant FRA Engineering met separately Monday with developers, stakeholders and the public, presenting three options for the Broad Street corridor between South Avenue and West Main Street.

Two options call for pulling Broad Street off the aqueduct and filling the 19th-century structure with water again. The only option maintaining traffic through the entire corridor bends Broad Street southward before it reaches West Main and merges it with Ford Street.

Among the many questions to be answered are those dealing with traffic, how the corridor would be used during the winter, and cost — the most elaborate option, calling for draw bridges on Exchange, Plymouth and Washington streets, could easily hit $200 million, officials say.

There are more questions about how to pay for such a project, what benefit could be realized for such an expensive undertaking, and where the people would come from to fill the envisioned residences and shops.

City officials hope to choose a preferred option and finish a master plan by December or January, then begin design. Work could start in 2010 on the aqueduct, for which the city has about $8 million in public funds, largely federal money, committed.

"What Rochester has never done is truly develop and enhance its waterfront areas," Mayor Robert Duffy said, explaining the city must act "boldly but also realistically" to unlock the canal and river's full potential for downtown. "Private investment will be key in making this happen."

City leaders have struggled with what to do with the abandoned canal-turned-subway bed through downtown since the subway shut down in 1956. The northern portion between West Main and Brown streets is so deteriorated that the city anticipates filling it in with dirt in the next year.

Some have objected, including representatives of the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood who want to tie into the historic canal. Two of the three options link to the neighborhood by recreating basins that used to serve as turn-around and trading points along the canal.

Most of the attention, however, would focus on the river and the historic aqueduct, built in the mid-1800s. Officials say the city could draw national attention by re-watering the aqueduct, possibly even linking to the river and allowing boats to navigate into downtown.

Boaters would enter through a lock just south of Interstate 490. Passage beneath the Rundel Memorial Building would be tight, consultants said, with the remaining available channel being only about 15 feet across and having a 12-foot clearance above the water's surface.

"The ideas are astounding," said Sandy Zutes, 69, of Pittsford, whose great-great grandfather had a grocery store on the canal near Cobbs Hill Park. "Whether it ever comes to fruition or not, that will be interesting."

Zutes and Keith Kroon, 65, a canal enthusiast from Greece, were among the dozens of citizens who filled Gleason Auditorium at the downtown Bausch & Lomb Public Library to see and discuss the three concepts Monday night. The three options are among six to eight scenarios being discussed by the city and its consultants.

"The canal built Rochester, and we've just kind of ... we're onto other things," said Kroon, who liked the concepts but wondered whether they were too much for Rochester. "We've just needed a way to make it work."

Among 25 developers represented at a morning meeting on the project were Jim Costanza, president of Costanza Enterprises, and Brett Costello, president of Anthony J. Costello and Son development. Both gravitated to the most elaborate plan, calling for full canal re-watering through the corridor.

Costello called the meeting "historic," explaining that after years of discussion, planning and concepts, "I really believe it's finally coming together."

One of the central themes in recent years has been to use the old aqueduct as a museum and a passageway linking the Riverside Convention Center and Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial to maximize the potential uses of both city-owned facilities.

The two options that call for stripping away Broad Street from atop the aqueduct would eliminate that possibility. Those options would require not only tearing off the street but also the second layer of arches on the aqueduct (circa 1920) that support the roadway, lowering the sidewalks on either side to the level of the river walk adjacent to Blue Cross Arena. An amphitheater would buffer the canal and aqueduct from the higher elevation of South Avenue.

"There is a real opportunity to be bold in this, and I think we've shied away from that in this community," said Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, president of the Rochester Downtown Development Corp. "(But) I do think if we don't do something that has a real wow factor, we're wasting our time."

BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Michael Hess 585.721.9697 mhess@roadwired.com

GROUP FORMED TO PROMOTE DOWNTOWN CANAL Rochester, NY, June 26, 2006 –

A new organization has been formed to raise awareness and promote action on a major revitalization plan, centered on the re-watering of the historic downtown route of the Erie Canal.

Advocates for the Development of Rochester’s Canal, or ADROC, has been launched with the goal of seeing the opening of a new Rochester Erie Canal by 2012. According to the group, downtown canal development has changed the fortunes of many cities facing similar challenges to those faced by Rochester—with virtually a 100% success rate—and Rochester has the unique advantage of a world-famous, historically-significant canal already in its back yard.

