Atlas Contractors and Rochester Cornerstone Group partner to construct home

Rochester, NY Atlas Contractors, LLC and Rochester Cornerstone Group, Ltd. have partnered together to construct a single-family house for a low-income family utilizing youth enrolled in the Urban League’s YouthBuild Rochester program. The house is located on 883 West Broad St. adjacent to Sahlen’s Stadium. Construction is slated to be completed in early 2016. The home contains 3 bedrooms and totals 1,200 s/f. YouthBuild Rochester, an Urban League of Rochester program for out-of-school youth ages 18-24, and its students are on-site for different stages of construction from excavation to masonry and carpentry, electric, plumbing and others. Approximately 24 young people have been working on this project since work commenced. This hands-on experience will provide enlightenment to the many opportunities in real estate construction. This construction effort on Broad St. is located in the area where Charles Settlement House and Rochester’s Cornerstone Group are developing 45 single-family rental homes for income eligible families. 17 of the 45 Stadium Estates homes have been completed. The project will be completed at the end of the 2015 calendar year. Organizations participating through contributions of in-kind services include SWBR, Stantec, Davidson Fink, and 84 Lumber. The YouthBuild Rochester program provides construction training, high school equivalency classes, leadership development training, job preparation, and placements to out-of-school youth ages 18-24. Participants receive stipends while participating in the program, and those who complete the 144 hour occupational training earn the National Association of Home Builders’ Pre-Apprenticeship Certification Training (PACT) Certificate. The PACT certificate would enable participants to enter entry level construction jobs and apprenticeships. They typically gain hands-on experience building homes with Habitat for Humanity, Urban League of Rochester’s Economic Development Corporation, and the Greater Rochester Housing Partnership.