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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

MCC’s Proposed Downtown Campus at Kodak


Our 20+-year search for a permanent location for our downtown campus culminates next week as the Monroe County Legislature votes on the proposed purchase of property currently owned by Kodak.  As we near the conclusion of this phase of our effort to give our students a campus that meets their needs and supports their dreams and aspirations, I would like to take one more opportunity to share with you our vision and how the Kodak property supports that vision.

In the fall of 2009, we renewed our search for a downtown campus location after Renaissance Square dissolved. We revisited our needs and updated our site criteria, using them as our guide during a lengthy process that entailed looking at dozens of properties. Our criteria were made widely known throughout the process (and are posted on our website "
https://www.monroecc.edu/downtown"):

·         A visible and prominent presence

·         An appropriately sized and oriented site

·         Accessible parking and public transportation

·         Availability/ease of purchase and development

·         A college green (or gathering space) and a complete college concept

·         Compatible adjacent land usage

·         Access to utilities

Because it best met our criteria, the Kodak property at State Street and Morrie Silver Way earned the unanimous support of our Board of Trustees in December 2011, and the support of our student governments and our Faculty Senate. This was clear to all: the Kodak property provides the best opportunity to meet the needs of our students and is the most fiscally responsible to taxpayers.

What followed the recommendation was a full year of discussions with stakeholder groups; extensive due diligence with the County, SUNY, and state agencies around the suitability of the site and environmental reviews; and tours of the Kodak site for hundreds of community members. Then, in December 2012, the Monroe County Legislature unanimously approved the bonding of $28 million for the first phase of our new downtown campus. The budget for the project is $72 million.

As with all capital projects, the borrowing will occur over time at both the state and county levels as the funds are needed, so as not to incur unnecessary interest costs.  While the County bonds the full cost of the project, SUNY will reimburse up to 50 percent. In fact, 25 million in state dollars has already been set aside for this project, waiting for MCC for years.

We are asking the Monroe County Legislature to approve the purchase of 561,951 gross square feet of property for $2.999 million. The size of the property will meet our needs today and in the future―just as 300 acres were purchased for the Brighton Campus in the mid-1960s with an eye toward the College’s current and future needs.  The Damon City Campus has grown 30 percent in the last decade and, in terms of undergraduate student enrollment, is already larger than several Rochester area colleges and many SUNY community colleges. 

In our future home, we look to expand programming critical to our community needs: growing workforce development, adding a small business incubator, increasing university transfer curriculum options, and adding both pre-collegiate programs and a university center for students seeking four-year degrees. In addition, the Kodak site offers room to provide a full college experience—student life and leadership development space, dining options, and study rooms—for our deserving Damon City students.  We seek to expand opportunities for non-traditional students looking for new pathways to prosperity in a changed economy.  For this vision to be realized and for our community to benefit, the reality is simple:  our current downtown campus is incompatible with our vision  and the Kodak property presents the best opportunity to meet student needs, today and tomorrow, in a fiscally responsible way.

MCC’s journey to realize this comprehensive and impactful vision for downtown Rochester has not been smooth.  In fact, last week, fully 13 months after our selection of the Kodak property, Winn Companies once again proposed that the County purchase space for the College in the Sibley Building: space that is less than half the size of the Kodak property for 2.5 times the purchase price. The project budget also raises significant questions regarding its compliance with requirements for public institutions.  In addition, this truly last hour proposal circumvents the well publicized, comprehensive, deliberate, and extensive review process engaged in by MCC, the County, and SUNY.

MCC would not move to acquire any site if we were not confident that we have already completed a thorough due diligence process—one that included outreach to all of our stakeholders.  And, it is fair to say that neither the County nor SUNY would sign on to the acquisition if they were not confident in the process as well.  MCC is a public institution, and we take this responsibility seriously, so we had an independent, third party (one familiar with the legal requirements of public projects) analyze our options. It is abundantly clear that purchasing and developing the Kodak property is in the best interest of our students and of taxpayers.

As our students say, “It’s Time to Move.” We are ready to move forward to establish a permanent, affordable downtown campus that will inspire students and strengthen our community. I invite you to join us in this exciting new endeavor.

(The above was also issued as an open letter to the community and is posted on our downtown campus web site,
www.monroecc.edu/downtown.)

Anne M. Kress
President
02/05/2013