Mary Chao

@marychaostyle

By holiday shopping time, Victor will have a new high-end shopping center across from Eastview Mall.

Developer Fred R. Rainaldi has already secured two tenants: a day spa and a restaurant focused on foods and juices. His team now is working to close leases on the boutiques that will fill out the space.

The center is an expansion of the High Point mixed-use development and will look like an old-time village with Italianate architecture, paying homage to the history of Ontario County, Rainaldi said.

The development already has a 7,000-square-foot building that houses North Face and the 2,000-square-foot historic cobblestone schoolhouse where the Alex and Ani jewelry store is located.

The first expansion phase, which will be done by Black Friday, will have 15,000 square feet. The second, to open early next year, will feature an additional 10,000 square feet.

"We're curating a development that includes sustainable architecture," Rainaldi said.

The High Point Business Park is the home of Constellation Brands Inc.'s headquarters. CooperVision, a contact lens company, also is moving its Rochester area offices next year from nearby Woodcliff Office Park in Perinton to the Victor complex.

Rainaldi, 33, is a partner at Rainaldi Real Estate. Father Fred J. and uncle Rick Rainaldi founded the firm in 1992, which developed several Rite Aid drug store plazas. The company has also developed and managed properties for Rochester General Hospital and is the developer of the Culver Road Armory.

The younger Rainaldi grew up in the family business, graduating from Irondequoit High School and University of Vermont, where he studied entrepreneurship. The High Point development was the focus of his college thesis essay.

Dressed in pressed slacks, leather loafers and a North Face down parka, Rainaldi said it is important to stay on top of trends in attracting new businesses.

Shoppers today are educated and sophisticated, he said, noting that when they visit brick and mortar stores, they want an experience. Creating a village atmosphere, he said, is part of drawing people to the stores.

The Rochester region, like much of the nation, has too much retail, said Eugene Fram, professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology. To stand out in retail, the store and the development has to be different.

"If you can find a niche and fill it, it can be successful," Fram said.

The High Point project has been 14 years in the making, Rainaldi said. The firm owns 120 acres across from Eastview Mall, which has become more upscale in recent years with new contruction and stores such as Pottery Barn, Vera Bradley, Michael Kors and Von Maur department store.

Location is key to the development of High Point as Victor has become a hub for retail, Rainaldi said, adding that he does not view Eastview as competition. More shops draw more people to shop in the Victor area, he said.

As for the traffic, Rainaldi realizes it can be congested on Route 96 and developed High Point Drive, weaving around the new retail development on to High Street into the town of Victor, avoiding the Route 96 area.

Traffic is indeed cumbersome on Route 96 and in the village area, said Victor resident Elena Zweers, who lives off High Street. The traffic along High Street and in town away from the commercial district is not as congested, she said.

Town Supervisor Jack Marren said that the High Point plan met all traffic concerns and that its location across from Eastview makes it easier to add more cars.

"It complements Eastview Mall across the street," he said.

Zweers likes the growing Victor retail area, with the mall and Benderson Development's center featuring Kohl's, Walmart and Home Goods. She is eager to shop at High Point, she said.

"Now all we need is a Wegmans," Zweers said.

MCHAO@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/MaryChaoStyle