College Town, like so many other attempts in so many cities across our nation, is a Money Island. It is a massive mid-to-high-end living and restaurant/retail investment surrounded by a sea that is not equipped to support it. Furthermore, this sort of island lacks the number of “boats” (going big on the metaphors here) necessary to ferry folks from other areas needed to sustain it. In essence, College Town is a beautiful project and a great idea… The fact that it is plopped down in the middle of a neighborhood that isn’t ready to support it with no creative or practical connectivity to the parts of Rochester that might patronize it is the reason this project has struggled from the start. A deeper look into this reality gives us a picture of why massive development endeavors alone cannot be the engines of change in emerging urban areas.

GEOGRAPHY & DEMOGRAPHICS

College Town replaced a series of outdated administrative buildings on the east end of The University of Rochester Medical Center campus. In an attempt to visually enhance the area surrounding Rochester’s largest employer, as well as add vibrancy to an otherwise socioeconomically depressed area, College Town would be the welcoming face, ushering in University of Rochester students, as well as Medical Center employees.

But again, the problem facing this project began before it started: the surrounding neighborhoods range from $20,000 – $40,000 annual household income, with a few exceptions here and there.

The Medical Center “backs up” to College Town making the two relatively close in proximity. A short 5 minute walk from almost anywhere on the Med Center campus will easily land you in the midst of the CT action. However, most of the parking for hospital employees is nowhere near the area. A huge percentage of employees are shuttled in from outlying parking lots miles away from College Town.