ADROC was inspired by the Grasso-Zimmer Canal Revitalization Plan, developed last year by canal expert Thomas Grasso and Architectural Intern Rory Zimmer, with major research and concept validation done by an R.I.T. group. The plan proposes to take advantage of the still-existing canal bed that runs along Broad Street, roughly from the Rundel Library to the site of the new Paetec Park. The original canal flowed through the city until 1920, and was converted to the downtown subway system which ran until 1956. Much of the original structure, including the iconic Broad Street Aqueduct that carried the canal over the Genesee River, remains in place in some form. ADROC feels that recreating the original downtown canal—connected to the world via the river and Barge Canal system—will link nearly all of the current and proposed downtown attractions and make Rochester a true international destination.

According to ADROC spokesman and local business owner Michael Hess, “A new Rochester Erie Canal is truly the ‘magic bullet’ that Rochester has been searching for.” Hess says that similar projects have been extraordinarily successful in cities of all sizes and climates, including Indianapolis, Providence, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and others. “Oklahoma City is a prime example,” says Hess. “It built the Bricktown Canal as an attraction, to try to improve its struggling downtown, and the result has been roughly $800 million per year in increased city revenue. Imagine what we could do with the brand-name strength of the Erie Canal.” ADROC envisions a thriving destination with water-taxis connecting key attractions, ice skating in the winter, and retail and residential development all along the proposed 1.5-mile downtown canal. The group says that it is getting significant inquiries from local business leaders and others, and expects to announce the substantial involvement of at least one major local corporation within the next few weeks.

Tom Grasso, who is also the President of the Canal Society of New York State, is ADROC’s Executive Director. Rory Zimmer and Tim Zimmer are Co-Directors of Urban Design, and Hess is Director of Marketing and Public Relations. The group has launched a website at www.rochestercanal.com, which features the detailed proposal plan, downtown Canal map, video, links to recent Canal press and more. Hess says the site will evolve dramatically as the group and its resources grow and the initiative gains momentum.

If other cities can do it, why not us? kids ask
Lara Becker Liu
Staff writer

(June 14, 2006) — Where there is water, people come — even when that water runs no more than a mile long or 4 feet deep.

So concluded sixth-grade students at the Genesee Community Charter School, who spent the year studying canal systems and capped it off by raising enough money to travel to Ottawa, Providence, R.I., Oklahoma City and San Antonio to learn how refurbished or newly built waterways have sparked a renaissance in those cities.

  There's a lesson in that for Rochester, the students say. Eric Quitter, 12,
   visited Oklahoma City's Bricktown, a mile-long waterway district that has
   transformed a deteriorating area into an entertainment hotspot.

  "The potential that canal had — just think what one in Rochester could
   do," Eric said. "If we just had something to tie it (downtown) all together,
    it could be amazing."

Such a plan exists: the Grasso-Zimmer proposal, named for its creators, retired geology professor Thomas X. Grasso, who is president of the Canal Society of New York State and Inland Waterways International, and intern architect Rory Zimmer. They call for peeling back Broad Street to expose the original canal bed beneath and refilling it with water.

The students studied their proposal, and "their final determination is that they think it's an idea worth considering," said school leader Lisa Wing.

"They know there are funding obstacles. They know ripping up Broad Street would create, perhaps, a traffic nightmare downtown. And they don't have all the answers to some of those grownup things. But they do understand there are ways that people in other cities do get things funded that are really major in scale."

That "the future generation (is) getting involved with this" is gratifying, Grasso said. "They're so excited about it, it just kind of gets you excited yourself."

LBECKER@DemocratandChronicle.com

Flood Broad Street?
 Lara Becker Liu
 Staff writer - Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

(Rochester Democrat and Chronicle June 14, 2006) —

The original Erie Canal bed snakes through Rochester like an artery — unseen beneath a concrete skin that is Broad Street and perfectly designed, some say, to pump life into the heart of downtown. That is, after all, how the canal once functioned, bearing ships between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes. And visionaries say it once again could be a functioning waterway — by ripping up Broad Street and using the old canal bed.

After the canal was rerouted in the early 1900s, a subway line replaced it, only to be shut down in 1956.

The canal bed/subway tunnel has long sat idle, except as a canvas for graffiti artists and a shelter for the homeless. But visionaries continue to champion its potential, and their ideas have lately piqued the interest of the new city administration.

After years of discussion about filling the tunnel with dirt — because corrosion in some parts is thought to pose a safety hazard — the city is now preparing to request $300,000 in federal funds to study a dozen alternative uses for the near-mile long tunnel.

Several original concepts will be examined, including a subterranean recreation center, a trolley line and a public art corridor. But the ones generating the most buzz involve old ideas: putting in a light rail transit system; and restoring the canal.

City officials are careful to say that all options must be explored. But they appear most intrigued by the notion of re-watering the canal.

"This one certainly jumped to the forefront," said Mayor Robert Duffy, who toured the tunnel about two weeks ago and deemed what he saw "very exciting."

The concept in its grandest form calls for peeling back Broad Street from the central library (the Rundel Memorial Building) west and north to the area near PAETEC Park, putting a sort of bathtub liner in the exposed canal bed and filling it with water.

Boaters could then travel from the Genesee River into the canal, using a round lock just south of the library.

Vibrancy from canal

The concept not only evokes images of a Little Venice, but it is also seen as the idea most likely to spawn private development and tourism in an area that includes 9.6 acres of underutilized or vacant property. "I tend to think the canal has a little more economic oomph to it," said acting city engineer Tom Hack. "It will create its own tax revenue, enough income where coffee shops and other retail would be self-supporting. You don't (even) need the tourism aspect. It's kind of like gravy on the potatoes, but it does work without the gravy, for sure."

Generating revenue would be key, for re-watering the canal could cost $200 million, according to one preliminary estimate — close to what Renaissance Square is expected to cost.

HEATHER CHARLES staff photographer This is the entrance to the old subway tunnel off South Avenue. It took form after the canal was rerouted in the early 1900s. Now the city is preparing a request for $300,000 in U.S. funds to study a dozen alternative uses for the nearly mile-long tunnel — and visionaries are especially passionate about restoring the old canal.

Such estimates give some people pause, especially after the expense of the failed ferry.

"I would say I'm pretty skeptical that that would be the best use of public resources," said former City Councilman Brian Curran. With the city losing population, he added, development along the re-watered canal wouldn't generate much new revenue; it would merely shift people and resources around.

"The crucial need for Rochester is the creation of jobs, jobs that pay a livable wage, and I've never seen any indication that that kind of project would do much to create jobs," Curran said. "I think we get carried away with grand, symbolic gestures — things that look good and sound good but don't have much substance behind them — and this one sounds to me like another one of those."

The idea of resurrecting the canal downtown originated with Thomas X. Grasso, a retired geology professor and president of the Canal Society of New York State and Inland Waterways International. He presented his idea — which Rory Zimmer, an intern architect at SWBR Architects, added to — around the time last year when the city announced plans to fill in the tunnel. Opponents succeeded in stalling that plan.

The men are passionate about their proposal and have recently formed a group to promote it. The group includes Zimmer's brother, Timothy Zimmer, who works in the city's Planning Department, and public relations coordinator Michael Hess.

"We're taking a cue from ourselves, in terms of our canal history. Fairport, Pittsford, any canal community in New York state is really vibrant, and probably only because of the canal," said Rory Zimmer.

He and Grasso anticipate many challenges. "The thing I worry about (is that) the fast ferry sets back risk-taking for five, 10 years, or even a generation," Zimmer said.

Grasso acknowledged that money was an issue. Otherwise, he said, "it's a no-brainer. ... If you can't sell the iconic image of America — the old Erie Canal, with boats across an 1842 aqueduct in the middle of a city — as a tourist attraction, then we deserve to fail."

Other cities, including Oklahoma City and San Antonio, have completed similar projects and claimed success.

Seeking proof of impact

One area of study will be whether those cities "have improved their ability to bring population and business as a result of that," said Deputy Mayor Patty Malgieri. "That's the kind of real impact, or proof of impact, we're looking for."

She and others said that Rochester couldn't take on a project this big on its own. Besides state and federal money, the city would likely need "upfront private investment," Malgieri said, and developers willing to do "some speculative development in areas where we're thinking of doing public investment."

Also, the project would be divided into "digestible" phases, according to Hack. One phase, for example, might involve re-watering the portion between the aqueduct and West Main Street, at an estimated cost of $40 million to $50 million.

Some funding is already in place, including $9.8 million from the pot originally designated to fill in the entire tunnel that will now be used to fill in the portion north of West Main Street, which remains unstable.

There's also $6.5 million for an "aqueduct project," which would create a physical connection between the Riverside Convention Center and the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. A walkway would go from the convention center to the RG&E building at South Avenue and Broad Street, into the aqueduct and from there into the Blue Cross Arena.

Ready to study

City officials are to meet today with the people who have previously pitched ideas for the tunnel, to discuss the study. Officials are hopeful the study will begin as early as fall and be completed within two years.

They also stress that its findings could preclude pursuing any of the options.

"The bottom line is, we're going to create a master plan of the corridor," Hack said. "The best of the best will come up to the top. We'll look at the cost, run all those numbers, look at the big conceptual picture. Then we'll say, 'OK, what is the actual benefit?' If it will generate revenue, housing and retail — if it generates all that, then there's something to work toward. If it doesn't, that's your answer."