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NEW HOPE FOR MT. HOPE

SCHUMER PUSHES FOR FED FUNDS TO OPEN NEW COLLEGE TOWN GROCERY STORE; WOULD BE FIRST IN AREA SINCE MT. HOPE WEGMAN’S CLOSED DECADE AGO – NEW 20,000 SQUARE FOOT GROCERY STORE WOULD BRING ACCESS TO HEALTHY FOOD, JOBS; “A TRANSFORMATIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FOR THE CITY


Up-and-Coming Area is Currently a ‘Food Desert,’ & Constantino’s Market is Looking to Bring in Grocery Store, But First Needs to Secure Start-Up Grant – Project Would Help Support Growth, Jobs, More Residents & Future Projects For City


Schumer Urges HHS to Approve Project Through ‘Community Economic Development Healthy Food Financing Initiative’ Grant – All Part of Effort to Create Urban Village Center & Spur Economic Development In Rochester at College Town


Schumer: A Full-Service Grocer Should Be In The Bag For Rochester’s College Town

Monday, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer launched his push to secure federal funds that would jumpstart the opening of a grocery store in Rochester’s College Town area. Right now, the College Town area along Mt. Hope Avenue has been labeled a ‘food desert’ by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the establishment of a new grocery store has been a major community goal since the Mt. Hope Wegmans store closed over a decade ago. Schumer, who in 2012 secured a $20 million federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loan for the City of Rochester to enable the transformative College Town project to become a reality, said that a grocery store is essential to continuing the area’s redevelopment efforts and creating a thriving urban village. Schumer said there is a proposed project already on the table that would accomplish all of these goals, and as a result bring more residents, jobs and further redevelopment projects to the area. The Action for a Better Community, Inc. (ABC) in Rochester, which is a private, nonprofit community development corporation, has applied for $748,436 in federal Community Economic Development Healthy Food Financing Initiative funds through the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would help make a planned 20,000 square foot grocery store at College Town a reality. Schumer wrote a letter to HHS in support of ABC’s application and called Jeannie Chaffin, Director of the Office of Community Services at the Administration for Children & Families within HHS, to explain his support for the proposal. Schumer explained that these funds are crucial in covering the start-up costs for the grocery store, and that without this grant it is unclear whether the project can become a reality. If approved, the majority of the grant would create a business loan fund managed by ABC to provide a low-interest loan to the grocery store operator, Constantino’s Market, for necessary start-up costs so that it can open. ABC will then use rest of the grant to create a job training and placement program to fill the majority of the grocery’s 46 new jobs, including 30 new full-time jobs, with local low-income individuals. Through this program, ABC will provide these local individuals training and post-employment support services to succeed in these new jobs and help them to successfully transition to achieve self-sufficiency.

Schumer further explained that the College Town area could significantly benefit from redevelopment projects like bringing in a new grocery store. The City of Rochester is a low-income area with a 2012 Census poverty rate of 31.6 percent. This is nearly double the poverty rate of 15.9 percent for both New York and the United States as a whole. The City of Rochester’s 2012 Census unemployment rate stood at 13.8 percent, compared to 9.2 percent for New York and 9.4 percent for the U.S overall. This grocery store would be part of a major redevelopment project by the University of Rochester to create an urban village center, spur economic development, create new full-time jobs, and retain and attract new residents and businesses at College Town within the City of Rochester.

“The City of Rochester and the University of Rochester, aided by active community-based organizations like Action for a Better Community, have been working for years to create the College Town project to redevelop the Mt. Hope Avenue region in Rochester. And while redevelopment gets underway, one key component is missing – a local grocery store. This area has not had one since Wegman’s closed over a decade ago and the area is in need of a new local grocery store. Constantino’s Market aims to fill this void, but cannot do so unless its start-up costs are covered by this federal grant-to-loan program. Constantino’s will provide local residents access to healthy food, help attract and retain homeowners and businesses, bring jobs to the area, and spur further economic development projects that will revitalize this ‘food desert,’” said Schumer. “The lack of a serious grocery option is holding the area back from further growth and the proposed Constantino’s Market would change that. That is why I am calling on the federal Department of Health and Human Services to approve federal funds that will enable this 20,000-square-foot grocery store to move forward. This project would bring quality jobs, more residents and businesses, and greater opportunities for growth to the College Town area.”

Action for a Better Community CEO James Norman said, “We appreciate Senator Schumer’s support to help us partner with Constantino’s Market to ensure it can open a new grocery store at College Town. This plan is a win-win-win by providing the needed remaining financing for Constantino’s to open and become a reality, train and hire dozens of now low-income individuals for new jobs, and bring a grocery store back to the Mount Hope neighborhood.”

The federal investment would leverage $3,608,000 to cover build-out-equipment and other start-up costs that have already been committed to the project. However, the loan provided thorugh ABC and capitalized by this federal grant is needed in order for Constantino’s to complete its needed financing since the market will not be able to open without this loan.

Schumer has been a longtime advocate of developing College Town. In May 2012, Schumer met with University of Rochester President Joel Seligman and Mayor Tom Richards to announce his campaign to secure federal assistance for the College Town development project. He pushed to secure a low-interest, $20 million federal loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help finance the transformation of the 14-acre College Town site into a new shopping, working, and living mixed used development. In early 2014, Schumer helped secure an additional $1 million in federal Transportation Enhancement Program funding to construct the College Town Cycle Track, a dedicated bicycle trail connecting the Genesee River Trail, University of Rochester facilities, College Town, and the Town of Brighton. The cycle track will create a direct link for college students and residents to visit and patronize the new shops, restaurants, and amenities being built at College Town.

Schumer has undertaken similar efforts before on behalf of other cities and towns across the state. For example, in 2010, Schumer stalled the impending bankruptcy of P&C Foods (Penn Traffic), which impacted neighborhoods across Central New York, by working to push back the bankruptcy deadline in time for other grocery bidders to make an offer. The push saved grocery operations across the area from vacancy when Tops stepped in as the Penn Traffic buyer, purchasing the P&C stores and preserving hundreds of jobs and local grocery options. Schumer is also currently working with local officials in Syracuse to bring a supermarket to the Armory Square neighborhood in Downtown Syracuse.

Senator Schumer’s letter to HHS Director Chaffin appears below:

Dear Ms. Jeannie Chaffin:

I am writing in support of Action for a Better Community, Inc. (ABC) and their proposal for a Community Economic Development Healthy Food Financing Initiative Projects grant.

This project will increase access to healthy food by supporting the development of Constantino’s Market, a new 20,000 square foot grocery store, in a section of the City of Rochester that is designated as a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This grocery store is one of the anchor tenants of College Town, a major redevelopment project led by the University of Rochester to create an urban village center and spur economic development, and is a transformational priority project of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council.

At least 30 new full-time permanent jobs will be created by Constantino’s Market, 75% of which will be directed to low-income individuals that receive pre-employment training and post-employment support from ABC and their FOCUS on Self-Sufficiency program, as a direct result of this project.

The City of Rochester faces high unemployment and poverty and was recently named the fifth poorest city in the United States, out of the 75 largest metro areas. The Rochester City School District is the poorest large urban school district in New York State with 88% of students eligible for free or reduced price meals.

ABC has a long history of providing programs and services designed to combat poverty and help low-income residents and families achieve economic self-sufficiency. This grant project promotes public-private partnerships that increase resources to fight poverty, develop livable neighborhoods with access to healthy food, and to grow our economy, and has my full support.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

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