Last week we paid a final visit to the abandoned Sykes Datatronics building on Orchard Street . This week we take a look at recent work submitted by RIT Architecture students that reimagines this former industrial site as a new and robust community center…
As explained by Mary Scipioni, the brownfield site on which the Sykes Datatronic building is located is a fascinating one.
“The COR has been conducting the remediation and has joined previously separate lots into a 3.9 acre site. It is located within a mile of High Falls and MCC’s future Kodak campus, and much closer to Sahlen’s Stadium and Frontier Field. An abandoned, elevated railway runs along the south edge of the site and crosses the old canal bed north of the soccer stadium.
A topographic map of the bedrock was created by Lu Engineers, and shows beautiful glacial forms underneath what appears as a flat site on the surface. The PA points show the contamination “hot spot” and the MW are groundwater monitoring wells.
RIT Architecture grad students tackled this site for a project whose goal was to create a vibrant urban park and community center that would contribute to the health, safety, and welfare of the surrounding neighborhood. It would provide opportunities for active recreation and other types of enrichment that residents are not likely to have at home.
Evening entertainment including walk-in movies, illuminated courts, ice skating, etc. would be provided. Members of the community would feel valued.
Rendering by Cibele Eller Rodrigues
The functional, restorative, and ornamental use of planting included a rooftop salad garden to be cultivated by the children during their summer vacation. Parents could hang out in the community center’s café, located in the lobby along with a storytime corner.
A minimal amount of accessible and short-term parking is provided, as well as space dedicated to food trucks.
Brownfields greatly impact the quality and value of the surrounding properties. If their revitalization converts them into an amenity, brownfields can increase the value of surrounding real estate and become major catalysts for community development. I would then call them “yellowfields.”
In a related story this week, state incentives for brownfield redevelopment are set to expire unless lawmakers can reach an agreement for the new state budget.
Tags: architecture, brownfield development, Candace Jiang, Cibele Eller Rodrigues, City of Rochester, community center, community recreation center, Jim Fugate, Lis Cavalcante, Lu Engineers, Mary Scipioni, Orchard Street, Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Rochester NY, Sykes Datatronics, urban parks, Whitney Street, yellowfields
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on Thursday, March 26th, 2015 at 10:49 pm and is filed under Architecture, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester News, Urban Development.
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Great start on the reuse of the site. I’m just wondering if the location wouldn’t benefit from the inclusion of a few additional, higher density uses: very active node, lots of transit infrastructure, near several great assets – not least of which are a few large, vacant warehouses.
Or does the presence of hazmats preclude anything like that?
Recreation as a single use would presumably be daytime only – nighttime could be a security nightmare with that scenario. As JJ points out, urban parks tend to amplify health (or lack) of the surrounding area. Context is important.