City seeks buyers for two of its parking garages: East End, Mortimer Street

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) – The City of Rochester has issued two Requests for Proposals for the possible sales of the East End and Mortimer Street parking garages on Thursday.

“Providing for public parking may be important to the City, but we don’t need to be in the business of operating and maintaining the garages,” said Mayor Malik D. Evans. “Selling these garages and getting them back on the tax rolls would allow us to direct our resources to other projects in the community.”

This is not the first time the City has sold one of its garages. The former Midtown parking garage is now privately operated by Buckingham Properties.

The City manages and maintains a total of eight public garages. After the East End and Mortimer Street RFPs are distributed, others may also be issued for the sale of additional garages. City Council approval is required for any final sales agreement.

Among the conditions for the sale of the two City-owned garages are keeping current parking rates the same through June of 2025 and presenting a long-term plan for both rates and maintenance.

The East End garage, built-in 1983 and expanded in 1991, offers a total of 1,282 parking spaces and 4 electric vehicle charging stations on a 2.38-acre parcel. Existing agreements with private entities, including the Eastman School and The Sagamore on East, reserve spaces for daytime use and residential tenants. Those agreements would remain binding for their terms.

The Mortimer Street parking garage was built in 1984 and offers 600 parking spaces and four EV charging stations on a 0.73-acre parcel. The sale requires that the Rochester Police Department be allowed to use 30 spaces free of charge, as they do now, and that the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority continue to use three exterior shelters connected to the garage.

Potential buyers have until July 29 to submit their proposals to the NBD Commissioner’s Office of Strategic Initiatives. Should any sales agreements be recommended to City Council and approved, the transfer would not take place before the end of 2022 or early 2023.

The RFP document can be found at www.cityofrochester.gov/GarageRFP. For more information, contact the City’s Assistant Commissioner of the Neighborhood and Business Development Department (NBD) at (585) 428-6124 or
Anne.DaSilvaTella@cityofrochester.gov.