Rochester Management and Rochester's Cornerstone Group finish $60.425 million renovation project

Affordable housing originally built to help World War II veterans save money in order to purchase their first home is now completely renovated to serve a new generation. Rochester Management, Inc., Rochester's Cornerstone Group (RCG) and the city upgraded a total of 516 city apartments across three different apartment communities in city's northeast and northwest quadrants. The total development cost was $60.425 million. In 1946, as thousands of local World War II servicemen returned home to overcrowded and substandard housing, the need for solution to this growing housing problem became clear. With the same "can-do" attitude that America demonstrated throughout the war years, eight local banks joined together and formed a nonprofit that collaborated with the city to quickly address the needs. Their solution was called, "The Rochester Plan," and it was an effort to create affordable rental housing for the veterans and their families. The city donated the land at a nominal cost and provided a low tax assessment. The participating banks formed Rochester Management, Inc., a non-profit corporation that built the rental units and manages them, to this day, on a non-profit basis. The banks then received an insured mortgage from the Fair Housing Administration (FHA) at a very low interest rate. Construction began in the spring of 1946 at the first community, and the latter two were built shortly thereafter. As construction progressed, nearly 3,500 applications poured in from servicemen for only 516 units. To assure fairness, tenants were chosen by lottery. The plan's goal of enabling the young families to save money toward purchasing a home was a resounding success: by 1956, nearly 900 families had purchased their own homes in the area. The plan was recognized as a national model to address the national housing shortage. To this day, returning veterans still receive preference at each of these three communities. Over the years, there have been 8,000 city families who have called these apartment communities home. As the three complexes had begun to show their age, a major renovation was in order. Rochester Management Inc. selected RCG to oversee the renovations. LeCesse Construction and Konopka Architecture were also selected for site work, design and construction. A thorough review of the projects revealed the need to replace a majority of the roofs, windows, rear porches, landscaping, and all mechanicals. It became clear that some buildings needed to become handicap accessible, and as the communities lacked any community space, community centers were built at all three projects. The improvements were completed in September. At the May 2008 groundbreaking attendees saw a newly renovated apartment and mayor Bob Duffy addressed the audience. Cornerstone's primary goal as developer has been to maintain the affordable nature of this project. Roger Brandt, president of RCG said, "We are honored to be able to make a difference in the lives of so many people by providing the quality of their housing. It is wonderful that these projects that were built to assist returning veterans have been completely refurbished to serve a new generation of families." To celebrate the completion of the project, a ribbon cutting ceremony recently took place at the Thomas Ryan Community Center at Ramona Park on Veteran's Day, Wednesday, November 11.