Heart of the City is part of the Destination Medical Center initiative to revitalize downtown Rochester to reflect the city’s diversity and vibrancy and solidify it as a global destination for health and wellness.
As part of the Heart of the City public space design process, First Avenue in downtown Rochester is being designed as a curbless, pedestrian-friendly street. Recently, the future of First Avenue was prototyped, which showed the new design of the street, curb, and sidewalk.
Members of the Heart of the City design team were present to answer questions and collect feedback from business owners and the public.
One of the goals of Heart of the City is creating opportunities for year-round use of public spaces. At the wildly successful SocialICE event in February, produced by the Rochester Downtown Alliance, DMC tested heated benches, which were very popular. Other ideas included adding winter-friending programming, wind buffers and using heated benches or site features to create additional ways to keep people warm outdoors.
“Heart of the City is an important community gathering place. The feedback we receive from our public engagement is valuable as we continue to create experiences in Heart of the City for everyone to enjoy,” noted Patrick Seeb, director of economic development and placemaking for Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency.