Rochester Housing Authority’s Fernwood Avenue Project
What is being built?
The Rochester Housing Authority (RHA), Edgemere Development, Home Leasing Construction and program partner YWCA of Rochester & Monroe County will create 65 units of multifamily housing. The Rochester Public Library (RPL) will have a new 8,000 square foot branch on the first floor on the northern portion of the complex.
Fernwood Avenue Apartments will be targeted to 1-4 person households earning up to 30%, 50%, and 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which was $97,000 for a family of four in 2024.
The Fernwood Avenue site plan by BME Associates promotes walkability and fit with the existing neighborhood street pattern. The site plan includes a playground with benches and seating, EV Charging stations, pedestrian access from Rosemary Drive and parking areas at the entrance to both the multi-family as well as visitor parking to the library. The site plans also include possible future access to Fernwood Avenue from the south.
Funding
The total development cost is approximately $38 million; this includes funding from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, NYS HCR Housing Trust Fund, Community Investment Fund, Federal Housing Trust Fund, Clean Energy Initiative and Solar Incentives, Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) funds, $500,000 in City of Rochester HOME funds and a 10% shelter rent PILOT agreement.
The City of Rochester will be a commercial tenant under a long-term lease agreement for the library space. The RPL/City shall fund the buildout of the library branch utilizing existing City/Library funds and with a planned NYS Education Department, Division of Library Development Construction grant as awarded to the Monroe County Library System.
Why this location for a library?
In October 2018 the RPL completed a Branch Facilities and Operations Plan. This consultant report provided the RPL with a roadmap and prioritized building recommendations for its ten branch libraries as well as identifying underserved areas within the city. Top tier priorities included renovation of the Lincoln branch library (completed September 2023) and expansion of the Maplewood Community Library (construction underway through 2026). The report noted gaps in service following the 1990s closure of the Pulaski branch library (1151 Hudson Avenue). In reviewing current population trends the RPL identified the Portland and Clifford Avenue area as an optimal location for branch services.
Given the closure of the Pulaski Branch Library, along with prior studies and requests to reestablish a branch in the northeast, RHA and Edgemere Development reached out to the RPL in 2022 to determine interest in integrating a public library into the building. The RPL worked with Edgemere and PLAN Architectural Studio to provide preliminary design for an 8,000 square foot branch library on the first floor of the mixed-use building.
The northeast quadrant of the City of Rochester has one branch library (Lincoln branch at 851 Joseph Avenue in the 14621 neighborhood). This branch and the Sully Branch Library at 530 Webster Avenue, co-located on the Thomas P. Ryan Community Center campus, are the closest branch libraries to the Fernwood Apartments location. Most library users in the city utilize a branch that is less than one mile from their home.
Who will live in these apartments?
RHA will manage the application and assignment process for the project. The future tenants of the building are already your neighbors. Most people that live in affordable housing are working single and family members who struggle to find housing that doesn’t take out a large chunk of their income. Of the 965 Occupied Housing Units Within the Census Tract of the proposed Fernwood site, 62% are rentals, with 88% of residential properties built before 1960.
RHA currently administers 10,738 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, providing rental assistance on behalf of participants in the private rental market. Over 80% of Section 8 certificate/voucher holders live within the City of Rochester. RHA also administers 2,684 Project-Based Vouchers, 71% located within the City of Rochester.
Why this location for affordable housing?
The site has been recommended for mixed-use development in several local planning documents:
- The 2018 City of Rochester Transit Supportive Corridors Study identified Portland Ave as having good overall market potential with strong connections to Downtown. “There are a number of major development sites along the corridor… and the area has very strong bicycle and pedestrian connectivity. Quantitative analysis suggests opportunity to utilize development sites to create more density and mix-uses along the corridor, as well as add both employment and populations density…”
- The 2022 Housing Quality Report and Recommendations include “the expansion of high quality residential and mixed-use housing… to expand housing choices across the city and focus density along transit corridors” like Portland Ave.
- The 14621 Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Revitalization Strategy Nomination Study identified 100 Fernwood Ave. as a Strategic Site with potential for “mixed-use development along Portland Avenue and residential development on the eastern portion of the site.”
- The City’s 2034 Placemaking map identified the site for Flexible Mixed-Use development.
How ill the property be maintained?
RHA has full-time maintenance staff and employs a site-based model where employees at each site are responsible for the overall appearance, systems upkeep, and customer satisfaction at the site at which they are assigned. In addition, the RPL employs cleaning and maintenance personnel.
What is the current status of the project?
The RPL issued a request for proposals to support the design of the library portion of the project in August 2024; Edge Architecture was engaged in early 2025 to support the design process. Neighborhood outreach began in late 2024 for feedback on preferred library services and amenities, with more public meetings to come. The Fernwood Apartments full project is undergoing site plan review by the City. Final financing reviews are underway at the state level.
I have ideas for the library. Who do I contact?
We would love to hear from you! You can email NEbranch@libraryweb.org to start; please also watch this page for updates on public meetings and design progress.
