When will empty lots in downtown Rochester be filled?
Jul. 8—Dear Answer Man: The lot on Fourth Street Southwest and Broadway, are the owners going to do anything with that lot? Did they sell or is something going to get built there? There was a building there at one time. They wanted to put something there but the city said no. They should have said yes because there's nothing there. — Noisy Rosie.
Dear Noisy,
Your "nom de plume" indicates you know a little about this property.
Owner Jan Daly did, at one point, want to build the Rosie Belle Performing Arts Center at the site. But the money for the deal never happened and the lot — which once held a rambling collection of buildings — was cleared in May 2017.
At the time, it was estimated it would take $16 million to make the Rosie Belle happen. With inflation, especially among construction costs, that price has absolutely gone up quite a bit.
The lot — 405 S. Broadway — as you noted now sits empty, occupying the same block as the historic Conley-Maass building with the Bleu Duck Kitchen and Mandala Tea, and Weather Shield Home Experts.
One of my researchers called Daly last week. She said, no, there's nothing in the works for the property, but she'd be happy to listen to anyone who has a plan and the funds to get it done. After all, it's right in the heart of downtown Rochester, so that must be worth something.
The property had been listed for $3.5 million, but as business reporter Jeff Kiger noted in 2021, the price had been discounted town to $2.9 million. Daly did not indicate if the price had gone down or up again since 2021.
Noisy, you're not the only one seeing an empty space and wanting it filled. Reader "Curious in Northwest" asked, "What is supposed to be built on the former Post Bulletin site? Seems like the only thing getting taller on the site are weeds."
Curious is not wrong. The full downtown city block — across the street from the Mayo Civic Center, a block from the library, two blocks from the city-county Government Center and three blocks from the Mayo/Gonda buildings — is the definition of "prime real estate" and "blank canvas" all at once.
One wonders if sometimes all that potential might be preventing a good deal from happening while the owners are waiting for a great deal.
Anyway, Empire Hotels, under the name HP PB LLC, bought the former Post Bulletin site for $12.5 million on April 17, 2023. The group owns such properties as the Fairfield Inn & Suites and the Hampton Inn Rochester-South here in Rochester, plus a host of hotels in the Twin Cities, and the states of New York and New Jersey.
Kiger, who is like a bulldog with unanswered business news in the Med City, reaches out to the ownership group on a fairly regular basis to see if any plans have emerged.
Thus far: bupkis.
Believe me, if the Post Bulletin knew of a deal happening — or even a confirmed rumor of a deal — we'd tell you all about it. After all, our business model is basically, find stuff out, and tell you about it for a small price.
In the interim, the weeds continue to grow over the vacant lot. Both vacant lots, if you drive by 405 S. Broadway. But with all the DMC and "Bold. Forward. Unbound. In Rochester." construction happening, it's just a matter of time before these properties find their non-weed purposes.
Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@postbulletin.com .
