Brian Sharp

@SharpRoc

Two plans are being considered for development of Lake Ave. parcel

Housing and retail units are part of both proposals

Set to the ominous score of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, the YouTube video of competing development proposals for the Port of Rochester opens with the message: "Save Charlotte."

The proposals are strikingly different. One — favored by Mayor Lovely Warren's senior staff — proposes 10- to 13-story hotel and residential towers and would convert the terminal building to a multi-use retail and market-rate/affordable housing. The other is a more modest, four-story building.

In the video, the tower proposal by Michigan-based Edgewater Resources, is described as the one "that will kill Charlotte." A former Charlotte resident posted the video, tapping into the frustration of merchants like Windjammers owner Lee Selover.

"(Warren) wants these high-rises. We don't," Selover said. "It is not just going to destroy Charlotte, it is going to destroy the whole harbor district as we know it."

He advocates for the other plan, though not enthusiastically. He calls it the lesser of two evils, or "not perfect, but a thousand times better" than the Edgewater plan.

The proposals are for 2.8 acres fronting Lake Avenue near Ontario Beach Park. Redevelopment of the sprawling parking lot has been an evolving and controversial issue for decades but is now on the verge of becoming reality.

This is the first parcel offered for private development. City officials envisioned high-density, preferably owner-occupied housing, possibly a hotel and a mix of retail and office space. That would complement the $16.5 million first phase of construction underway to create an 85-slip deep-draft marina basin west of the Terminal Building.

Public investment — a mix of federal, state and city funds — is placed at $20 million. Private investment should drive the project going forward, with a possible marina expansion to 157 slips and total development ultimately resulting in between 280 and 430 housing units. Officials want private development to begin as the marina opens in 2015.

The basics of the two plans are these:

Waterfront Rochester, Edgewater's $77 million proposal, promises a 96-room "resort hotel" with a restaurant, pool, conference facilities and other amenities, roughly 120 condominiums, 50 townhouses, a plaza area and use of the terminal building for retail and market-rate as well as affordable housing. For-sale units will list between $350,000 and $1.2 million, the proposal shows.

Lighthouse Landing, the $36 million plan put forth by CEA/Morgan Management, would be a single four-story U-shaped structure with 200 one-, two- and three-bedroom as well as loft market-rate apartments and some retail. Units would have separate utilities, allowing the flexibility to offer some for sale. The building would span a public promenade.

"People are concerned with the same things they've been concerned about all along," said Mark Gregor, the city's port redevelopment manager, referring to parking and housing that is too subsidized, too high-end or simply too much.

Gregor said neither developer sought city assistance.

Primary financing for Waterfront Rochester would come from an Immigrant Investor Program, a federal program in which money comes from immigrants seeking preferential treatment in obtaining a green card. Lighthouse Landing would be privately financed, said Louis Giardino, president and CEO of CEA.

Giardino traces his Charlotte roots back five generations, and worked on restoration of the carousel and bathhouse. His partner, Bob Morgan, grew up in Irondequoit. Selover and the video note Edgewater is an out-of-state firm, though its project team includes local firms staffed by Charlotte and area natives.

By Monday evening, the "How to Save Charlotte" video had more than 1,500 views. It was produced by Lorilyn Bailey and posted Sunday on various sites. Bailey, who now lives in North Carolina, said she has no ties to the developers but was alerted to the project via a Facebook friend and fellow Charlotte native in California. Sensing that time was running out, she went to work.

No decision on a developer has been made. Once one is selected, the city first will enter into a months-long exclusive negotiation during which the plan will be refined. One stipulation is that needed parking be provided within the parcel. The overall port area stands to have a net loss of 100 spaces after redevelopment.

BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/sharproc